I am Christian and I don't want to lose faith in God or start seeing snakes. Please tell me dangers and benefits
Responses (3)
What does “meditation” mean to you? If you follow the teachings of some Eastern religions, you may believe that it is something that brings greater clarity of thought or special enlightenment. Meditation practiced in Buddhism encourages emptying the mind of all thought. Other forms of meditation are said to encourage filling your mind with “universal truths of wisdom.”
Meditation takes many forms. “The mind has to be empty to see clearly,” said one writer on the subject. His words reflect the view that emptying the mind while focusing on certain words or images promotes inner peace, mental clarity, and spiritual enlightenment.
The Bible puts a high value on meditation. (1 Timothy 4:15) The kind of meditation that it encourages, however, does not entail emptying the mind or repeating a certain word or phrase, sometimes called a mantra. Rather, Biblical meditation involves purposeful thinking on wholesome topics, such as God’s qualities, standards, and creations. Meditation also helps us to improve our comprehension and memory.
Though obviously beneficial, meditation is difficult for most of us. Most would probably prefer simply to daydream—let the mind just drift along effortlessly and without purpose, like a boat floating downstream. If done in rest periods, this can be very relaxing.
How can meditation benefit you?
“The heart of the righteous one meditates before answering.”—Proverbs 15:28.
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS Wholesome meditation gives us inner depth, quiet reserve, and moral strength—all of which add insight and understanding to our speech and behavior. (Proverbs 16:23) Such meditation, therefore, also contributes to a happy and rewarding life. Concerning the person who regularly meditates on God, Psalm 1:3 states: “He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, a tree that produces fruit in its season, the foliage of which does not wither. And everything he does will succeed.”
Meditation also helps us to improve our comprehension and memory. To illustrate, when we study an aspect of creation or a certain Bible topic, we learn many interesting facts. But when we meditate on those facts, we see how they relate to one another and to what we have learned in the past. Thus, just as a carpenter turns raw materials into an attractive building, meditation enables us to “assemble” facts into a coherent pattern or structure.
