This morning I got a very important order in the mail, and it was screwed up-BADLY. After a few phone calls with the company and still no really great solution, I was pretty frustrated. What was worse was that I knew that I had to sit down and write this post on spiritual practices. Great.
So, I sat down and pulled up Youtube. I searched “Christian Meditation”, found one I thought sounded applicable, and sat down on my front porch to listen. This isn’t the first time I’ve meditated. I’ve actually paid for a well known meditation app for several years. It isn’t a faith based one, but I feel that it helps me open my heart and my ears to God. I genuinely believe, though some might disagree, that when you move all of all of the other noise out of your mind for a few minutes, there is more room for God to speak. A lot of times, I will read the Daily Texts or find a Bible verse that speaks to me and use that as the focus of my meditation.
That is the idea behind meditation as a spiritual practice. The Bible actually specifically tells us that we are supposed to meditate on God’s word. We are supposed to sit in silence with it and let it be our sole focus.
“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” Joshua 1:8
I am a pretty high energy, busy person, so meditation is extremely helpful for me in calming down and spending a few quality moments with God. It helps me have a clearer vision on scripture and it helps me let go of what is bugging me.
I recommend starting with guided meditations, they help you learn the practice-meditation is not easy at first. Once you get the hang of the practice, you can branch out on your own. This is what I have found works for me:
I read through the scripture that I want to meditate on 3 times. Turn on some quiet music, and find chair. Sit with your feet on the ground and hands resting on your legs. I start at the top of my head and release the tension the whole way down my body, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth. Then, I take a moment to clear my mind of the clutter. When my mind is clear I start with a prayer. After the opening prayer I focus in on the different parts of the verse and just let myself hear the words in my mind. I let go of any thoughts that aren’t related to my meditation as they pop up (“oh no! I forgot to do the dishes, feed the dog, etc.”). When I have meditated on the verse sufficiently, I close with another prayer. Then, I slowly bring the rest of myself back into the present by starting to move around.
This is what works for me, you might find another form of meditation that works for you. If you find something you love, great! And if you can’t stand meditation, then don’t get hung up on it. Different spiritual practices work for different people!
