What Christians Should Know About Popular Meditation Techniques

Various forms of meditation techniques are being widely and fervently promoted as a way of attaining peace, promoting relaxation, and developing a higher consciousness. However, many people, Christians and non-Christians, who take up these techniques of meditation do not realize the strong biblical warnings against such practices.

Although the forms of modern meditation vary, they all share a central goal--the blanking out and emptying of the practitioner's mind. What is the danger of totally clearing one's mind? First, it should be understood that an empty mind is prime territory to be filled with ideas, thoughts, suggestions, sounds, and imaginations. Essentially, a blanked out mind is much like a dry sponge which absorbs practically any liquid with which it comes into contact. The cleared mind corresponds to the dry sponge, and thoughts, imaginations, ideas, suggestions, and sounds, correspond to the liquid. This truth is evident in the fact that very young children whose minds have not had the opportunity to completely learn a language, learn foreign languages effortlessly. Why? Because there's no other language or sound pattern present to buffer the incoming language and sounds. As the child grows older, his ability to learn language in the same way as he did or could have at a very tender age, departs forever. Again, this is why children are impressionable and why brainwashing is extremely difficult to reverse if it has taken place in a child before reaching the age of four.

When an adult masters the "art" of meditation to the point of totally clearing his mind, his psyche becomes even more impressionable than that of a baby! The difference is that this blanking out of the mind has been achieved unnaturally and carries consequences.

Whenever the Bible speaks of meditation, it always consists of active thought, of filling the mind with the knowledge of God's law, not blanking it out. In fact, warnings are made against failure to guard against an idle mind. Psalm 1:2 says, "his delight is the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night." Joshua 1:8 records, "this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but, thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein." Finally, in Psalm 119:97, king David worshiped God saying, "o how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day."

Should such biblical references be used to form a doctrine regarding meditation techniques? Is biblical instruction really valid for today's world? These questions have been anticipated and answered by the all wise God whose word teaches that, "all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). Man is also reminded that, "the word of the Lord endureth forever..."(1 Peter 1:25).

Meditating to blank out one's mind gives nothing but a false and temporary peace because it is a "peace" obtained through the breaking of God's instruction to, "be sober (have an alert mind), be vigilant (on the watch), because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8).

© 2007-2008 Heavenly Manna and Hannah Henderson