Exploration of why the bible forbids meditation.

Like said above, it doesn't say you can't meditate. It says you shouldn't mess around with necromancy and witchcraft, things of this nature. Why? because the power to do these things often come from evil spirits or satan himself and or can get you possessed by evil spirits.
Most things in the Bible are for our own good, like a parent telling their child not to do something when they don't know better.

watch this
www.youtube.com...
www.youtube.com...

www.youtube.com...







[edit on 1/23/2010 by dashar]

[edit on 1/23/2010 by dashar]

This is a legit thread contrary to what some of you think. I had also heard this my entire life. Now I am not religious but I found a site that explains what this is all about.

lavistachurchofchrist.org...

Idle mind is the devil's workshop...that sorta thing. Good luck on everyones heightened sense of spirituality.

Originally posted by WEALTHunited
reply to post by jinx880101

 

WELL NICE OUTLOOK ON THE LOTUS----
I'D LIKE TO ADD TO THAT WITH MY OWN LITTLE THEORY OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE LOTUS FLOWER---YOU TALK ABOUT THE LOTUS FLOWER RISING FROM THE SCUM OF THE EARTH TO BE VIBRANT ETC, HOWEVER WHAT YOU FAILED TO NOTICE IS THAT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SURFACE OF THE POND IN THE MIDST OF THE LIGHT YOU FIND MANY BLOOMING FLOWERS...EACH DIFFERENT BUT ALL VERY BEUTIFUL. THE PART THAT IS FAILED TO BE REMEMBERED IS THAT ALTHOUGH ON THE SURFACE THE LOTUS MAY SEEM INDEPENDANT OF ONE ANOTHER, THE TRUTH BENEATH REVEALS A STEM FROM EACH...ALL LEADING TO THE SAME SOURCE...IN FACT...ONE LIVING ORGANISM SHARING THE SAME ROOTS....JUST WANTED TO ADD TO THAT...A LITTLE MORE "DEPTH" PERCEPTION.

OOOOOW! No need to shout. Isn't that like supposed to be worse than resorting to invoking hitler liiiike.

reply to post by spookfish
[more

Sorry bout the SHOUTING...meant to be a positive addition...Didn't mean to raise my voice...just forgot about caps-lock...
Point is...regardless of how you do it...returning yourself to ZERO point to listen to GOD...you must still accept responsibility for all of Humanity to truly have an ascending moment. The bible is one book... To truly ascend one must understand and accept the faults of ALL MEN...In meditation...make sure to verbally forbid the evil/negative spirit within you and permit only the most abundantly loving spirit. Like a battery we have both negative and positve frequency charges. Like any circuit you must prime the conduit...If you practive "meditation"---and truly reach an amiable state...you must be totally receptive or you will damage yourlife. More people need to accept the shame of man as if they created it in meditation...You people are missing it....Point Zero...

You are mixing up the Church and the bible. The church didn't want people to seek guidance and comfort from within, they wanted you to look to the church for the answers. That was the core reason for the reformation and Martin Luther's break from the church of Rome. No mater what you did, if you had the money, you could buy forgiveness. If you needed answers, the church wanted you to think they had all the answers and the only right ones.
The bible had nothing to do with it, it was only a tool for the church that they evolved for their own need at times in history.

Thats a nice post and all, but the bible never tells you not to meditate. Praying is a form of meditation.

reply to post by eight bits


What do you mean by "eastern" orthodoxy?


To the OP:
I was an orthodox christian for 15 years and there's no such thing as meditating.Praying?Yes,absolutely but that's far from the meditation we're talking about in this thread.All these things are from completely other religions.

Also,if these things were christian too don't you think priests would know them and teach them?

Other than that,allow me to add that i was also a spiritualist for 3 years and after that,until now,an atheist.Just in case someone will think that i'm trying to "hide the truth from you" or whatever.

What do you mean by "eastern" orthodoxy?

This briefly explains and attests to the usage:

philtar.ucsm.ac.uk...

People who are of the Orthodox Church tend not to use the adjective "Eastern," but many do use the applicable national designations, such as Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Romanian Orthodox, etc.

Note added on reflection: if I were physically in Greece, or in Romania, etc., then I would simply say the "Orthodox Church." The reason any qualifier at all is ever used is because in a predominantly non-Orthodox country, or on an international forum, the unqualified term "Orthodox Church" would probably be misunderstood.

[edit on 23-1-2010 by eight bits]

This is a fascinating, and because meditation is so useful, I believe a very important question.

First let me note, one of the problems with Christianity is that it unlike almost every other major religion, it does not have a highly developed esoteric tradition of it's own.

There is the highly developed and very old tradition of Kabbalistic Judaism. In fact, the first major book of Kabbalistic Judaism, the Sefer Yetzirah is fairly clear that the basic purpose of the book is for use in meditation. If you want to explore this route I reccomend Aryeh Kaplan (an orthodox Rabbi)'s "Jewish Meditation, a practical guide" or his other books such as "meditation and the bible" if you are really want to see direct evidence that the bible justifies it.

Most of the techniques are suprisingly similar to those practiced in the east, there is meditation on letters, words, and mantras of a sort. (Hebrew, like Sanskrit, is a divine language)

There is also clearing of the mind, meditating on an object, and contemplation.

During the middle ages and the Renaissance Jewish mysticism was heavily practiced by and of great interest to Christians. Over time it became more separated, and fundamentalist Christians began ignoring it more, now they're mostly separate.

reply to post by eight bits


Oh,ok.I thought so but i just wanted to make sure.

Thanks!

Meditation is very beneficial. I really don't think you can truly know yourself without meditating. I also believe some people do, and do not realize that is what they are doing.
For me, one of the greatest benefits of meditation was the understanding I acquired of where my thoughts came from. Whether from previous thoughts or from others energy directed my way.
Another, was the control over my emotions..., again, from understanding thoughts.
I believe the bible is a collection of stories, insights, interpretations, with of course the revelations. Anyone that would force the bible on someone as the word of God is a bit too grounded.

There are some that post here that have a great deal of knowledge of religions and meditative techniques, with some cautions. I have encountered evil spirits, and all you have to do is tell them to leave. Seriously. And they will, after all, they know they can't hurt you if you won't let them. The harm would be to YOUR spirit. Tell them to get lost.

God's true message is available to the most ignorant of humans. It has to be, if you think about it. Anyone can meditate and open the book.

reply to post by The X

Hi X,
Sahaj Yoga is okay, but please don't get all locked up in the attached belief system.

You may have noticed the entire system is based on Hindu practices and beliefs, nothing wrong with that really as far as beliefs go. Until of course you become a Yogi and start to believe the stuff, like the Guru being the Feminine Divine Source, The Mother, the reincarnation of Shiva who will provide to you all that you need if you believe and worship according to her system.

The Kundalini Experience you have is real, but, the perceptions of how it is the Flower-like symbolism is only part of the Belief-system. We do not have Demons sitting on Nadis causing problems in your life, we do all have baggage with which to deal with in life. The Kundalini flows naturally straight up the spinal column when we awaken and not as the Hindu-based religions would have us believe.

All good though as this has provided you a direct experience for yourself, but please do not limit yourself by only using that Belief-System and becoming attached to it as the only way.

I have some friends who are followers of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, the Guru of Sahaja. Even though they believe she has given them their enlightenment, they are still very much disempowered as individuals because they do believe that The Mother is what provides for them.. in other words they have given their power to her.

I would not like to see more people fall into that trap. By the way, no one can give you your enlightenment, they can only show you how to raise Kundalini up to the crown chakra. The usual experience of enlightenment comes when the Kundalini reaches the Crown and Opens you Up, at which point you dissipate into the Universe and Experience it as yourself.. The Oneness Experience which is the beginning of Enlightenment.. if you work with it that is.

Be well, Be clear.

For Stewie,

With those beings choosing darkness, there is another way to deal with them, although it may sound strange to hear it. That way is to Love them Unconditionally.

Told you it sounded wierd.

Within every person, in their heart chakra lay an immense well of Golden Light. This is the highest form of energy available to us, and, it is the most powerful tool/weapon we have.

All those beings choosing darkness are only other souls the same as us choosing a different experience than we did. So, if you can find a reason to love them, such as them being misguided or lost, even by choice, then you will raise that loving energy inside you and be able to push it directly into them. Then you will see the single most amazing thing ever.. they begin to sparkle from the inside as their healing begins to take place and they will leace you so fast you will be left wondering what happened to them.

[edit on 23-1-2010 by Tayesin]

Jesus said, "be still and know", an obvious message on meditation.
You gave a brief explanation of kundalini, where Shiva and Shakti
are united in the crown chakra. In Christianity the bridal chamber
union is the same process.
If you want to find out more, read "The Spiritual Guide" written
in 1675 by Migual De'Molinos (Michael Molinos) and "The
Philokalia" compiled in the tenth century? These are treatises on deep
spiritual prayer and meditation. "The Spiritual Guide" was banned by
the catholic church in 1687 and anyone found in possession
of a copy was excommunicated.

Hope this helps..........."YouSir"

Let me expound a little bit, as I was not entirely correct in what I said that Christianity is the only religion without a strong esoteric tradition.

The rituals, of for example, of original church (Catholic and Eastern orthodox). Are magical rituals in the exact same way as more explicitly esoteric traditions

The central ritual of them, is, of course, communion, where one ingests into themselves the pure spirit of god into themselves are thus transformed. There are others, such as baptism.

The main difference is often people just go through the motions. For an adept full of will and faith taking communion should be scarcely different than any other true ritual.

Also, christianity does have a few true mystics such as St. John of the Cross (Dark night of the soul) and St. Teresa.

Another is the use of a rosary, interestingly enough has 54 beads, exactly half of the 108 beads in malas of eastern traditions.

What I meant is that Christianity does not have a highly developed and explicit esoteric tradition that others do. For example, Sufism is the esoteric tradition that has peacefully been part of Islam for centuries and produced poets such as Rumi. The other major religions, the Indian traditions, of course are self-explanatory.





[edit on 23-1-2010 by CognitiveInfiltrator]

reply to post by Tayesin

Thank you Tayesin.
I will try that next time.

Very interesting how you reached that high spiritual level with meditation that brought you too far from reality. In the moment you say the Bible is against meditation, you are telling us that the "Light" was too strong and you became blind. Attention, same thing happened to Lucifer and we know how he ended. The Bible is 100% good and It never gives bad advices like "Do not meditate".

I am a contactee, they opened my third eye in one night and I got "dizzy" on the first years after that, thinking how to use it. When you open chakras you don't use it at your will, you are just an antenna. You still need the Word of God, wich is the Bible.

MEDITATE THOSE WORDS DEAR FRIEND.

It is blasphemous for a catholic to meditate in the contex of your question because it falls under the term as a practice originating from different religions i.e with different Gods... I know as my friend is a strick catholic follower, big no no with her... Pity

Originally posted by bredd77
It is blasphemous for a catholic to meditate in the contex of your question because it falls under the term as a practice originating from different religions i.e with different Gods... I know as my friend is a strick catholic follower, big no no with her... Pity

He said "BIBLE forbids meditation", not the catholic church. You are confusing 2 things.

[edit on 23-1-2010 by Trueman]

reply to post by Tayesin


With those beings choosing darkness, there is another way to deal with them, although it may sound strange to hear it. That way is to Love them Unconditionally.

Told you it sounded wierd.

Within every person, in their heart chakra lay an immense well of Golden Light. This is the highest form of energy available to us, and, it is the most powerful tool/weapon we have.

All those beings choosing darkness are only other souls the same as us choosing a different experience than we did. So, if you can find a reason to love them, such as them being misguided or lost, even by choice, then you will raise that loving energy inside you and be able to push it directly into them. Then you will see the single most amazing thing ever.. they begin to sparkle from the inside as their healing begins to take place and they will leace you so fast you will be left wondering what happened to them.

[edit on 23-1-2010 by Tayesin]

TAyesin
Good post. I totally agree with the love back thing.......how did you learn how to do it ?I find that when people are mean......it is easier to be mean back.....not love back. any suggestions........
speaknoevil07