Benefits of Meditation:

Health professionals, popular magazines, gurus like Dr. Chopra, and TV celebrities like Dr. OZ have long been touting the benefits of meditation. Perhaps its most convincing advocates, however, are average practitioners like you and me, who have been meditating for years, and who can attest first-hand to its positive effects without being suspected of ulterior motives (such as profit).

In my own case, meditation jettisoned me into a subtler world of energy, which I experienced both inside my body as well as in the atmosphere around me. In time, meditation assumed a central position in my spiritual practice. It also influenced my personality, causing me to become less introverted, and it may have positively affected my health as well, since my blood pressure and pulse have remained as low as a child’s.

Although not everyone experiences the same effects that I’ve experienced, some effects do seem to be more common than others. The following have been well-documented:

Mental and Physical Health

In 2014, researchers from Johns Hopkins University studied 47 trials on meditation that passed stringent scientific criteria, and their results, which were published in JAMA Internal Medicine, proved that meditation reduces psychological stressors such anxiety, depression, and pain.

Since stress causes or worsens illnesses such as high blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pain, psoriasis, insomnia, etc., and since meditation reduces stress, meditation can also take credit for reducing the incidence of these illnesses. Accordingly, many institutions such as Mayo and Harvard recommend undertaking it as part of a more comprehensive treatment of these conditions.

Spiritual Health

And it almost goes without saying that meditation is central to many individuals’ spiritual life. Primarily, this is because it has the ability to open us to alternative ways of perceiving ourselves and the reality in which we’re embedded. For instance, a good many meditators report feeling the presence of something other than themselves, feeling connected to a larger reality, or experiencing an increased capacity to love unconditionally.

In Hinduism, four variations of the spiritual path are practiced by the devout, for it’s recognized that we are all different and require different stimulus and direction accordingly. This seems like a wise approach, therefore, I recommend that anyone interested in experimenting with meditation try each of the three types that I’ll be describing in this and the next post, for one will probably appeal to you more than the others.

Today’s post will focus on devotional meditation, specifically as it’s experienced within Christianity. Christianity, however, is not the only religion that practices it. Sufism comes to mind, as does the Bhakti path in Hinduism, Qabalah study in Judaism, and many paths within other traditions as well. What unites all of these different religions’ meditational practice is their recognition of a divine Other throughout the process. These meditational practices can, therefore, be considered a form of prayer.

Christian Contemplative Prayer:

An exercise long practiced by Christians is the focusing of their minds by inwardly stating a phrase or word. Saint John Cassian recommended the phrase “O God, make speed to save me: O Lord, make haste to help me.” Others recite the Jesus Prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”), while the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing, a mystical work on the subject dating from the late Middle Ages, recommended a monosyllabic word, such as “God” or “Love”.

The goal of the process is to experience God’s presence, and ultimately to merge with God in ecstasy. Therefore, it’s often described as a “gaze of faith” or a “silent love”, while Mattá al-Miskīn, author of Orthodox Prayer Life: The Interior Way, describes it as “the soul’s inward vision, and the heart’s simple repose in God.”

So, if you want to practice this type of meditation, get comfortable, quiet your mind, and hold fast to the intention of feeling God’s presence.

1. Whenever you find your attention wandering, silently repeat the word or phrase once, and return to focusing on God’s presence
2. Strengthen your intention to open up to accept whatever happens. Remember, this a relationship with God. You’re not in control; instead, you’re attentive and accepting.

A variation on this type of meditation is found In the Eastern Orthodox ascetic tradition called hesychasm. The practitioner withdraws into solitude, calms his or her mind, and through this process is believed to see reality more clearly. He or she then repeats the Jesus Prayer unceasingly, focusing both on it and on the consciousness of his or her inner world, not letting the mind wander from either of these at all. There’s more to it, of course, and more advanced stages, but essentially this practice uses the constant repetition of a meaningful mantra, while simultaneously gazing both at God and at the inner self until the two become one.

So, if anyone decides to give this type of meditation a shot,  I recommend sticking with it for perhaps a couple of weeks before attempting the two other types that I’ll introduce: enlightenment meditation and secular meditation.  Again, although each of these has several variations, I’ll present only one or two of each. (My thought at this point is to briefly explain Kriya and Insight Meditation as forms of Enlightenment Meditation and Qi Qong and Mindfulness Meditation as forms of Secular Meditation.)

In the meantime, I’d be interested in hearing of your experiences and reactions to Devotional Meditation, should you attempt it. Please don’t hesitate to send feedback!