While some people use the terms, ‘prayer’ and ‘meditation’ interchangeably and, often, link the two as ‘prayer and meditation,’ my studies have shown me they are different. My working definition of ‘prayer’ is when we talk to God, the Goddess, the Higher Power, Angels, and Spirit Guides; my interpretation of ‘meditation’ is when God, the Goddess, the Higher Power, Angels, and Spirit Guides speak with us.
Sometimes, religious denominations, especially Christian sects, seem to fear ‘meditation’ and they may shy away from using the word, ‘meditation’ to describe one of the ways we connect with Spirit. Perhaps they draw conclusions based on Hindu or Buddhist traditions of medication and think of it like this: “Basically, religious people use prayer to establish a deeper connection with God. Meditation, on the other hand, does not involve a connection with a higher power. Rather, the goal is for you to form a connection with yourself” (https://www.doctorpedia.com/channels/the-differences-between-prayer-and-meditation/). This kind of thinking, however, is limiting. Yes, some meditation practitioners may not connect to Spirit. Still, many, many do.
Christians, and other organized religions, need not shun mediation because meditating does not “fly in the face” of traditional religious practices. Shyann Swearingen of Christian Disciplines wrote in her article “Christian Prayer Vs. Meditation: The Biblical Answer,” “What are the differences between Christian prayer and meditation? The key difference between prayer and meditation is: prayer is making your requests known to God and opening up to him like you would a best friend, whereas meditation is taking the time to listen to what God has to say to you through reading and digging deeper into the Bible. Growing up [,] I always thought meditation is something only yoga people did and actually thought it was a sin, but meditation is something we are called to do in Joshua 1:8” (https://justdisciple.com/prayer-vs-meditation/). Ms. Swearingen describes the reaction some Christian family members and friends have when ‘meditation’ is mentioned. They shy away from meditation because they are under an erroneous view of the practice.
‘Meditation’ is not a religion. For that matter, God/Goddess is not a religion. Nicole Spector, wrote in her article for NBC, shares the work of Dr. David Spiegel, psychiatrist: “Prayer and meditation are highly effective in lowering our reactivity to traumatic and negative events” (qtd. in https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/your-brain-prayer-meditation-ncna812376). While prayer may make us feel better because we have shifted the burden of concerns to a Higher Power, the problem still exists of “thoughts and prayers” as an ineffective response to a tragedy such as a school shooting or tornado destruction or war. “Thoughts and prayers” are, in essence, devoid of action. Also, this phrase can often sound like a shade of schadenfreude, the condition of being relieved something bad didn’t happen to you or deriving pleasure from another’s adversity. Simply saying, “thoughts and prayers” does not indicate action will result.
In meditation, however, we can ask Spirit to reveal to us the appropriate action to take and, once we have detached from waiting and expecting an answer, Spirit will let us know the divine next step. Because meditation is rooted in the present moment - now, it is being mindful of your breath, of being quiet, of simply being right here and right now. Thoughts and other distractions are put aside. Meditation is not about you; it’s about God, the Goddess, Angels, and Spirit Guides speaking to you. It’s about their best for you and for all situations.
The highly respected Mayo Clinic recommends mediation for our emotional and physical well-being: “When you meditate, you may clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress.
The emotional and physical benefits of meditation can include:
* Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
* Building skills to manage your stress
* Increasing self-awareness
* Focusing on the present
* Reducing negative emotions
* Increasing imagination and creativity
* Increasing patience and tolerance
* Lowering resting heart rate
* Lowering resting blood pressure
* Improving sleep quality
* Meditation and illness
Meditation might also be useful if you have a medical condition, especially one that may be worsened by stress. While a growing body of scientific research supports the health benefits of meditation, some researchers believe it's not yet possible to draw conclusions about the possible benefits of meditation.
With that in mind, some research suggests that meditation may help people manage symptoms of conditions such as:
* Anxiety
* Asthma
* Cancer
* Chronic pain
* Depression
* Heart disease
* High blood pressure
* Irritable bowel syndrome
* Sleep problems
* Tension headaches” (https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858).
If you have never tried to meditate or you have tried and can’t still your mind and body, I encourage you to choose to meditate every day. For example, if you have a prayer time each day to share your list of concerns and ask for things in your life, you could follow up with meditation. It’s a practice just like learning any skill. There are many approaches to meditation, so, you may want to try several to see what works best for you. And, keep in mind, you may wish to combine approaches. Here is a partial list of methods of meditation:
Observing your breath mediations - during this form of meditation, you could use yogic breathing techniques, pranayama. Check out for 5 ways to breathe in meditation practice: https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/yoga-sequences/importance-breath-yoga/. Because I am challenged by ADHD, starting my meditation with simple yogic breathing helps me get out of my thoughts on readies me to listen for Spirit’s guidance.
Guided meditations - Yes, there’s an app for that! I like Insight Timer (It’s free and has a meditation timer to help you. https://insighttimer.com) and Headspace (It’s not free, but, it’s not expensive. https://www.headspace.com). Others include Calm ( I believe you can try it for free. https://www.calm.com). My favorite go-to are the Morning and Evening Meditations guided by Louise Hay (https://www.amazon.com/Morning-and-Evening-Meditations-audiobook/dp/B0002P0GRK/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=).
Moving meditations - Qi Gong and Tai Chi combine breathing techniques, balance, glow, graceful movements in a prescribed process. Yoga is also a moving meditation.
Transcendental and Mantra meditations - both involve repeating a word or phrase in a specific way to focus your attention away from your incessant mind thinking to being in the moment.
Conscious awareness meditations - rather than free-floating thoughts and intrusive thoughts, your observe the thoughts and let them pass on without judgment.
Nature meditations - Perhaps you are like me in that you effectively, deeply connect with Spirit in nature. Listening to and looking at the elements of nature can enhance your meditation practice.
Sound & Tone meditations - “…a sound meditation uses vibration and frequency to clear the mind enabling a deeper meditative experience, and the benefits are scientifically proven. If you’re not sure what a sound meditation is think church bells, chanting, the aboriginal [didgeridoo]” (https://vyrao.com/en-us/blogs/news/what-is-sound-mediation-chris-connors-of-opo-tells-us-everything). Meditation apps will have sounds that resonate and vibrate with your energies. Check out the apps I listed above and also opo app if you are on an iPhone. Also, check out https://mindeasy.com/the-9-solfeggio-frequencies-and-their-benefits/ to learn about solfeggio frequencies. They are specific tones that positively affect your body and mind depending on the hertz. Binaural beats are, “When two tones of slightly different frequencies are played in separate ears simultaneously (usually through headphones), the human brain perceives the creation of a new, third tone, whose frequency is equivalent to the difference between the two tones being played. This auditory illusion is called a binaural beat. For example, if a person hears a tone of 405 Hz in one ear and a tone of 415 Hz in the other, they would be hearing a binaural beat with a frequency of 10 Hz. Binaural beats are said to provide many of the same benefits as meditation: lower stress, increase focus, aid with sleep and relaxation, boost mood, assist with pain management, and foster creativity” (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/binaural-beats).
Light meditations - “White light meditation is the meditation technique that will guide you through the processes of engaging and activating the powerful healing network within you. Each of our bodies has the capacity and ability to heal itself. The human body is actually quite adept at doing this. Using the white light meditation will allow you to focus your energy into the holy aspect of healing which will expand and purify through your mind, body, and spirit” (https://meditatingworks.com/white-light-meditation/). While ‘white’ light and ‘golden light’ is often used in meditation visualization, other colors also may be envisioned. For example, the seven colors associated with the body’s chakras may also be beneficial. As you know, the ‘chakras’ are 7 energy centers in your body. If this is a new term for you, here is an email that does a good job of explaining chakras: https://www.healthline.com/health/what-are-chakras#the-7-main-chakras. In addition, your chakras can get out of alignment and specific chakra-balancing guided meditations on YouTube or in apps I’ve mentioned above, can be helpful. If you are local to the Shreveport/Bossier City, Louisiana area, a good friend of mine, Holly Beshea, uses the latest in bitfield technology to identify energy blockages within your body, your chakras, and your energy field. She also provides solfeggio frequency MP3 based on your chakra readings to heal your chakras and align your energies. To set up an energy reading with Holly, call the Peace of Mind Center at 318-219-8344. Holly has helped me tremendously.
You may be wondering, “Have you ever fallen asleep during meditation?” Yes, many times! The deep calm and relaxation of meditation lulls me into sleep. The great news about that is when I fall asleep during meditation, I still have downloads from Spirit that come through my dreams. Here is the process I usually follow for my meditation practice:
Set aside the time to meditate first thing in the morning and last thing at night. I close the door so I will be by myself. I communicate with others that I’m about to meditate and set up the boundary not to be disturbed.
Light a candle or candles, light incense, dim the lights - while this is not a critical step to meditating, it helps me set the sacred tone for meditation.
Play Tibetan singing bowls or a tiny steel drum - music without words/sounds; I often listen to “33 Bowls” on my Insight Timer app. Sometimes, I listen to binaural beats or a specific solfeggio frequency.
Then, I start my Insight Timer to 10 minute duration and a starting bell (I like Kangse.), the ambient sound of Deep Om, and the ending bell (I like Basu.).
After the starting bell, I take three slow, cleansing yogic breaths. Usually, on the inhale, I focus on breathing in peace and love and exhale anger, fear, aggression, conflict, chaos.
After the ending bell, I jot down the revelations and downloads God, the Goddess, Angels, and Spirit Guides have shared with me. And, I often find that, after meditation, I am filled with gratitude, so, I write at least 3 things I am grateful for in my gratitude notebook.
There is no right way/wrong way to pray and meditate. There are so many benefits on talking with Spirit and creating space for Spirit to speak to us, and, I only mentioned a few. For me, prayer gets things off my chest that I cannot do anything about ; mediation puts those concerns aside while Spirit downloads perspectives and solutions.
Are you a praying person? Do you also meditate? If so, why/why not? I’d love to hear your thoughts on prayer and meditation. If you read this blog essay on social media, please type your comments below. Or, if you read this blog post in your subscription, please share your thoughts in an email to me at reimaginelife21@gmail.com. Thank you for reading this blog post; I hope it adds some fresh perspectives.
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