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Christian Meditation

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(John Main) Attention In meditation our stillness is not a state of mere passivity but a state of full openness, full wakefulness to the wonder of our own being, ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Christian Meditation


1
Christian Meditation
2
Purpose of Meditation
  • The all-important aim in Christian Meditation is
    to allow Gods mysterious and silent presence
    within us to become more and more not only a
    reality, but the reality in our lives to let it
    become that reality which gives meaning, shape
    and purpose to everything we do, to everything we
    are.
  • (John Main)

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Position
  • To meditate well you should adopt a comfortable
    sitting position it must be comfortable and
    relaxed, but not sloppy. The back should be as
    straight as possible with the spine in an upright
    position.
  • Your breathing should be calm and regular. Allow
    every muscle in your body to relax. And then, put
    the mind in tune with the body. The real task of
    meditation is to achieve the harmony of body,
    mind and spirit.
  • (John Main)

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Attention
  • In meditation our stillness is not a state of
    mere passivity but a state of full openness, full
    wakefulness to the wonder of our own being, full
    openness to the wonder of God, and a full
    awareness that we are at one with God.
  • Meditation is a learning process. It is a process
    of learning to pay attention, to concentrate, to
    attend.
  • (John Main)

7
Attention
  • Be alert, be wakeful
  • (Mark 1333)
  • The light of the body is the eye if therefore
    thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full
    of light.
  • (Matt 622)
  • I tell you this unless you turn around and
    become like children, you will never enter the
    Kingdom of Heaven.
  • (Matt 181-4)

8
  • When attention seeks prayer it finds it. For it
    there is anything that marches in the train of
    attention it is prayer, and so it must be
    cultivated.
  • (Evagrius)

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  • Silence and solitude

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12
  • But when you pray, go into your room, shut the
    door, and pray to your father, who is there in
    the secret place and your Father who sees what
    is secret will reward you.
  • (Mat 6,6)

13
  • We pray in our room when we withdraw our hearts
    completely from the clatter of every thought and
    concern and disclose our prayers to the Lord in
    secret, as it were intimately. We pray with the
    door shut when, with closed lips and in total
    silence, we pray to the searcher not of voices
    but of hearts.
  • (Cassian)

14
  • Be still and know that I am God
  • But the Lord was not in the windnot in the
    earthquake.not in the fire and after the fire a
    sound of sheer silence.
  • (1 Kings 1913)

15
Go sit in your cell and your cell will teach you
everything
16
  • Amma Syncletica said, Many live on the mountain
    and behave as if they were living amongst the
    uproar of a city, and they are lost. It is
    possible while living amongst a crowd to be
    inwardly solitary, and while living alone to be
    inwardly beset by the crowd.

17
  • The importance of preparation

18
  • Whatever our soul was thinking about before the
    time of prayer inevitably occurs to us when we
    pray as a result of the way memory works.
    Therefore we must prepare ourselves before the
    time of prayer to be the prayerful persons that
    we wish to be.
  • (Cassian)

19
Thoughts, thoughts and once more thoughts
20
  • When we begin to meditate we recognize the
    constant whirl going on in our mind. Prayer is
    not a matter of adding to this confusion by
    trying to shout it down. The task of meditation
    is to bring all of this mobile and distracted
    mind to stillness, silence and concentration.
  • (John Main)

21
  • A brother came to Abba Pastor and said Many
    distracting thoughts come into my mind, and I am
    in danger because of them. Then the elder thrust
    him out in the open air and said Open up the
    garments about your chest and catch the wind in
    them. But he replied This I cannot do. So the
    elder said to him If you cannot catch the wind,
    neither can you prevent distracting thoughts from
    coming into your head.

22
  • When you are praying do not fancy the Divinity
    like some image formed within yourself.
  • (Evagrius)

23
  • Few Words
  • The Mantra is your surf board

24
You cant stop the waves or the thoughts, but you
can learn to surf!
25
  • In your prayers do not go babbling on like the
    heathen, who imagine that the more they say the
    more likely they are to be heard.
  • (Matt 67-8)
  • Prayer of the tax-gatherer O God, have mercy
    on me, sinner that I am.
  • (Luke 18 10-14)

26
  • A single word in intimacy is worth more than a
    thousand at a distance.
  • (Evagrius)

27
  • You should, I say, meditate constantly on this
    verse in your heart. You should not stop
    repeating it when you are doing any kind of work
    or performing some service or are on a journey.
    Meditate on it while sleeping and eating and
    attending to the leads needs of nature.
  • (Cassian)

28
Pernicious peace
29
  • Pray continually
  • (Thess 517)
  • They should persist in prayer and never lose
    heart
  • (Luke 18)
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