Posted on 07/14/2009 11:56:55 AM PDT by GonzoII
The Catechism of the Catholic Church on the subject of contemplative prayer:
2709 What is contemplative prayer? St. Teresa answers: "Contemplative prayer [oracion mental] in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us."6 Contemplative prayer seeks him "whom my soul loves."7 It is Jesus, and in him, the Father. We seek him, because to desire him is always the beginning of love, and we seek him in that pure faith which causes us to be born of him and to live in him. In this inner prayer we can still meditate, but our attention is fixed on the Lord himself.
2710 The choice of the time and duration of the prayer arises from a determined will, revealing the secrets of the heart. One does not undertake contemplative prayer only when one has the time: one makes time for the Lord, with the firm determination not to give up, no matter what trials and dryness one may encounter. One cannot always meditate, but one can always enter into inner prayer, independently of the conditions of health, work, or emotional state. The heart is the place of this quest and encounter, in poverty ant in faith.
2711 Entering into contemplative prayer is like entering into the Eucharistic liturgy: we "gather up:" the heart, recollect our whole being under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, abide in the dwelling place of the Lord which we are, awaken our faith in order to enter into the presence of him who awaits us. We let our masks fall and turn our hearts back to the Lord who loves us, so as to hand ourselves over to him as an offering to be purified and transformed.
beautiful.
Care to touch this?
Here’s some info about contemplative prayer:
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/cp.htm
“Definition of Contemplative Spirituality: a belief system that uses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of consciousness (the silence) and is often wrapped in Christian terminology; the premise of contemplative spirituality is pantheistic (God is all) and panentheistic (God is in all).”
and here:
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/contemplativeprayerraybook.htm
“To my dismay, I discovered this ‘mystical silence’ is accomplished by the same methods used by New Agers to achieve their silence—the mantra and the breath!”
There is external worship and interior worship. Interior worship involves a life dedicated to God and at the level of Unity with the Divine, a respect for those who also seek interior worship develops. Religious and cultural boundries matter little.
Those that criticize what they have never experienced are looked upon for what they are: poor souls who may be immature spiritually and would benefit from guidance or evil individuals who just use a series of beliefs to fleece the flocks.
The earliest apostles and disciples of the Lord were indeed mystics and contemplatives. When the Lord teaches 'to be perfect', 'perfect' is translated from the Greek telios which meeans 'Completeness in God' -- the mystical state of Unity with the Divine!
It’s not “my” web site. But it is full of good information.
You are certainly entitled to your views and beliefs. But they are not consistent with biblical Christianity.
I wouldn’t touch contemplative prayer... dangerous.
Polly
Now what part of the Lord's prayer above is not Biblical Christianity?
For me, it wasn't my choice -- the Lord called me. Contemplative prayer is a respectful response.
Jesus is praying for believers to be “one,” or unified, as brothers and sisters in Christ. That is completely different from being “one with the Divine,” which is a core concept of new age spirituality and the Eastern religions. ;-)
Look at the branches, vine and the vine dresser or dozens of other passages. They all speak to the same thing.
Maybe it would be helpful for you to describe how your beliefs are different from new age or Eastern religious beliefs? It sounds like that’s where you are coming from and are using the Bible to fit your new age/Eastern spirituality.
I've shared spiritual experiences for 30+ years with folks of all religions and non-religions. I've shared my firm belief with them about Christianity and tried my best to carry forward The Great Commission. I've not made these other faiths my own but have been realistic that everyone is on an individual spiritual path based on what they have experienced in life.
There are some good articles here about mystics of the past, and other topics on contemplative spirituality here:
http://www.atimeofdeparting.com/articles.htm
Check out this one:
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/contemplativeprayerarticlebyray.pdf
The Episcopal denomination has opened itself up to new-age spirituality. In fact, yesterday I read a quote from a bishop who spoke at some big conference recently, and she says some things that are clearly new-age in nature. The belief that “everyone is on an individual spiritual path based on what they have experienced in life” does not sound like a viewpoint that is in line with biblical Christianity. There are a lot of so-called “Christian” churches that believe they are following the teachings of the Bible, but they are not. New age spirituality and practices have infiltrated all kinds of “Christian” churches, including those that used to be truly biblical.
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” —2 Timothy 4:3
Years ago, when I was being rejected by my fundamentalist church, the Lord put a New Age "lightworker" in my path to share with. We shared stories of rejection and humiliation because of what God has given us as a gift. She helped me realize it is how we walk humbly with God in our day to day lives and not where we go to church on Sundays.
There again there are those who always have to be right and thrive on argument and discord. Whatever. I have little time for that childish nonsense.
Ah, so you have had some new age influence in your life. That makes sense.
Of course, you are free to believe whatever you want to believe.
I didn’t come here to argue. I came to warn Christians about the dangers of contemplative/new age/Eastern spirituality. That is my “job.”
I would challenge you to do some reading at the links I posted, even just to educate yourself about why some people are opposed to contemplative spirituality. I wish you the best. :-)
The Lord is my teacher -- I don't presume to 'educate myself'. Rather than direct folks to a website that is not your own, why don't you tell us from your own personal experience what harm comes from meditation and contemplative prayer? How is the infusing of the Holy Spirit harmful? How is setting aside time each day for prayer harmful?
You keep insisting on slapping a boogyman label on something all the worlds religions have in common. Why don't you focus your vocation on the real evils in the world rather than mess with something that the Lord has well in hand?
The spiritual state of western culture is in a critical condition. Looking at television, movies and what is considered entertainment one finds sex and violence in everything. The world assaults all that is pious and holy.
In most folks hearts, they cannot reconcile what is happening and end up with depression or anxiety disorders -- or worse. The medical profession treats the symptoms by prescribing all kinds of medication. Without dealing with the root cause: knowing God. Several generations now are in this state.
I have a healing ministry and I can't tell you the number of times I hear "I feel dead inside". The answer to this is prayer, meditation, reflection and contemplation. Every individual has their own tools already or only need some gentle direction to develop a routine to invite the Divine Healer into their lives. Being in the mid-west, I find a lot involved with fundamentalist traditions who, like yourself, slam the door on spirituality of any kind.
The Catholic faith accepts them with open arms as do many others. The whole goal is to provide a supportive environment where the person feels comfortable to grow and progress along their spiritual journey in light.
If, as you say, 'Christians' are worried that spiritual practices will infiltrate their churches, folks will go elsewhere. Personally, I had a devastating experience when rejected by my church for a gift bestowed by a loving God. I finally left after years of trying to find someone there that could understand.
My personal daily routine is to get up early before the house is awake and meditate with the Word -- usually from the Gospels or Psalms -- followed by quiet reflection which I allow the Lord to speak to me. The results vary from self-knowledge which I note in my journal, poetry which is revealing, insights and revelations of all sorts, blissful states of indescribable ecstasy and so on. This I define as contemplation. I try to spend an appropriate amount of time with what has been given as a Divine gift and use it to plan my day.
I share a lot with my wife and have a healthy and spiritual marriage. I have a spiritual director who is also pastor of my on-line church community. We chat frequently and the community is becoming very vibrant and supportive.
So, what do I need to be warned from? How am I giving bad advice? The Bible has a deep spiritual meaning beyond the translated literal sense -- only the Lord can open that up and reveal it. Once seen and applied THAT is how to convert folks to Christianity. THAT is where the Church will thrive.
I will answer your earlier post first. God gave us our brains and our intellect, right? He wants us to use them to learn his truth, as revealed in his Word. And he wants us to use them to avoid false teachings and false teachers. For example, 2 Peter 2:1 says:
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.”
How do you tell true teaching from false teaching? By feelings or experiences? Or by intellect and study? That is why it’s important for all Christians to educate themselves on doctrine and theology and God’s Word. Our faith is not based on feelings, but on God’s truth, which is perfectly rational, as well as powerful in affecting people’s lives.
Now, it seems you are implying that we can only learn valuable things from our own web sites, and web sites run by anyone besides ourselves are not valuable. (scratching head)
And finally, an analogy. If I believed smoking was dangerous to people’s health, based on studies I’ve read, why would I myself smoke? In the same way, it is not rational for you to ask me what is dangerous about contemplative spirituality based on my own personal experience. If I believe it is dangerous, I obviously don’t practice it.
You can read about other people’s experiences with it in books and articles. Here is one example:
With New Age beliefs knocking at virtually every church in the world, The Light That Was Dark is a must-read for Christians and seekers alike.
A riveting testimony of a man who thought the gods of the New Age were leading him towards light and truth … until his shocking discovery that the light he was following was actually darkness, a darkness that could destroy his life.
“Led down a yellow brick road by pied piper spirits, I had, with the best intentions, landed in a metaphysical New Age where the Christ proclaimed was not the real Christ at all. A well-orchestrated and exquisitely timed series of supernatural synchronistic experiences had convinced me that my involvement in alternative spirituality was ‘meant to be.’
“Following the signs and wonders of deceptive spirits, I had jumped through my spiritual hoops with almost flawless precision.… As Joy and I both had unknowingly plugged into the spirit world, we never realized that most of the voices we were listening to were part of the deception the real Jesus had warned about.” —Warren Smith, from The Light That Was Dark
Biblical prayer is different.
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