Mindfulness And Contemplative Prayer

[existential mabel]

can anyone explain the difference between mindfulness and contemplative prayer? i have been told they are the same and this from a church setting. but i dont think so imo

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mindfulness- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the psychological process of bringing one's attention to experiences occurring in the present moment,^[1][2][3] which one can develop through the practice of meditation and through other training.^[2][4][5] Mindfulness is derived from sati, a significant element of Buddhist traditions,^[6][7] and based on Zen, Vipassanā

 

 

mindfulness is about emptyiing your mind and focusing on sensorary sensations .....nothing much to do with Jesus me thinks

contemplative prayer funny that but i had a difficult time finding something on the net and what i have managed to find has been what i call infiltrated by other beliefs weaved in well you cant mix fibres

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https://www.gotquestions.org/contemplative-prayer.html

Contemplative prayer, as practiced in the modern prayer movement, is in opposition to biblical Christianity and should definitely be avoided.

 

so have i missed the boat to ever discovering what true authentic contemplative prayer is then? did it ever exist even?

Edited August 13, 2019 by existential mabel

[Justin Adams]

OOH. Yes this is very scary. TM really in a new disguise. Always this is bad spirit ideas to try to get a foothold into our minds.

Who knows what they really mean, but it sounds like the same old stuff to me. Dangerous.

Any time you try to empty your mind, something will try to fill it. If you practice mantras or repetitive stuff, that also is quite weird.

Edited August 13, 2019 by Justin Adams

[Debp]

22 minutes ago, maryjayne said:

The only contemplative prayer I know of, in a Christian context, is to spend time quietly in prayer, focusing on specific scripture, or praise and worship, or a specific need.

No emptying of the mind at all.

I agree.   The same with Biblical meditation..... it's meditating or mulling over some Scripture verses.

[Justin Adams]

46 minutes ago, maryjayne said:

The only contemplative prayer I know of, in a Christian context, is to spend time quietly in prayer, focusing on specific scripture, or praise and worship, or a specific need.

No emptying of the mind at all.

Yes, this is fine. I think some of the 'new' stuff is a bit ott though and some of the prayer stuff of the NAR seems to be suspect. It is like there has suddenly been 'a thought' circulating about how we might obtain more 'power and authority'. Sounds ok on the surface but I am still not too sure. It is this 'new prayer' movement that is a little odd. Might be wrong, but it feels weird.

Davis said 'I meditate on thy laws day and night'. So this kind of thing is fine. Look at the new stuff and try to get a feel for where they are coming from.

Edited August 13, 2019 by Justin Adams

[GandalfTheWise]

8 minutes ago, existential mabel said:

can anyone explain the difference between mindfulness and contemplative prayer? i have been told they are the same and this from a church setting. but i dont think so imo

There is eastern meditation which is basically about techniques for an altered state of consciousness.  Then there is focusing on what we are thinking about to avoid distractions.  I think this is what most Christians consider meditating on scripture or spiritual matters.

The challenge is this.  In many mainline churches over the past decades, there has been an infiltration of those who are essentially agnostics or atheists.  These people (including leaders and ministers) see Christianity for its symbolism and as a useful way to find meaning in life.  My sense is that for many of them, spirituality is a psychological phenomena that makes us feel better.  Hence, anyone who is "spiritual", no matter what religion, is another person of "faith".  Some of these people have adopted eastern meditation practices (which can produce altered states of consciousness) and put Christian terms onto it.   This means that Christian terms are being used for both Christian and non-Christian practices and beliefs.  It means we have to pay attention to what someone really means when they are talking about such things.

Contemplative prayer has become an ambiguous term which covers both this eastern meditation type of thing and something Christians do which is more about avoiding distractions and meditating on scripture and spiritual things.  One problem is that some terms such as focusing and meditating, are used differently and it's sometimes hard to know what someone is talking about until you see the details.  I've read a few articles from Christians talking about how it's helpful to focus on what you want to meditate about.  Basically what they were talking about was giving some advice about practicing discipline so we get used to relaxing and keeping our mind from running through all the worries of the day.  I've seen other Christians go nuts over those articles assuming that it is some form of eastern meditation.  

 

[Justin Adams]

11 hours ago, maryjayne said:

There have been numerous articles here in the UK from people harmed by mindfulness. Including increased, or the onset of nightmares, paranoid thoughts, self harming and panic attacks.

Not good.

Yes. When I read the initial OP, I thought UH-OH.

[existential mabel]

18 hours ago, Justin Adams said:

 

Davis said 'I meditate on thy laws day and night'. So this kind of thing is fine. Look at the new stuff and try to get a feel for where they are coming from.

by this do you mean to discern if its counterfiet?

[existential mabel]

18 hours ago, naominash said:

Wow, I had no idea. I'm glad I didn't get into it, then.

indeed PTL. best to  always check new things out. be a Berean. all that glitters isnt gold. the bible is a great tool for sharpening your discernment the bible proper i mean not someones interpretation.

[existential mabel]

17 hours ago, GandalfTheWise said:

spirituality is a psychological phenomena that makes us feel better.  Hence, anyone who is "spiritual", no matter what religion, is another person of "faith".  Some of these people have adopted eastern meditation practices (which can produce altered states of consciousness) and put Christian terms onto it.   This means that Christian terms are being used for both Christian and non-Christian practices and beliefs.  It means we have to pay attention to what someone really means when they are talking about such things.

yes indeed. i went along to a mindfulness one off event. For me it was about seeing what it was about.  i figured it probably was more about pop psychology and i was bang on. the person who ran it was a little odd i thought. and they were making it just a little christain to get it under the radar sigh no one.....

yeah i could see the eastern connection it was veiled though, but it was there.

then this person sought me out for what .....and they went into detail interesting though that was and flattered, i might have been just 12 months ago. all the books on offer ... there was nothing absolutely nothing about Jesus. in fact i need to mention it to the lady who organised it as i was asked today about it and i did a knee jerk socially acceptable reply lol.

[existential mabel]

18 hours ago, maryjayne said:

There have been numerous articles here in the UK from people harmed by mindfulness. Including increased, or the onset of nightmares, paranoid thoughts, self harming and panic attacks.

Not good.

i have heard this also and i have seen people messed up. and putting their trust in some man who was messed up himself hence i never went back. i learnt a lot from that