![]() |
Christianity's repression of meditation - Printable Version +- Bring4th (https://www.bring4th.org/forums) +-- Forum: Bring4th Studies (https://www.bring4th.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=1) +--- Forum: Spiritual Development & Metaphysical Matters (https://www.bring4th.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=9) +--- Thread: Christianity's repression of meditation (/showthread.php?tid=12965) |
Christianity's repression of meditation - Patrick - 06-09-2016 I am currently pondering Christianity's repression of meditation and does not seem able to find what I am looking for "out there" or inside my own meditation. I was raised as a Catholic and so fear of the devil is strong in my family. They would consider stuff like the Ra material as coming directly from Satan, etc... What I am looking for is the source of this fear. At first glance, the source should be obvious doesn't it? Negative teachings inserted into the biblical message or something like that. But really I feel there is something embedded much deeper at work here. Even today, having complete faith in the Law of One, I can from time to time come across information that jitters an inner fear that I am being led away from God by having faith in non-biblical materials. The part that I believe any Christian would find hard to understand is why meditation is "evil"? To anyone I know, even my parents, meditation is seen to be a "good" thing. So I thought I would start my search into this subject by looking into the repression of meditation, seeing it as one of the most "successful" machination of the devil in modern times from the point of view of Catholicism. There are many articles about the "dangers" of meditation. Anyway, it feels to me like there is an enormous spell or a very powerful magical working that is in effect. In the depths of my being, I know full well that the Ra material is the least distorted view of existence (that I am personally aware of) and yet this does not touch this fear that is embedded within me, it still comes from time to time. It makes no sense to me, neither of the logical nor of the intuitive kind. If anyone would like to ponder this with me, I would be grateful. ![]() RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - APeacefulWarrior - 06-09-2016 Honestly, I think it's just a tribal\exclusivity thing. One of the key tenets of Christianity in nearly all its mainstream forms is that only through Jesus can one make contact with God. Meditation directly threatens this, since it offers a route to higher spiritual insights and contacts that requires no outside intercessor whatsoever. As such, it could also be seen as devaluing or even negating the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, to those who believe that Jesus died to absolve mankind. So many Christians try very very hard to keep people away from activities that would cut Jesus out of the equation. And if there's a "spell" that's at work, it's just the nature of human psychology. Fear is pretty much THE most successful motivator of people throughout recorded history. Make someone afraid of something, and they will almost always avoid it, especially since in times past, those sorts of fears were more of the "Don't eat THOSE berries!" variety. We're evolutionarily programmed to take such socially-based warnings very seriously, since they were usually the only way people could keep themselves alive in a world full of things happy to kill them. It's something you (and just about anyone) can get past, given enough time and motivation. Mostly time. As the memories of the warnings fade, they'll seem increasingly irrelevant. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - AnthroHeart - 06-09-2016 My friend who's an atheist doesn't see meditation as evil, but there's no point in it. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - anagogy - 06-09-2016 I would only suggest that you (and others) are not just combating the conditioning from just *ONE* lifetime, rather you are most likely combating the fear of *MULTIPLE* lifetimes of religious conditioning. You know how even if you haven't ridden a bike for years you can pretty much just hop right back on that sucker and ride it again with no significant issues (for the most part)? Well, any serious subconscious conditioning is like that (even beliefs). The cognitive pathways have been grooved, and then some. That is to say, this is probably not the first lifetime you have had the pleasure of being brainwashed as a child in. So naturally, it is going to be rather strong on the subconscious level. If you want to call that subconscious conditioning a magical working, the label could certainly apply because that is ultimately what a magical working is -- the entrainment of the behavior of consciousness. How long has our Earth been swallowed in religious ignorance and alternate spiritual modality intolerance? How often do we get to incarnate in societies free of such conditioning? Probably not too often. You'll find in any cult like belief system that any behavior that expands awareness or leads to challenging existing thought structures will be strongly discouraged, vilified even (such as meditation, which tends to expand one's awareness). It is essentially a psychological lock (or a virus in cases of aggressive proselytization) in the sense that the mechanism is such that one is rewarded if the limits of the cognitive structure are respected (you get validation from your religious peers and the promise of wondrous heavenly rewards) and punished when the taboo of the structure is violated (with threats of hellfire and eternal damnation). This is prototypical of negative STS psychology and hierarchical social constructs because it strongly reinforces unquestioning loyalty and forgoes critical thinking which, of course, would give back one's sovereign autonomous right to hold their own opinions and perspectives. As is customary, fear and greed are used to control the masses. This is just one of the more successful STS instigations in our society. If there wasn't Christianity, there would be something else just like it. The involutionary forces of the universe will always lay their traps, just as the evolutionary forces will attempt to make others aware of them. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Jade - 06-09-2016 I read once that the process of baptism (especially Catholic baptism) is a ritual that seals the third eye - a cross being drawn upon the forehead with enchanted water. (I may have read this here!) Either way, that resonated with me, also being raised Catholic and going to Catholic school and desperately wanting to skip the ritual of Confirmation (conscious acceptance of the baptism ritual at age 12/13) but being unable to break free from the group influence. But, I feel as if there were things that would definitely be considered "in the realm of" meditation that some Catholics do - like the rosary. I know a lot of the ladies my grandma used to pray the rosary with felt similar to the process as a nice group meditation, as it's basically just rhythmic chanting of prayer. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Patrick - 06-09-2016 Thank you guys, that's all very helpful. How can such a thing take root in the tree of mind so that it remains from one incarnation to another? Or maybe it is just within the social mind itself that it is embedded and not really in the root of the individual mind? So, from the perspective of a wanderer, I could have been given a part of this social fear to deal with and help release. I tend to just ignore it, thinking that it's ridiculous, but maybe there is something I could actually do to help. I'm just not seeing it. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Spaced - 06-09-2016 I was baptised Catholic, went through the rituals of first communion and confirmation (and found confirmation especially a powerful positive experience for me). I also went to a private Catholic high school with Jesuit teachers. I found the Jesuits to be very open and non-judgmental, we learned a lot about world religions and it was pretty unbiased. In the last year we were taken to a Jesuit retreat for a weekend and they actually taught us to meditate. My mother also works as the administrator of a Catholic basilica (even thought she claims to be an atheist) and the priests there are (for the most part) very open-minded. Over-all I have had a positive experience with Catholicism, but the dogma never really matched my personal beliefs which is why I no longer consider myself Catholic (Christianity in general is too masculine for my taste). It's also worth noting that Carla was a devout Christian her whole life. I think it's a perfectly valid path for seeking, though it's not for everyone and it can be twisted to serve various purposes. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Patrick - 06-09-2016 Oh it was not my intent to suggest that my personal experience as a Catholic had been negative. I have somehow always been able to ignore the negative information from the scriptures and focus on the true message that Jesus was bringing. It was easy for me to see that a God of Love would not say or act in such and such a way, as is often portrayed in the bible, that was not congruent with the nature of Love. Easy to see that this was non-sense that humans had added to the message as laws for the population. Here in Quebec, in my generation, priests don't focus much on Hell and fear, they mostly talk about Love all the time, quoting beautiful passages from the bible. My upbringing was within a loving and understanding atmosphere. So my parents did not implant this on me, nor was is from attending masses in this incarnation. Even though my parents do fear hell strongly, they did not push this aspect of religion onto me, they too focused on the Love and beauty of it when talking to me about religious stuff. That being said, the blockage (fear) is still present. No measure of knowing/understanding touches it. It still rears its head from time to time, probably waiting for me to do something about it, but what? I feel detached from that fear. That is why I thought it could be a spell or something like that. It feels unreal. I can observe it without reacting to it, when it comes. It does not sway me from my faith in Oneness. Maybe it is just catalysts offered by discarnate negative entities, offering me a chance to reject the positive material I am reading when it happens? I'm thinking that I am not here to fix it, but maybe I can somehow fix it anyway just by loving it? Sending love/light to the offering entities. Or just loving and accepting my part of this social fear, giving it lots of opportunities to transmute itself into something constructive. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Infinite Unity - 06-09-2016 I would like to state, that we are not the creator. The creator is us. One of the main gems I find in the bible. Is the relationship with jesus/God. I believe that to say I am the creator is partially correct but more incorrect in that, Like above, the creator is us. My new inner motto is "I wish to be like the creator." He is our father/mother he gave unto us life. its body is space, its heart blood pumping to us in the manifested form of gravity, and his mind all our thoughts/intelligence. We rest in the creator and everything is a gift. Hand fashioned and spun just for us. The greatest m/b/s in the universe, is but a child to the creator. The is a magnificent thing to think about, and is a great mystery in itself. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Infinite Unity - 06-09-2016 body:matter Love:wave intelligence:mind/thought all composed and manifested by light. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - AnthroHeart - 06-09-2016 Just checked with my friend. He just lacks the patience to do it. Not that he sees no point in it. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Cyclops - 06-10-2016 http://www.lawofone.info/results.php?s=5#2 Quote:We begin with the mental learn/teachings necessary for contact with intelligent infinity. The prerequisite of mental work is the ability to retain silence of self at a steady state when required by the self. The mind must be opened like a door. The key is silence. http://www.lawofone.info/results.php?s=49#8 Quote:The passive meditation involving the clearing of the mind, the emptying of the mental jumble which is characteristic of mind complex activity among your peoples, is efficacious for those whose goal is to achieve an inner silence as a base from which to listen to the Creator. This is an useful and helpful tool and is by far the most generally useful type of meditation as opposed to contemplation or prayer. I was bored today and wondered what happens to the brain when one meditates. Ra speaks to the spiritual aspect of it but I wanted to see the physical aspect. Being that Ra says letting the mind quiet down till it is silent is the most useful meditation we can do, I went looking for some studies on this type of meditation and although most of the studies are on other types I did manage to find a few that focus on mental silence. Here's one: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4777419/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/corecgi/tileshop/tileshop.fcgi?p=PMC3&id=126560&s=58&r=1&c=1 Quote:Conclusions and from wikipedia, I had to find the term for mental silence and apparently this is what it's called. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation#Mental_silence Quote:Mental silence I hope this post isn't too off topic, just some info I dug up to convince only myself really on why I should meditate more often. Maybe it can be useful to someone else too. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Aion - 06-10-2016 The source is the fact that there is an esoteric underbelly to the Catholic church and other Orthodox groups in which 'meditation' and all its elements do indeed exist, albeit more under the term of prayer and the fear is created as a way to keep people connected while also keeping them ignorant. In other words, I believe the Vatican is headed by a bunch of very skilled and long-standing 'energy vampires', to use a popular misnomer. Notice the use of the same method that Ra suggested is common for service to others attempting to infringe via the crown. Or you know, something like that. Quote:72.17 Questioner: Why is there no protection at the floor or bottom of the banishing ritual, and should there be? RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Reaper - 06-10-2016 Christianity was designed to control people. It encourages repression of natural urges and paints practices that increase self-awareness as evil, because it would be very hard for a self-aware, open-minded, awakened person to not see its contradictory posits as ridiculous. It is a religion that draws its power from fear, not love, regardless of the fact that many of its main figures were portrayed as loving people. I've seen a few people, like Carla, manage to twist the tenets of the Christian faith into something loving and use it as a means of service, but I have no doubt that it was originally designed as a system of mind control. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Parsons - 06-10-2016 I would like to address two things here: my theories on why Christianity would suppress meditation and why I think you still (occasionally) experience that fear. I think that in order for a religion such as Christianity to survive (especially so long), it needs strong coherency in it's tenets. I like to think of it like a submarine; if there are any major design flaws that would cause leaks, the whole ship will sink. I think that's why some religions / cults gain a lot of traction at first, but quickly sink after a few years. With other short lived faiths / philosophies, it's as though the submarine dove anyways and sank relatively quickly. In the case of Christianity, I think a slow but serious leak would form if it encouraged meditation. The reason that leak (in logic) would form, is meditation is a surefire path to (eventually) find the truth of the unity of creation. I think any religion that suppresses free thought by telling you what to believe and avoiding encouraging finding the truth for yourself, is going to be much more coherent over time and potentially have many more followers than a religion that does not. I think that at some point someone realized this consciously and shaped Christianity with that in mind. However, at this point, I think most Christians in positions of power within the religion are no longer consciously aware of that and are just blindly following tradition. When it comes to your personal unexplained fear, my theory is it has something to do with the 'thought form' for Christianity. I'm pretty sure you are aware of that concept, but I'll give a brief explanation in case you don't or other readers don't. When many people believe in a specific religion or philosophy, a thought form / egregore forms. It has been discusses elsewhere, but I firmly believe one has formed around this forum community (just for example). Around this thought form forms beliefs commonly held by the people surrounding it. The more common and more strongly believed, the greater the influence it has on this thought form. In the case of Christianity, the thought form(s) surrounding it are extremely powerful because so many people follow the religion. If many Christians believe that meditation and similar pursuits are 'evil', it becomes a part of the thought form. Now I realize you hold the Ra Material in much higher regard (for lack of better terminology) and you don't consciously believe that meditation is 'evil', but that doesn't mean that you aren't still attached to this thought form that has that belief. It can still influence you even if you don't consider yourself a part of a Christian denomination. I'm not saying you should completely drop all Christian beliefs nor am I blaming you for being influenced (even in some small way). I actually have a similar challenge when it comes to my atheist upbringing / mindset. I will (occasionally) still catch myself being influenced by tenets of a mindset that I no longer believe in at all. When I catch something that doesn't feel right, I will stop and compare it against my current beliefs. If it doesn't hold up and especially if I think it is a part of the atheist thought form, I will do my best to avoid that influence. Usually I will try to neutralize it by balancing it mentally with it's opposite concept. Above all I make sure I am consciously aware that the intruding belief is not my actual belief. Personally I find it to be even more helpful to understand why the negative belief I am encountering exists. In your case, please refer to my above theory that that specific belief is there merely to prevent the loss of followers through the discovery of the unity of creation. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - YinYang - 06-10-2016 A picture that emerges from the gospels and the Ra material about Jesus, once you get the popular, mainstream saintly and holier-than-thou image out of your head, which makes him even cooler to me personally, was that he was essentially a maverick, a rebel and a trouble maker. Being a rebel myself, I love that image, and it could not have been any other way, because a meek, fearful person would not have been able to turn the establishment on its head like he did. He constantly challenged authority. I mean he challenged the rabbis in the temple at the age of 5, left his parents' house at 13 and disappeared to who knows where. Being as positive as he was, he must have a had great sense of humour, cracked jokes, laughed out loud, pranked people, and must have had a real lust for life, like anyone who has accessed intelligent infinity. Turning water into wine, striking up a conversation with the prostitute at the fountain to the chagrin of all bystanders, turning over the tables of the money changers in the temple, mingling with the lepers, that's someone I'd like to be friends with! It must have been an electrifying experience just to be in his presence. I have read that people experienced spontaneous enlightenment just by being in close proximity to Buddha (just as big a rebel, secretly fleeing the palace in the dead of night, without saying goodbye). Jesus wasn't this monotone, tragic and depressing figure Christianity has changed him into, and our churches basically resemble a courtroom, with the minister dressed just like a judge, and the elders (jury) in their allocated slots, and everyone sitting on wooden benches in rows, facing him. No-one wants to be there, it's depressing. Jesus stood on a rock and taught, and walked amongst the people. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - YinYang - 06-10-2016 I feel very strongly that the moment something is organised or made permanent, with dogma and doctrine, it loses all spontaneity and excitement. I feel this way about all organised religions, not just Christianity. A friend of mine was recently ordained as a Buddhist nun in Thailand, and she says it's the same story, they worship Buddha, and it's lifeless and full of dogma and doctrine. This speech by Jiddu Krishnamurti when he dissolved the Order of the Star is something I strongly resonate with: Quote:Truth is a pathless land “Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.” – Alan Watts. “The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.” – Alan Watts. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Patrick - 06-10-2016 Thank you everyone ! You are giving me a great deal to ponder here. This is very much appreciated. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Minyatur - 06-10-2016 Was raised a Catholic by parents who didn't have a great focus on religion, so this never did much. Much later I was re-introduced to Christianity by a friend and had experiences which led me on this path, but I was a self taught christian and got quite a lot of positive from the bible. Probably did a greater work on my heart than the Ra material did, although it was a very unconscious form of seeking unlike what the Ra material led me toward. I think Catholic churches are considered dead churches by most other christian groups, as in that the presence of God does not dwell in them. They also see the Catholic church as the prostitute from the book of revelation, which works with the beast. If you look at history you can see that this church has quite a lot of blood on it's hands, on occasions toward christians even, they kept the bible away from the masses so it could not be read, inovated quite a lot the art of torture, made others wage wars, etc. Bottomline I think the Catholic church is the least positive one although you can meet priests with really good vibes, but I also went to some churches that gave me really negative ones. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Patrick - 06-10-2016 All the Churches I have attended so far has been really positive and I must say that the priests seems to be simply ignoring the "negative" stuff coming from above them in the hierarchy. But if I believe history, the experience was quite different in the not too distant past here in Québec. Anyway, I guess the current switch to 4d is helping all religions bring their positive aspects to the front. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Minyatur - 06-10-2016 (06-10-2016, 11:28 AM)Patrick Wrote: All the Churches I have attended so far has been really positive and I must say that the priests seems to be simply ignoring the "negative" stuff coming from above them in the hierarchy. But if I believe history, the experience was quite different in the not too distant past here in Québec. Haha, I also thought the pastor in my home town's church, also in Québec, had a really good vibe to himself and it did seem like his work was a tad unrelated to the higher hierarchy of the church. Most place I went to were really nice. Most negative one I went to had a big massonic symbol right at the front center of the church and I spent my time in there praying to bring in good energy instead of listening to what was said. Felt uncomfortable from moment I entered the place like something was harassing me. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Manjushri - 06-11-2016 Also raised Catholic, to this day I still have a huge hurdle with fear in meditation every single time. I don't think it is a huge mystery that there are controlling forces on the planet, and a religion which can permanently attach fear to a spiritual practice ought to be proof of Them. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Matt1 - 06-11-2016 I think its probably a feeling of turning away from Christ as he taught prayer. Meditation is normally seen as eastern and thus not with Christ. That being said you have esoteric Christianity which includes meditation. The Rosicrucian tradition and the Christian Cabalah. You also have the Eastern Orthodox Church which i believe includes meditation, although don't quote me on that one. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Patrick - 06-12-2016 So far I think I am leaning most with Parson's views that this is related to the "thought form / egregore forms" of Christianity. I also believe that by receiving a part of this fear to work with, we are actually helping transmute this thought form to a more positive expression. RE: Christianity's repression of meditation - Parsons - 06-12-2016 Since you are leaning towards acceptance of the idea, I feel I should add a few thoughts. When dealing with the thought form concept, you are dealing with a perception that it is an external force. I have personally found it critical to take FULL responsibility for any external influence on myself. I say that because I firmly believe that I am powerful enough to neutralize any and all external influences on myself. That applies to everyone, of course. This attitude is meant to prevent the feeling of helplessness in the face of something that seems so vastly powerful. IMO, it follows the pattern of understanding, acceptance, and integration that Ra talks about. You understand the forces at play here (you recognize the thought form and the reasons why it exists). Even though you may see it as a powerful external force on one level, you fully accept responsibility for it's effects on you and your ability to deal with it. Then, rather than rejecting the thought form, you integrate the thought form by dealing with the occasional 'maintenance' of neutralizing the aspects of it that you currently don't find to be helpful. I have done this with the 'atheist skeptic' egregore and even the Bring4th forum egregore. I guess I could liken it to harnessing the aspects that I find useful and neutralizing the aspects I don't find useful. Your mileage my vary, of course. I have personally found it to be quite effective when I find myself slipping back into old thought patterns. Actually, the only thing I have fear about when it comes to these 'external' thought patterns is not noticing their influence (which I feel is a rare problem). |