Quotes About Meditation

The rest of this story is recorded in Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions with Real-Life Stories.

It is sometimes said that the first stages of the meditation process are the most difficult. The first distraction is the physical body. Sometimes there is real pain in sitting, and sometimes the ego just tries to distract us by creating itches we will want to scratch.

Whenever and wherever you put yourself in touch with GOD, that is the state of meditation.

Silence is the speech of the spiritual seeker.

That was my childhood. I grew up with the monks, studying Sanskrit and meditating for hours in the morning and hours in the evening, and going once a day to beg for food.

One thought-murder a day keeps the psychiatrist away.

Some rather seek up high Than dig and grind that inner truth

A yogi has no preferences. There's no point in hurrying. The only thing that matters is for me to watch whatever is happening, good or bad.

Christopher, like most people, didn't like his universe being unfathomable, so I doubted that a Zen koan would help him.

Heather cocks her head to one side as if she's trying to make the information roll down a hill in her mind and come to rest in a place she can access it.

The clue's always, always, buried deep in the boredom... Where do you feel most bored? Go there.

The world is in crisis. It needs people who have the skill to combine inner power with outer action. Inner power comes from self mastery, observing and controlling the ego, and deepening integrity through a regular practice of reflection or meditation.

I'm never less at leisure than when at leisure, or less alone than when alone.

And I always do this aloud, or at least at a mumble level, making sure I am doing more than just glancing at the psalms or prayers. Glancing at prayers is the fastest path toward vain repetitions I know of. For that reason, the church has always advocated reading our prayers aloud so we will go more slowly and concentrate more on what we are saying. Prayer books are designed to be read aloud.

The most significant passage in the Bible about the Bible is not, however, those two poignant New Testament passages that have given to us words such as inspiration (2 Tim 3:14-17; 2 Pet 1:20-21). Rather, it is Psalm 119, and it can be read as the Bible's view of the Bible.

If you compare the written prayers from the psalms, the Lord's Prayer, or those we find in the prayer books of the church, one thing will immediately strike any reader: The prayers from those sources are theologically rich and aesthetically appropriate. I cannot always say this of the spontaneous prayers of many Christians—and I am not impugning their motives or questioning their hearts.

Silence between teachers' remarks is a very important part of a lecture. Silence provides time for consolidation and thought.

Relax your body slightly. Inhale through your nose to a slow count of three, four, or five—whatever is comfortable. Remember to allow the air to fill your diaphragm as well as your lungs. Retain the air, then exhale to the same slow count.

First off, make sure you won't be interrupted during your religious (or magical) rite. If you're at home, tell your family that you'll be busy and aren't to be disturbed. If alone, take the phone off the hook, lock the doors, and pull the blinds, if you wish. It's best if you can ensure that you will be alone and undisturbed for some time.

If we do not fill our mind with prayer, it will fill itself with anxieties, worries, temptations, resentments, and unwelcome memories.

Just let awareness have its way with you completely.

Meditation led to decreased density of the amygdala, a physical change that was correlated with subjects' self-reported stress levels—as their amygdalae got less dense, the subjects felt less stressed. Other studies have found that Buddhist monks who are especially good at meditating show much greater activity in their frontal cortices, and much less in their amygdalae, than normal people.n Meditation and deep-breathing exercises work for

The very best meditators seem even to be able to suppress their startle response, a rudimentary physiological reaction to loud noises or other sudden stimuli that is mediated through the amygdala. (The strength of one's startle response—whether measured in infancy or adulthood—has been shown to be highly correlated with the propensity to develop anxiety disorders and depression.)

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! (Ps. 46:10)