The Spiritual Discipline of Meditation

In our Western culture, we place great value on the ability to talk. We reward individuals who are articulate, quick on their feet, and can express themselves verbally. In fact, some of those who are most rewarded are those who can talk for long periods of time and say nothing. If you don’t believe this is true, turn on Monday Night Football and cover up the screen of the TV. Just listen to the audio! For that matter, you can learn the same thing just by leaving the TV on all day.

In fact, talking is so valued that we have entire radio networks devoted to just talk! And there is never a shortage of talkers. What is missing from our culture is the ability to listen. In fact, so rare is this skill that we pay professional listeners, psychologists and psychiatrists, to listen to us!

So what does all of this have to do with meditation? First off , the goal of meditation is to slow down the talking that goes on constantly in our brain. We chatter to ourselves incessantly. And for the most part, we are completely unconscious of this chatter. The process of meditation is designed to make us aware of this chatter and help us slowdown so God can get a word in edgewise.

How does this work? Begin by finding a place where you can sit quietly, where you will have no interruptions. Try it here, today. Invite someone to read Colossians 3:2-3 and then quietly focus on the passage. Can you feel your mind being tugged at from many directions? Reread the passage. Then quietly reflect. Do this as a group for five minutes.

What was it like? Were you surprised at all the thoughts you had? Were you surprised at the kinds of thoughts you had? How did you feel?

One of the easiest ways to practice this “stillness” is to pay attention to your breathing. Don’t make any e! ort to change how you breathe. Just notice when you are breathing in and when you are breathing out. At first, you will find yourself distracted from your breath by your thoughts. When you realize that you are not paying attention to your breath, just notice this and go back to focusing on your breathing.

This exercise is one way of preparing to listen, really listen for God. As in our human relationships, most of us spend most of our communication with God talking. And, interestingly enough, this constant talking gets in the way of our connection with God, just like it gets in the

way with our connection with other people. Few of us really listen, because we are constantly distracted by the chatter in our heads.

This skill of sitting quietly takes time to learn and develop. Be very gentle on yourself as you begin to practice. As you sit quietly, strong feelings may come up. You may feel things that don’t make sense to you. Don’t be overly anxious. As with the thoughts you think during this process, just acknowledge the feelings, feel them and let them go.

Sitting quietly in meditation helps us learn to really listen. We may not hear a voice when God speaks to us, but quieting the chatter will let us hear God.