Diane VanDerWerff’s letter in Wednesday’s Sentinel criticizes a column by Bill Freeman, and cautions readers not to equate Christian meditation with that of Eastern religious traditions. However, Mr. Freeman was entirely correct in identifying some common features of the contemplative practices of different religious traditions, including Christianity. What Freeman and VanDerWerff call “thinking about nothing,” “clearing one’s mind of all thought,” and listening to that “still, small voice within” are merely mental tools that people of diverse religious traditions have developed to help them open their minds to the divine, however they define it.
We all know how difficult it is not to think about our mundane daily tasks, our interactions with other people or even the perfume of the person sitting next to us in the pew. And while meditation of the sort mentioned by Freeman is not a conspicuous part of most modern Christian services, some of the techniques that he mentions have a long history in Judeo-Christian tradition and are still used by many Christians today.
(MORE) Source: Holland Sentinel
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