Article by DR. DEAN CROSBY
THE POWER OF CHRISTIAN MEDITATION:Why,How,When
Over six hundred ( right,600) research studies have been conducted at more than two hundred and fifty (250 ) universities and research centers including Harvard, UCLA, and Stanford on meditation. To date these studies have been published in more than one hundred (100) journals which totally debunk the on-going opposition to meditation by some Christians. Here are some of the major benefits these extremely carefully conducted studies have documented:
MEDITATION HAS BEEN PROVEN TO:
* Increase flexible thinking * Increase non-impulsive proactive behavior * Improve decision-making * Increase in memory * Increase in focused attention * Improve the ability to overcome substance abuse and addictions * Improve ethical thinking and behavior * Increase energy and vitality * Create a better functioning cardiovascular system * Create a more balanced physiology * Create a stronger immune system * Improve self-confidence and self-esteem * Create feelings of safety and peace * Create more compassion and empathy for others * Improve interpersonal relations * Increase feelings of happiness and optimism
Meditation has even been successful in treating difficult to cure diseases and medical problems like hyper-activity disorder because of its remarkable ability to decrease stress.
The primary reason that people do not meditate is because they just don’t think they have the time for it.However meditation is so restful it actually saves time in its practitioners schedule by decreasing sleeping time.Specifically,30 minutes of daily meditation will decrease one’s sleep requirements by about one hour.
The primary religious objection to mediation is that non-Christian words are used for the phrase that is repeated to create and sustain the state of relaxation.That’s a simple problem to overcome,just create a Christian statement for your personal use. In fact words can be created to confirm ones spiritual beliefs while targeting a specific problem at the same time thus creating a potent and greatly beneficial spiritual and therapeutic exercise.An example of a beneficial affirmation is: “Jesus fills me with power and peace”.Others will choose to use a few words from a Bible verse which they want to gain greater insight into through relaxed and slow repetition.
Here are the very simple instructions to follow to successfully practice meditation:
1.Go in a room where you will not be distracted by people,pets or phones.2.Sit in a straight back chair.Close your eyes,put your feet on the floor and your hands in your lap.3.Take very deep slow breaths.Breathe in through your nose and then slowly out through your mouth.4. Keep focusing on your breaths by trying to visualize the air going in and out of your nose in the form of a cold weather vapor cloud.5.Continuously silently repeat your affirmation.6.Keep pushing out all other thoughts from your mind,try to concentrate only on your affirmation.
THAT’S AS SIMPLE AS IT IS !
To obtain the maximum benefit,meditate twice a day for 10-15 min.each time during those times of the day when you have time to be alone and are in need of some stress relief.However do not meditate close to your bedtime because it will remove so much of your tiredness that you may have trouble getting to sleep.
The human mind has been created by God so that it can be healed from this very simple natural exercise.Isn’t it tragic that some Christians try to discredit such a marvelous and simple tool for mental and physical health merely because those of other faiths also use it?
About the Author
Dr. Dean Crosby is a published author,instructor in New Testament studies, and Christian therapist. He holds a bachelors degree in communication,a masters degree in counseling,and a doctoral degree in psychology.He is the founder and director of the Christian Caring Center,a non-profit internet counseling agency.(https://secrets2meditation.com/goto/?url=http://drdeancrosby.tripod.com/christiancaringcenter/index.html) Dr. Crosby can be personally contacted at drdeancrosby@yahoo.com but information about his counseling center should be requested at appointments@christiancaringcenter.every1.net