Contemplative Practice In Judeo-Christianity

This paper is about my experience with mindfulness based meditation and scientific inquiry of these experiences. Mindfulness based meditation is describes as technique used to cultivate nonreactive, non-judgmental and stable awareness of the present moment (Garland and Gaylord, 2009). The end goal is to sustain this meta-cognitive state for a long period of time. I practiced non-denominational form of mindfulness based meditation for the first time in my psychology class, which was devoted towards intellectual and experiential examination of meditation. The practice was conducted in a group it was instructed by our own professor and it begun at the end of class. There was one sessions per week and each session was structured meaning it was

In (Matthew 6:6 NIV), Jesus explains the merits of praying to the lord God and the reward of inner peace, “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret: and your father who sees in secret will reward you.” It is through this conversation with God that Christians pursue peace in their lives. Prayer can either be private or communal, spontaneous prayer is one way that charismatic communities can come closer to God. The act of prayer allows believers to have a personal conversation with God; it alleviates stress attributed to the monotony of everyday life. Besides prayer, meditation is another way of attaining inner peace, it is an ancient practice within the Christian tradition, which has undertaken a recent revival, a global group that reaffirms the concept of praying and meditating for inner peace is Taizé. Not as popular as prayer and meditation, Lectio Divina, generally known as bible studies is a way for Christians to feel connected to God and to finally attain inner peace. The studying of the sacred scriptures on a day to day basis and reflecting on prayers also maintain a continual connection with God. It is vital to maintain equilibrium between prayer and service, whereby an individual fathoms the notion ‘ora et labora’, in order to equally partake in both prayer, and the concept of action whereby ora develops inner peace, which is mirrored through the

Mindfulness is another way of meditation. Meditation was used to seek to improve one’s psychological or physical health, or spiritual growth. (Brantley, 2007). The history of Mindfulness comes from Buddhism and his search for enlightenment and a foundation of the four noble truths. The Buddha teaching focus on the four noble truths which consist of knowing suffering exists, there is a cause of suffering, there is cessation of suffering and there is a path that leads to the cessation of suffering. (Van Gordon, 2015). The four noble truths were not only there to represent the Buddha’s experiential understanding of suffering, but also to express the truth (Van Gordon, 2015). Studies of Buddhism and the Four Noble Truths teach us that there is always going to be suffering in our life but to find ways to overcome suffering (Tsering, 2005).

Alertness and awareness are key terms to live in full consciousness. Living by these terms allow individuals to absorb detail and recognize the, “moment,” that is now. Absorbed and conscious of any activity in life is the preferred lifestyle to live. Thoreau suggests, “God himself culminates in the present moment, and will never be more divine in the lapse of all the ages,” (Thoreau 707). The use of allusion is used to express the idea that living in the moment that is, “now,” is preferred because God focuses on the, “now,” rather than the past or future. The great use of a holy being applied in the allusion causes an emphasis to follow a conscious lifestyle. Also, the spiritual being is used to encourage individuals to focus on the present.

This essay is far from exhaustive in the realm of shared practices between the faiths. If this inexplicable agreement is not enough to reassure those who are experiencing doubt that there must be some underlying truth that has led these disparate faith traditions to such similar conclusions about practice, then there is nothing that will reassure such doubt. In addition to those doubting that there can be any discernable or trustworthy truth found in religions, this notable set of points of agreement should serve to reassure the adherents of both faith traditions. Just as in common speech it is reassuring to hear that someone agrees with you after they have put significant thought into the topic at hand, it should be reassuring to Catholics and Buddhists to know that each faith tradition supports at least some considerable number of the other tradition’s

on either goods of the body, or external goods. When one leads a contemplative life, one only needs goods of the soul. Reason being, that when one lives only to learn and understand things, outside forces are irrelevant. Granted, even when living the contemplative life, one needs a certain degree of bodily good; namely decent health, but one does not need abundance. One needs no external goods in the way of praise or money, because the contemplative life consists of self-assurance and self-reliance. There would be no high-minded men if there were no one there to praise them. There would be no truly courageous men if there were no wars. High-minded men need honor, courageous men need both internal and external goods, yet the purely contemplative man needs little or none of the aforementioned, therefore explaining how the contemplative life transcends issues that the moral, virtuous life cannot

Contemplation can be defined as the ‘action of looking at something thoughtfully for a period of time’ or ‘deep reflective thoughts’. (Oxford Dictionaries, 2016) Within religious faiths, contemplation can be explained as ‘religious practices where a person seeks to extend beyond mental images and concepts of a divine presence in order to have a direct experience with that presence.’ (Oxford Dictionaries, 2016) Contemplation in Roman Catholicism, Reform Judaism and Sunni Islam is a way of deepening the understanding and strengthening the connection with a higher divine presence, such as God. The above religious denominations incorporate similarities and differences when it comes to their particular understandings and practices of contemplation.

Before this chapter, I understood that we must pray to speak to God but I didn’t know the meditating concept to properly perform prayer. Meditating can take place any time any day, I just have to allow the time and quiet space for that to happen. I believe with meditation I will become less stressed during my day and grow closer to God. CHAPTER 3 1. Prayer is one of the greatest spiritual discipline because it allows us to communicate to God.

Christianity, although broadly diverse in its own right, shares commonalities regarding spirituality and the use of contemplation to achieve a higher form of intellect. Contemplation can be perceived in various ways in different contexts according to the religion in which it is being practiced. Contemplation for many is personal, experiential knowledge of God’s love and devotion. Contemplation is a sense of enlightenment and substantial awareness of the opening of the body and mind to God. It can be defined as both a sense of “concentration on spiritual things as a form of private devotion,” or, “a state of mystical awareness of God’s being.” Catholicism vastly interrelates with Mahayana (Buddhism) and Hinduism with their shared values

Meditation is a mental exercise used to reach a heightened level of spiritual and mental awareness thru repeating one's mantra and breath. Although the practice sounds simple in itself and doesn’t sound like there would be much room for an expansion and growth as a practice, it has still managed to grow into an umbrella term with a rich history and a wide verity of different meditation that people practice. Some even date back before the Buddhist monks in early 2,500 B.C. People have been practicing meditation for years from the Catholic monasteries, to the Desert Father, and throughout the Buddhist monasteries across Asia. However, unlike apophatic meditation form the branches of meditation that can be found as most beneficial is the Kataphatic (also known as Cataphatic) meditation form which can be found nearly across the entire board as one of the most beneficial things a person’s physical and psychological health, as well as it is of the best ways for people to

* God's Love. Christian Meditation is done to adore God, feel His love, and share His love. God's love is the center of this activity.

We hear the word Mindfulness being used a lot today, whereas not so long ago it was all about Meditation.

In the 8th Century, a monk performing Mass found himself deep in thought. After much speculation, this particular monk still struggled to understand how

The Apostle Paul says that we should rejoice always (Phil. 4:4). The basis of our attitude is not on our circumstances but on the character of God. Philippians 4: 8-9, tells us what we should have our minds set on. It will take verbal and mental discipline as Christians to develop the characteristics of a healing church.

The origins of meditation have been mostly religious, especially religion as practiced in the monasteries. Monks and nuns, both in Christian and non-Christian groups, like Buddhism, are still the ones who professedly practice meditation on a daily basis for long periods of time, even hours. Some who have practiced it have experienced the beneficial effects this practice has brought to them and so have encouraged to use this exercise to improve their physical and mental health.