Because we’re a faith-based practice (See our approach to counseling here), the question sometimes gets asked: “Should Christians practice mindfulness meditation?” Those who ask this question are often concerned about concepts like “meditation” having connections with Eastern mysticism. That can make some of our clients uncomfortable at times.
Mindfulness
The type of meditation we’re talking about here is about being fully present and tuning into our bodies. It can even have value as a spiritual discipline when integrated with prayer and the Scriptures.
One thing that I always point out when I present “mindfulness” as a broad topic to my clients is that there is a strong biological component to it. For our purposes and the ways in which we use meditation, we aren’t talking about some sort of abstract “one with the universe” kind of thing. Instead, we’re tuning into our bodies and grounding ourselves in the present. Often we use breath work as a way to queue in the nervous system that it’s OK to relax.
Mindfulness and the Church
I believe that God designed the nervous system to work in this way.
The exercises we do in session and at home are geared specifically to activate the relaxation response. God made our bodies to work this way. That is why these exercises work so well for those who struggle with anxiety, depression, and a host of other presenting concerns.
Meditation
Christians have been using meditation since at least as far back as the 3rd century A.D. Some monks moved out into the wilderness to practice the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude. Over the years such contemplatives as St. Anthony the Great, St. Benedict, St. John of the Cross, St. Augustine, Gregory the Great, and ultimately the more modern theologians such as Thomas Merton, Thomas Keating, and Richard Rohr, laid the foundation for Christian contemplative practices such as “prayer walks”, “Lectio Divina”, “Centering Prayer”, “Breath Prayer”, and many others. The integration of the parasympathetic response with prayer and the scriptures was as integral to them back then as I believe it is for us today.
Phileena Huertz, in her book “Mindful Silence”, writes about her own faith journey and the breakthrough moments that happened for her as a result of these kinds of practices. At the end of each chapter, there is “homework”. A unique aspect of contemplation to begin to put into practice (or at least try). Her writing is deep and heavy on content. I always recommend taking it about one page at a time. That way you will get the most from the book.
Being Comfortable with Meditation
Even with all that being said, we know that not everyone is comfortable with the idea of “meditation” and that is OK. We want to remember Paul’s guidance in 1 Timothy 4 and Romans 14 on areas where people have different convictions. Can “meditation” be received with thanksgiving? Will it cause me, or someone close to me to stumble in their faith? Or is it as vital of a discipline to me as it was to so many who came before me? These are important questions for Christians to ask.
If mindfulness is for you, then we have a lot of great resources we can share. If therapy is something you have considered for a while. To take the first step, see all of our therapists’ bios are available here. When you’re ready, our intake form is at the bottom of every page in the section labeled “Let’s Talk”. We would love to hear from you.
