Encouragement? Caution? All of the Above

In Matthew chapter 12, Jesus has been talking in parables, telling truths in story form.  At verse 43 he starts talking about evil spirits:

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but it finds none.  Then it says ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.  So will it be also with this evil generation.”

Now, look at the exchange in Job, chapter 1, between the Lord and “the accuser” or Satan,  verse 7:

“The Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’  Satan answered the Lord, ‘ From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

Notice the similarity in the descriptions.  Satan wanders about looking for a place to land.  He goes to and fro until he finds a resting place.  There is a reason that I bring this up.

As you know, I have been exploring the art of meditation, an aspect of Christian Mysticism, and I have discovered that not all books are created equal!  There are some books that claim to be about Christian Mysticism and Spiritual insight and, quite frankly, they are not books that I would recommend for someone exploring this topic!

There was one book that I read online, that was recommended as the sort of  “7 steps to meditation and mysticism” and, at first, it’s suggestions seemed reasonable.  But as I read further, I discovered that the writer’s view of the source of evil, and mine, parted ways in a dramatic fashion!  In a nutshell, the writer believes that evil comes about by “wrong thought” and that there isn’t really evil in the world.   Bad things happen to people because they “think” it into being.  An individual is in a car accident, for example, because they attracted the negative situation by their thoughts.  A child is ill because a parent had negative thoughts of sickness that manifested in the child.  The solution is simply to “neutralize” the negative thought pattern and then you start attracting positive things into your life.  I wish I was kidding about this but I’m not!  This is the point where I strongly disagree with the writer, based on my study of scriptures.

The entire book of Job is based on refuting such arguments!  It states, right from the beginning, that Job was indeed a righteous man.  His friends make the argument that the calamities that have befallen Job, are the result of some “sin” that he has committed.  If you read the entire book, you know that God himself refutes this argument!  And if Jesus didn’t believe that evil was real then why did he bother sending the demons into the pigs in Mark chapter 5?   Why would John Wesley preach so strongly, a caution about evil, if he didn’t believe that it existed?  Evil is real, and it is a force that is separate from God!

Believing that evil is real does not imply a “dualism” within God, which is the argument that is made to explain the belief that evil is simply thought gone wrong.  Yes, God is good and what he created is good!  God did not create evil.  Evil simply exists.  And that is an important point to remember if one intends to attempt Christian Meditation!

It is no wonder that Morton Kelsey, in his book, “The Other Side of Silence” warns that meditation is not for everyone!  If an individual does not have a thorough grounding in scripture, they could easily open themselves up to more problems then they had before!  Mr. Kelsey says this on the topic on page 52:

“The idea that we have outgrown our need to turn to God for help in dealing with evil, or the idea, in fact that there is no such thing as cosmic evil, would be funny if it did not show such a tragic lack of understanding.”  

Or this comment on page 74:

  “As long as one believes that there is no evil and that spiritual reality is relatively benign, there is no particular reason for caution.  This is why our belief systems are so important.”  (emphasis mine)

I have been impressed by the fact that throughout his book, Mr. Kelsey has emphasized that Christian Meditation is meant to help you discover deeper truths that can be practiced and applied in the here and now.  It is meant to strengthen your faith and it is meant to be used in practical ways to help others!

He also strongly suggests that a person doesn’t “go it alone.”  Yes, meditation is an inward journey but, you need a firm anchor in the world.  A mentor, a prayer group, family, close friends that you can talk to, are all incredibly important!  In taking this journey inward, you may discover things about yourself that are shocking or disturbing and there is a real need to have a support network around you to help “bring you down to earth.”  (On a personal note, I am discovering just how true this is!  I am my own worst critic, and that trait is even more intense in meditation.  My family and friends are far more forgiving of my flaws, as is God, which can be hard to fathom!)

Now, you may read this and think “well that’s just crazy!  Don’t we want to encourage people to go deeper in their spiritual walk?”  Of course we do!  But, the fact remains, it is important to prepare for that journey first.  I’m reminded of what Isaiah says in chapter 28, starting at verse 24:

“Do those who plow for sowing plow continually?  Do they continually open and harrow their ground?  When they have leveled its surface, do they not scatter dill, sow cumin, and plant wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and spelt as the border?  For they are well instructed; their God teaches them.” (Again, emphasis mine.)

It is important to plant, but FIRST they have to plow and harrow and level.  They have to be instructed well by God.  Otherwise, you can end up with weeds planted with the wheat (Matthew 13:24-30) and as the parable illustrates, it can cause a whole lot of problems!

So am I suggesting that Christian Meditation is a bad thing to try?  No.  What I am saying though is be certain that you are as prepared as you can be before you try!  Mr. Kelsey opens chapter 8 with this paragraph.  I am going to close with it as an important reminder.

“Meditation is not something one should do simply because others are doing it.  It can not be undertaken like an aesthetic exercise or merely for diversion.  Whether we expect it or not, in meditation we are opening the door to another aspect of reality, potentially just as rewarding and sometimes even more dangerous than the physical world.  Not many of us would turn a child loose in the physical world without teaching that child, as best we can, how to get around safely in it.”

Wise words indeed!

The Quest is Afoot! Journey in to Christian Mysticism

Have you ever wondered if there was something more to life than what you see or hear or feel?  Is there something deeper, more meaningful than can be experienced through your senses?  If you have asked those questions, then you will understand my quest, my search for that deeper meaning!  That deeper understanding is a bit of a mystery for me.  And in this age of “knowledge at your fingertips” with a few strokes of the keyboard and a search on the internet, you can find a lot of information!

Now, initially, I thought I was looking for the way of a Prophet.  When I would read about the Prophets in the Bible, they always seemed to possess a mystical quality-a knowing beyond knowing.  I wasn’t looking for the great sage who sat on a hillside, cross legged, uttering “ohm” over and over again.  They reminded me of that phrase about people who are “so heavenly minded, that they were no earthly good.”  No, what I was looking for, was a way to grab on to the truths that meant something in the here and now and could be used for good in the here and now!  And that is when I discovered the distinct difference between mysticism and prophecy.

Webster’s dictionary defines mysticism as “the doctrine or belief that direct spiritual apprehension of truth or union with God may be obtained through contemplation or insight in ways inaccessible to the senses or reason.”  So a “mystic” is someone who practices this belief.  A Prophet, on the other hand, as defined in Webster’s dictionary is “a person who by divine inspiration, declares to the world the divine will, judgments, etc.”  So, the way I understand this, is that, a mystic does not necessarily “declare” anything to the world, like a Prophet.  They are on a spiritual quest.    So far, so good!  This made sense.

I soon discovered though, in our modern world, mystic and mysticism, are terms loosely used!  They run the gamut of philosophies and practices!  That was not what I was looking for!  I was looking for a Christ centered, Christian based example-Christian Mysticism.  Did I mention that this is almost as muddy and undefined?  It runs the gamut from Leslie Weatherhead and Norman Vincent Peale to Ernest Holmes with C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton thrown in, for good measure.  If you go back to ancient times, the names that come up range from St. John of the Cross to Jeanne Guyon.  Yes, clear as mud!  I was about to throw up my hands in defeat!

Fortunately, this is the point when I came in to possession of Morton T. Kelsey’s book “The Other Side of Silence.”  Although the book was published back in 1976, his words are as true for today as when he wrote the book!  From the very beginning, I discovered that he put in to words, what I had been feeling.  In the very first chapter he says this: “I found that I could read the Scriptures and say my prayers and offices with little sense of contact, almost no experience.  Most of this activity came from my conscious mind.  I was reading the bible like a student, voicing the prayers mostly as thought forms, and more and more the feeling grew of something lacking, of facing a dead end.”

This perfectly described my feelings about prayer and meditation!  Why was it, that I could read the Bible and get so much out of it, but trying to follow all of the various forms of prayer left me feeling empty?  He addresses this point in chapter 2:  “…the meditative process is a many-faceted jewel…So many people like to emphasize certain forms of prayer or meditation such as prayer of thanksgiving or adoration.  But these are completed only when one’s prayer life involves all the other aspects of his life, from one’s anguish and despair to volcanic and explosive anger.”  (This is probably why I fell in love with Leslie Weatherhead’s book “A Private House of Prayer” because his imaginative room layout allows for such breadth of prayer and meditation.)

Further on, in chapter two, I experienced my biggest “ah-ha” moment, so far.  He discusses the differences between introverts and extroverts.  He starts off by saying that God “…wants each of us to seek Him in whatever way is the best for us individually, and He honors each personality and does not try to force us into any particular pattern or mold in order to relate to Him.”  He then gives some examples of the different ways that each type experiences prayer and meditation, “…extroverts find meaning among people and in doing things, their prayer life will probably be geared to service with and to others….Introverts…find the inner world fascinating and easy to deal with.  They are very likely to have no trouble finding an inner experience of God’s presence…Since they enjoy quiet, it is relatively easy for them to find time to meditate…”

Ah ha!  Most of the books on prayer are written by individuals who find quiet, contemplative prayer as easy as breathing!  I, on the other hand, try to sit quietly and hold a thought in my head but end up running a shopping list of thoughts through my head instead!  Quiet contemplation is not my strength.

However, if I am in the garden pulling weeds, looking after plants, doing something active, I suddenly find myself with all sorts of insight into things that I might have been trying to pray about or that I had been struggling with!  For me, gardening is a form of meditation!  It wasn’t that I was a failure at prayer and meditation.  The problem was that the methods I was trying to use were not the methods that worked best for me!  That one realization was such an Eureka moment for me that I was astounded that I had not discovered this on my own!  I felt like a weight had suddenly been lifted off of my shoulders!

And so, the mystical journey begins!  I’m not sure where it will lead.  I am positive that it will not always be easy.  But knowing that God honors the journey is priceless!  I’ll keep you posted.