Mantra Meditation
What Exactly is Mantra Meditation?
(from A
Time of Departing)
"The
meditation most of us are familiar with involves a deep, continuous
thinking about something. But New Age meditation does just the opposite. It involves ridding oneself
of all thoughts in order to still the
mind by putting it in the equivalent of pause or neutral.
A comparison would be that of turning a fast-moving stream
into a still pond. When meditation is employed by damming
the free flow of thinking, it holds back active thought and
causes a shift in consciousness. This condition is not to
be confused with daydreaming, where the mind dwells on a subject.
New Age meditation works as a holding mechanism until the
mind becomes thoughtless, empty and silent." Read
more
Mantra
Meditation Goes Nation Wide!
TIME
Magazine ...
Devotes August 2004 issue to meditation!
"The popularity of Buddhist practice among Christians has grown substantially during the last two decades, said John Cowan, author of Taking Jesus Seriously: Buddhist Meditations for Christians ..." read more
" We that are Born Again have been spiritually birthed into a personal relationship with God. We know Him for ourselves and we commune with Him one-on-one. Nothing is more contrary to us than for someone to prescribe a religious mantra or to create a system that makes us bound within that system." - Joseph Chambers - Paw Creek Ministries
"Meditation is clearly a form of self-hypnosis as the participant repeats the phrases over and over again concentrating on the sound not the meaning." —Mike Oppenheimer, Let Us Reason Ministries
Not
Prayer But Mystical Meditation
by Christine Narloch
"Contemplative Prayer is not Biblical prayer at all, rather it is a type of mystical meditation leading the mind into an altered state of consciousness. It goes beyond thought, providing an experiential union with so-called God or with nature producing body sensations, feelings, images, and reflections. It is based on "experiences" rather than sound doctrine. " ... give attendance ... to doctrine." 1 Timothy 4:13.
Faith is to be based on God’s word rather than experiences. "So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17, "For we walk by faith, not by sight:" 2 Corinthians 5:7.
Contemplative Prayer is also known as centering prayer, listening prayer, breath prayer, and prayer of the heart. It is just one of many mystical practices taught within a confusing, mixed-up movement called Contemplative Spirituality.
Mystical practices are now widely embraced and taught in secular and professed Christian seminaries, colleges, universities, organizations, ministries and seminars, etc. throughout the United States.
Academic promoters have introduced these practices into the fields of medicine, business and law while countless secular and Christian books, magazines, seminars and retreats are teaching lay people how to incorporate them into their daily lives.
Promoters promise physical, mental and spiritual benefits desiring to bring about positive social change. One promoter of mystical practices, the "Center for Contemplative Mind in Society," states:
They "can play a part in the positive transformation of governments, businesses, and organizations. We are dedicated to the idea that contemplative awareness, when incorporated into contemporary life, can help produce a more just, compassionate, and reflective society." —CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER: SEDUCING SPIRITS AND A DOCTRINE OF DEVILS
