LTRP Note: While New Age meditative practices (including “mindfulness” meditation) have integrated into all facets of our Western society, including the church, for some time, there has been an even stronger push for them since coronavirus began. Purveyors of eastern-style meditation are using the elevated levels of stress that the “pandemic” has caused to sell the idea that we need meditation practices to help alleviate that stress. The following letter to the editor gives one example (see links below for other examples).
Dear Lighthouse Trails:
I’m sending you this on the off chance you were not aware of Kaiser’s increasing mystical bent. A search for references to Kaiser or Kaiser Permanente on your site came up empty.
This morning I found email from Kaiser Permanente in my regular inbox. This isn’t unusual because my mother-in-law has been enrolled with them for some time, and Kaiser sends her several emails after each of her cancer treatments. Since she “doesn’t do the Internet,” my wife has directed Kaiser’s email to our account. I usually just drop them in a folder without reading them since they contain no info that her doctor hasn’t already given her. But among the messages today is a link to Kaiser’s “Emotional Wellness Tools,” which includes various apps for “mental health and emotional wellness.” It seems Kaiser has taken note of “these stressful times” and has taken it upon themselves to be guardians of much more than physical health.
On one page of their website, we read:
“Everyone needs support for total health — mind, body, and spirit. These wellness apps can help you navigate life’s challenges, and make small changes to improve your sleep, mood, relationships, and more. It’s self-care made easy, designed to help you live well and thrive.”
There’s an app called “Calm” which features “More than 100 guided meditations” and other “mindfulness tools.” Another app is called “myStrength” (sic) which includes more “Mindfulness and meditation activities” as well as “Tailored programs for managing depression, stress, anxiety, and more.”
Got that? And MORE! From a mainstream healthcare provider!! I’m glad my mother-in-law isn’t computer literate, or she might be exposed to this poison.
We are living in a virtual ashram. The only antidote is the Gospel; God’s offer of eternal life as a free gift, received by simply believing in Christ as one’s Savior.
Thank you for your attention.
Charles F.
Other examples of pushing meditation because of coronavirus (posted for informational and research purposes and not as an endorsement of content or source):
Chicago Expands Mental Health Supports During COVID-19 Crisis
Headspace is offering free mindfulness courses to unemployed Americans
Edward Jones: How We’re Adapting to the COVID-19 ‘New Normal’
Allianz Partners launches student support program
Coronavirus: How Nike is letting athletes teach workouts during COVID-19 pandemic
Baylor University: Global Experts Launch Online Guide for Life, Death During COVID-19 Era
Calvin University: Practicing Mindfulness in a Time of Pandemic
(photo from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission)
This must be happening everywhere. I live in Ohio and so many doctors (including some of mine) have gone out of private practice and been gobbled up by hospitals and other medical groups. Mount Carmel hospital has become a behemoth here and doctors that I have had for a decade are now controlled by Mount Carmel and its rules and policies and thus the patients are also controlled. I now get regular, preachy emails from Mount Carmel advising me about things like doing yoga and the like. I replied to them with a snarky email asking if I should also get a guru and/or go to India and join an Ashram. Other hospitals in my area are also pushing this stuff. Friends I know from church see nothing wrong with yoga or The Shack or The Message and after I have hesitantly offered my information and they have no interest I don’t warn again.
Thank you Charles for this warning about Kaiser Permanente and other mainstream healthcare providers that are pushing New Age Mindfulness Meditation to help people deal with Covid-19. Pushing Mystical Mindlessness from the eastern-religions of long ago. The New Age has infiltrated our entire society. Michigan Gov. Whitmer has introduced Headship Launch To help people deal with this Covid-19 . A virus that is on its 19th mutation. We can also add Calvin University which is doing the same thing. All we can do is pray for people that may try this false meditation and that they turn from it. We pray they come to Christ who is our great healer.
Years ago when a sister-in-law and a friend went to work for the local public school system, Kaiser Permanente was the health insurance they were provided with. Both of them had some very real concerns about it, did not receive (what they considered to be) acceptable medical treatment.
Neither of them knew the other one; they told this to me independently of each other. Even though it was “free” of charge to them, they both said it turned to be deceptively expensive.
And now there’s this deception in the guise of offering “mental health”. How sad, tragic, this is, because so many people will fall for it, no doubt even some professing Christians.
The Lord has been bringing this warning to my mind over the last couple of days:
“MY people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6