It seems to me that if lectio divina is now being classified as New Age, or as it it were somehow to be comparable to labrynths, and/or centering prayer, then lectio divina has been hi-jacked, so to speak.
Lectio Divina is nothing more or less than meditation upon Sacred Scriptures. It is the reading of a text in scripture, reflecting on it as if every word was intended for oneself and as if every text is speaking of Christ, and is Christ speaking to oneself through Scripture. In this way of reflection and seeking the Lord in His written word, prayer becomes a time of conversation with Christ, a time of seeking in prayer, of repentance and of resolution.
Any text from Scripture may be chosen, for one is free to do that. But, for me as a Catholic, it is helpful to use the Scriptural texts from the Mass of that day—the same readings that fellow Catholics all over the world may be also meditating upon that day. And it has always been that the Divine Office (now known as the Liturgy of the Hours) is ideal for the prayer of lectio divina—from the Scriptural readings at Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer and Night Prayer. Those readings are primarily from the Psalms with an additional text from the OT or NT.
Praying the Scriptures by way of lectio divina, if done in the ancient and proper way, helps Scripture to be ever in the heart, and on the mind and the lips of the one who chooses this way of meditating on God’s Holy Word.
It should not be classified as the same as or as opposed to
‘proper hermeneutics’ or ‘proper exegesis’.
Lectio Divina is a mystical meditative practice that hijacked the repetitive mantras and mindset of the far east, replacing the words with Scripture, but accomplishing the same thing. It is not Christian meditation which means to think and study and pray (with your mind rather than emptying the mind).