The Value of Meditation in the Life of a Christian

Article by Rhonda Jones

I have been a Christian now for almost 30 years and can tell you that my Christian walk prior to practicing meditation and being still before the Lord doesn’t even compare to my life afterward.

Through the practice of meditation I have and continue to learn how to quiet my mind and free it from the mental distractions so prevalent today. I have gained greater authority over my thoughts and what I allow to penetrate my mind and heart. I also feel much more in tuned with God through the Holy Spirit. Through meditation, I have created a greater space for God in my heart and mind because it’s not so bogged down with other stuff and a greater insight to the scriptures.

I don’t meditate because it’s a fad, in fact, on most mornings I’d prefer to do something else. Sitting in silence and meditating on the scriptures for 30 minutes in my natural mind seems unfruitful. It’s no different than eating healthy or performing regular exercise. If I could just throw caution to the wind and live a life of self-indulgence with out consequences, I’d be the first in line.

I meditate, not because I want to, but because I have to if I want to maintain my peace of mind, deny myself, get closer to God, detach from worldly philosophies and renew my mind. For me, entering into God presences is much like in the Old Testament, when Moses entered the Tent of Meetings or the priests entered the Holy of Holies to dwell in the presence of God. It is said that when Moses left the Tent that his body was so illuminated that no one could look at him. When I leave the presence of God, I often feel the same. God’s peace, joy, and love overtake me and I feel empowered.

Meditation is a tool that helps me to realize God in a more intimate and spiritual way. The Bible says that God is a Spirit. If we only try to understand God with our physical mind, we are missing out on so much of who God is because our mind is only one dimensional and of limited understanding. 1 Corinthains 2 tells us that The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God…This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

Romans 8: 26-27 declares, In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through “wordless” groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Meditating on God’s word, being still before him, and dwelling in his presence provides us with a wonderful opportunity to connect with God on a level deeper than mere words or thoughts can suffice. Just like a bike can be an instrument for promoting physical fitness- meditation promotes mental, emotional, and spiritual fitness.

As Christians, we can get caught up in the logistics of meditation, but the logistics really aren’t all that important. To meditate means to ponder, contemplate, reflect, and focus. Your objective for meditation will determine the method that you use. If you want to quiet your mind and eliminate toxic thinking, meditating on a mantra, sacred word, or passage of scripture is a good start. Meditation does not have to be a spiritual or religious experience. Many people meditate for stress relief and relaxation.

Jesus said that we must decrease so that God can increase in us. The Apostle said that we must die daily. God wants us to die to ourselves so that he can indwell us. However, if we are filled with self, it leaves little room for God to enter in. Through various methods of meditation, we can become a vessel that God can use.

Whether as Christians we meditate on a sacred word, inspirational text, the Word of God, or even just dwell in God’s presence or even use a guided Christian meditation Cd or recording, we are fulfilling God’s command to “be still and know that I am God” and to “wait upon him.” It is when we are still before the Lord that our knowledge, intimacy, and relationship with Him can grow.

About the Author

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Soothe and Relax Your Inner-Self with Spirit Voyage Music

Article by Ayaz Khan

Music is a new entrant in two age old practices – yoga and meditation. Both these two meditative disciplines have been practiced for the last 5,000 years. Since Vedic era till date, human beings are reaping myriad benefits of the ancient Eastern art, Yoga. Meditation is an intellectual part of this physical practice. When some refer yoga as a physical art, some people say it is a Vedic philosophy. Even for its scientific base, yoga is also perceived as a science of health and healing. In a word, yoga is a boon for the whole human race from every perspective. The main aim of both yoga and meditation is to help an individual reach a higher level of self-consciousness by creating a balance between mind, body and soul. Music only elevates mind sensations with its healing and calming effect.

When we are discussing about music for yoga and meditation, it does not encompass every style or genre but only the calm and soothing kind of music, preferably the devotional and spiritual one. Yoga music and meditation music are two such types used respectively for two different practices. In meditation, mind needs to be free from all unwanted thoughts. It is only possible by soothing and relaxing the mind. And this is the sole purpose of meditation music, healing the human mind and body from various emotional and psychological imbalances. This kind of music reduces the stress-level and helps the mind to relax. Thus, it deepens the thought process and awakens the inner-self.

So, if you are searching for some really good music for meditation, then Spirit Voyage is probably the best available source. A different online record label company, Spirit Voyage has a remarkable collection where you will find the best of kundalini yoga music cds, yoga mp3 downloads, yoga books, yoga clothes, yoga dvds, yoga retreats, yoga mats and more. The music collection includes Aquarian Sadhana or Kundalini Sadhana Music for daily morning sadhana, music for deep relaxation or Savasana and compiled collection of Japji Sahib and Daily Banis comprised of beautiful recitation of the sacred daily prayer.

Sounds of metal and crystal can also be a great instrument in creating the perfect ambiance for meditation. Spirit Voyage’s Gongs, Bells and Bowls section includes those instrumental music which has the profound healing effect on the human mind and soul. And its Healing and Massage Therapy Music section is just ideal for a relaxing massage therapy session or a healing reiki session. Relax and rejuvenate your mind, body and soul by listening to such healing tunes in a beautiful spa session.

Spirit Voyage’s yoga music collection is also great to make your yoga session blissful in true sense. From high energy yoga practicing music to soft and serene yoga music for practicing Kundalini yoga and sacred chanting of Sanskrit mantras. one can find it all here. It also offers percussion-driven albums with beautiful instrumental accompaniment, Downtempo and Chill Music for a hip yogi lounge. The tranquil vocal numbers of these music CDs and albums are some of the soulful contribution of renowned devotional singers such as Snatam Kaur, Deva Premal, Donna De Lory, Gurmukh, WAH!, for evoking the spiritual sense within.

Browse through its extensive music collection which has some marvellous latest additions including Gong II by Dr. Hari Simran Singh Khalsa, Mantras from the Soul by Guru Amrit Kaur, Touch of Naam by Gurunam Joseph Michael Levry, Gratitude (Relaxing Native American Flute Music) by David and Steve Gordon, Beautiful Day: The Aquarian Sadhana by Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa etc. Main aim of this online music company is to help and guide the worldwide yoga aspirants to involve yoga in their daily lives.

Its yoga DVD collection is also made to guide yoga practitioners by providing useful information on how to practice yoga properly. The yoga clothes and the different accessories such as yoga mats, yoga rugs, meditation cushions that Spirit Voyage offers are immensely helpful for a yoga practitioner. Yoga along with its different forms like Kundalini yoga, Ashtanga yoga, Vinayasa yoga etc. have been explained with detail audio-visual illustrations on each of these yoga DVDs. Practice a suitable yoga DVD for yourself and start practicing yoga at your home today.

About the Author

The author writes for Spirit Voyage, an online music store that offers different CDs and DVDs for practicing kundalini Yoga and other yoga forms. It also offers Yoga Mats and Yoga Clothes.

A History of Meditation

Article by Jane Michael

There is limited knowledge concerning the history of meditation, but some researchers think that meditation could have been discovered when people sat at campsite fires thousands of years ago and looked at the flames. This theory goes well with the known fact that staring at a candle flame can induce one type of meditation. As time passed different forms of it were developed. Books from India called tantras speak of this type of prayer as far back as five thousand years ago. Archaeologists discovered a statue of a yogi in the Indus Valley Civilization and this shows that meditation in the practice of yoga could be as ancient as the first Indian civilization.

Buddha was a big advocate of meditation. He became established as a teacher about 500 B.C. His ideas were stretched into various Asian countries and in other places people created different forms of meditation based on his teachings. In Islam the Sufi tradition of meditation was purported and the leaders (Sufis) think that when Mohamed began Islam that is when meditation started with that religion. Meditation is part of Christianity, Jainism, Judaism, and aboriginal religions.

Zen Buddhism is a philosophy that advocates meditating to discover the meaning of life. Zen came from Buddhism and it has spawned Taoism, Confucianism, and Indian spiritualism. Taoism basically means the way. It began as a philosophy but ended up as a religion. Taoist meditation concentrates on stopping outward sensory information from coming into your mind. It utilizes breathing techniques. It has ideas that are like those of Hindu and Buddhist kinds of meditative thought. But it isn

Yoga – Yoga Asanas and Their Benefits

Article by Galiana Retreat

Yoga is a Sanskrit word and refers to the practice of meditation for the spiritual and physical well being of a person. Yoga has deep roots with Buddhism being probably one of the earliest religions talking about the various meditative practices. Hinduism