First of all, a quick rant. This week on The 700 Club they did a story about yoga. Most of it was about how Christians were practicing yoga, some at church. And while it showed how helpful and sensible yoga is for Christians, some who commented still don't get it. It's as if they are afraid that other religions or spiritual practices are like deadly viruses that will kill your soul. Even in the story, people who were differentiating Christian yoga from Eastern yoga, did it with a suspicious, condemning or condescending tone.
Don't they realize that these other religions are not Devil worshippers?! Many of these other religious directions profess the same types of moral philosophy as Christianity. And while Hinduism may have millions of deities and Buddhism may be a non-deity philosophy, they are generally based upon foundations like The Golden Rule, selflessness, service to others and purity of soul. So to be fearful of practices like yoga is ridiculous. One woman in the story mentioned that an Eastern yoga person said, “The spirit in me honors the spirit in you;” the woman acted like that was a weird thing to say. “I don't know what spirit they were talking about.” Seriously? No wonder so many people think Christians are morons. But I am thankful that the 700 Club story painted an overall positive image of yoga. (end of rant)
In a previous post, I mentioned yoga as physical exercise. Now I want to talk about how you can use it to meditate.
Raja Yoga involves mental conditioning. The aim is typically to imagine yourself as a soul within a physical human body, so that you can feel peace and connected to God. Often it is suggested that you focus on your third eye, which is located in the middle of the forehead just above the brow line. The third eye is also referred to as the sixth chakra. It is in the location of our semi-dormant pineal gland. This gland is found in some reptiles and amphibians and enables them to detect light. In humans, it produces the hormone melatonin.
Typically when you close your eyes and try to visualize something, your mental focus is on that area of the third eye. And that is why it is also called your mind's eye. This being so, it simply makes sense to focus on the mind's eye during meditation in order to clear all visual images that may distract your concentration. Personally, I like to focus on the mind's eye while also focusing on the breathing. The two combined help clear my head.
For a Christian, the purpose of this type of meditation is to mentally detach from the outside world in order to make a deep connection between the Self and God. By attaining a purified awareness, a Christian can listen for God's guidance, unencumbered by worldly and egocentric forces. You'll be surprised at what kinds of great ideas pop into your head out of nowhere.
It's also comforting to imagine God's love entering your body and giving you strength. Even in Eastern cultures, practitioners simply try to imagine themselves bathed in the love and light of God. But if you want meditation process based upon Scripture, that's easy to find in the Bible.
Take a look at the beginning of Psalm 23:
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul;
I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul;
Wow. That's a lot of good instruction in very few words.
First, recognize that God is always looking after you (if you don't wander off).
Then, don't worry, don't want. Focus on your needs, not your greeds.
Next, stop running through life at 100 mph. Instead, lie down (or sit) and meditate.
Allow God to lead you to stillness and peace. He, not you, will then be able to restore your soul.
