Todd Perelmuter's Blog, page 50

Are we Experiencing the Universe or Just the Earth?

Q: Are we really experiencing the universe or are we actually experiencing earth? I can experience a waterfall but I cannot experience a supernova with the same relative ease.

Todd Answers: Haha, let’s hope you do not experience a violent supernova too closely. Even though we do not feel the heat of the surface of the sun, we can experience the sun’s rays from afar. We can understand that we, our sun, and our planet are made from the ashes of previous supernovas.

We can feel a sense that our own solar system will be consumed by a supernova and we too will become the building blocks of some distant planet and life forms.

To experience something does not mean only with the five senses. The senses can merely observe our physical reality. Our greater understanding and wisdom can see the interconnected, interdependent oneness of all things.

A fish may not know there is water between it and the rest of the ocean, but nonetheless, it is one with the ocean.

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Can Christians Meditate or is it a Sin?

Along with the rapidly growing popularity of meditation, there has also been an explosion of confusion centered around this ancient practice. As a result, I thought of clearing one of the confusion around it. The question of can Christians meditate or is it a sin?

These days, people online will claim that just about anything is meditation, whether it’s listening to someone whisper instructions to you in your headphones or even just reading a quote from ancient philosophers.

From playing certain sound frequencies to YouTubers making scratching sounds, from visualizing your material desires to hypnosis, meditation can mean many things to many different people. 

While I don’t dispute the benefits of any of these practices, I merely wish to arrive at a definition we can all agree on.

 

First, What is Meditation?


Since the meaning of meditation has become so muddied these days, let’s get back to the basics so we can start with a definition we all agree on: meditation is either turning your attention to your breath, to your body, or to a meaningless sound that you repeat in your mind called a mantra.

By focusing our attention on the present moment, we become fully present and alert. We train our minds to be more focused. Our attention and awareness become sharpened and expanded. We become less impulsive and lost in thought, and more mindful of our intentions, thoughts, words, and deeds.

Studies have shown that these benefits lead to a greater sense of peace and joy, love and gratitude, kindness and compassion, wisdom and understanding. We experience less stress and anxiety, depression and addiction, illness and pain.

 
What Meditation is Not
Meditation is not emptying your mind and becoming mindless. It is about becoming mindful. 

Meditation is not passive, doing nothing, nor is it emptying the mind. Quite the opposite. It is about fully experiencing, observing, and appreciating the present moment – God’s creation.

Meditation is not about focusing on ourselves or our bodies. It is about becoming aware of our own awareness. It is about turning our attention inward toward our eternal, infinite, formless, light of consciousness – or soul – within us.

This is what Jesus called eternal life. In this way, we can connect more deeply with the presence of God. It’s exactly as Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you.”

Meditation is not a means to attaining fleshly desires like success or wealth, finding fame or love. Meditation is about letting go of ego and pride (a deadly sin). It’s about becoming the best version of ourselves so we can become the best people, neighbors, and Christians we can be.


Meditation is not about desires, but rather letting go of desire and simply experiencing God’s miraculous creation with our full attention, awareness, and presence without external or mental distraction.

Now that we can all agree on the definition of what meditation is and does, let’s dive into whether or not meditation is a sin.

 
Does the Bible Mention Meditation?


In many places in the Bible, the word “meditate” is used to mean “ponder on” or “contemplate.” It says ponder on the word of the Lord, ponder on the majesty of God, and so on. 

Pondering and contemplation are essential aspects of our lives. They help us process what we’ve learned and experienced. Of course, as we established, when we say meditate in this article, we mean turning our attention and focus towards the present moment. Both types of meditation are equally important and play a vital role in our lives.

However, nowhere in the Bible does it speak to or forbid the actual practice of Eastern meditation that we are referring to. Consider this when asking “can Christians meditate.” If Christianity was against Eastern meditation, one would expect it to be mentioned in the Bible since Jesus was visited by three wise men from the East when he was born.

 
Bible Quotes About Why Christians Can Meditate
Throughout the Bible, passages speak to being fully present and alert, turning our attention inward, becoming humble and egoless, and observing and learning from nature. Here are just a few quotes that prove that in fact, Eastern meditation is very Christian.

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but does not notice the log that is in your own eye?” Jesus was encouraging us to turn our attention inward and become mindful of ourselves and our nature, to focus less on the external physical world and more on the formless within.

The Bible says, “Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” But who do you think the devil preys on? The mindless wanderer lost in thought, or those who are fully present, aware, alert, and clear-eyed.

“I am the way and the truth and the life.” Many Christian scholars have considered this phrase by Jesus to refer to the Christ within – our true nature – which can only be experienced when we turn our attention inward. It says Christians can meditate and turn inward to find the way.


When Jesus said, “Deny thyself… and follow me,” he meant to deny the mind-made sense of identity and to realize your true inner light and essence within, beyond the mind, beyond thoughts and preconceived notions.

 
From Lilies and Beyond…

“Consider the lilies, how they grow: they toil not, they spin not.” Jesus was literally telling us to sit in stillness and meditate on nature, to see how everything just exists and works without effort or struggle, like our breath or our heartbeat. The lilies just are. When they are in their being, the doing flows naturally. The lilies are always meditating.

“When you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place… For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” To sit on the floor and let go of your ego and pride in meditation is the very humbling experience that Jesus was referring to.

“It is not I but the Father within me who does the works. And I can of my own self do nothing.” Jesus is referring to how only the mind can get in our way and block us from receiving God’s will through us. 

 
Prayer and Whether Christians Can Meditate…

“Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Although visualization is a different kind of meditation than we are discussing, Jesus did encourage it in prayer.

“God blesses those who are humble (egoless), for they will inherit the whole earth.” To become humble and egoless is to let go of all pride and sense of self, to just be present as an instrument of the Lord.

In the Bible, God said: “I am that I am.” God is everywhere and God is eternal. To experience the timeless, infinite, true nature of our being in meditation is not self-conscious, it is God-conscious.

“Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Jesus wanted us to contemplate and live like the birds – free from worry, fully present without being lost in thought.

 
The Calling…

“Be in readiness, upright and faithful to your calling, be prepared to receive the coming Messiah.” This passage of the Bible means to be present and alert for whenever God or Jesus may call, as only a state of meditation can do.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If then your eyesight is good, your whole body will be well lighted” Here, Jesus is referring to seeing clearly, unobstructed by thoughts and judgments, so that your light of consciousness will shine through you. Only meditation helps train our minds to see this way.

“Split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift a stone, and you will find me there.” Jesus was literally saying one must be fully present to find him. Meditation is not just a short practice we do in the morning or evening. It is to help our minds become more fully present throughout the day and our lives.

 
Would Jesus Think Christians can Meditate?


 

Based on what we know about Jesus, he most likely spent many hours a day sitting in meditation without even knowing it. Meditation is our natural state of being. It is how every baby and animal lives 24/7. I can see it now: Jesus sitting on a rock with his eyes closed, just being, appreciating, and observing all that life is.

Before humans learned to farm, back when we still lived in the wilderness, being fully present and aware of our surroundings was essential to survival. We had to be constantly aware of our bodies, make sure we weren’t breathing too loud or giving off any fear.

If a dangerous animal was nearby, we knew that we needed to make our bodies calm and remain fully alert. If we were distracted, if we acted unmindfully, if we were lost in our thoughts, we were dead.

We humans lost our way of being once we developed cities filled with constant distractions. But Jesus understood this. This is why he went into the desert for 40 days.

Surely much of that time, without realizing it, he was meditating. And when he returned from this journey as Christ, he was a totally different person. He was now ready to take on the Romans and lead the world into salvation. So, if Jesus meditated, can Christians meditate?

 
Salvation vs. Enlightenment

The word salvation, as Jesus called it, goes by another name in the East: enlightenment. While they go by different names, they point in the same direction. 

In Christianity, salvation means saving someone from sin and separation from God. 

Similar to salvation, enlightenment means liberation from unethical action (sin) and the fog of ignorance (separation from God).

 
So, is Meditation a Sin and Can Christians Meditate?
Is it a sin to observe a flower? Is it a sin to notice a puppy sleeping and breathing in our arms? If not, how could it be a sin to simply observe our own breath? How could it be a sin to notice what is happening right under our very nose? 

Is it not a greater sin to spend most of our lives lost in thought, thinking about the past, worrying about the future, and missing God’s miraculous creation that is happening right in front of our eyes in the present moment?

The fact is, meditation is like watching football or going on a hike. It’s just another thing to turn our attention to. Anyone can do it of any faith or no faith. It’s as simple and natural as paying attention to the food you’re eating or any other activity you do.

In fact, Eating Meditation is another form of meditation where you simply observe with full focus and attention each bite of your food and the sensations of eating. This type of simple meditation adds a great richness to your life that Jesus would most definitely approve of.

 
Be Aware and Be Present…

Paying attention to what is happening in the present moment is certainly not a sin. It’s non-religious and is not excluded from the Bible. We do it all the time without realizing it, when we watch our favorite movie, see a beautiful sunset, or notice a shooting star.

For those brief moments, we put our full attention into the present moment. There are no thoughts or opinions, just total awareness. Meditation simply helps us live in this state of awe and wonder more often.

No one is suggesting you practice Eastern meditation and stop praying. Neither am I saying stop meditating on Jesus or the Bible. You can do both! Jesus would no doubt want us to. So, in the words of Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t worry, be happy.” Christians can meditate.

If you’d like to learn more about non-sinful meditation, please check out our YouTube page as well as our podcast, Path to Peace with Todd Perelmuter, on Apple, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

Peace and love.

Other Useful Resources:

Can Meditation Replace Sleep?

Difference Between the Thinking Mind and the Meditative Mind?

Why Jack Dorsey Started Meditating

If There’s no Purpose to Our Lives, Why are we Living?

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Is the sense of self true nature?

Q: Is the sense of self true nature? Or just an inevitable delusion of perspectivized consciousness?

Todd Answers: I would say that our sense of self is merely the turning of our consciousness back onto itself so that it can experience itself. This is how we can know ourselves — our true selves, our essence.

When we look for ourselves and we peer through the thoughts, the sense-objects, and the physical body, what we are left with must be our true self. It can’t be delusion because you are merely observing without placing any labels, opinions or judgements. In fact, it is these things that obscure our view in the first place.

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Mantra Meditation vs Breath Meditation: Which One is Better?

Depending on who you learn meditation from, you’re most likely going to be taught either mantra or breath meditation. Your instructor will most likely tell you that their technique is the best. But what is the truth between mantra meditation vs. breath meditation and which one is better?

I have spent thousands of hours practicing both. I’ve also pored over the scientific literature about both.

In this article I’ll give you the definitive answer about what they are, how they’re different, and which one wins.

What are Mantra Meditation and Breath Meditation?

Mantra Meditation

Mantra meditation is a practice in which you sit with your eyes closed and silently repeat a mantra in your mind continuously. The mantra is usually a meaningless sound that allows your mind to focus without thinking. The most common mantra used is “Om.”

Mantra meditation creates a rare state of mind where we are fully present but not thinking. Often thoughts will pop into the mind during meditation. When this happens, we just gently bring our thoughts back to our mantra.

Breath Meditation

Breath meditation (aka breathing meditation, aka mindfulness meditation, aka vipassana meditation, aka awareness meditation, aka insight meditation) is the practice of observing your breath. Sitting with your eyes closed, you simply observe the sensations of your breath coming in and going out.

You may put your focus on your belly expanding and contracting.

Or you may put your focus on your nose and upper lip/mustache area, sensing the nostrils flaring, the nose hairs bristling, the air brushing by your upper lip, and so on.

Another method is following the whole breath starting from it coming in the nose and down the back of your throat. Then expanding your belly and coming back out. You’ll notice the cool air coming in, the warmer air coming out, the speed and depth of your breath, etc… There are infinite subtleties to become aware of as we raise our conscious awareness.

 

Benefits of Mantra and Breath Meditation

While both meditation styles have countless benefits that can improve our lives, they do have some important differences.

Benefits of Mantra Meditation

By concentrating on a mantra, this type of meditation trains our mind to focus. Our patience and attention span increase as well.

With greater focus, we become more able to focus on what really matters and set aside negative thoughts. We can overcome painful pasts and focus more on the here and now.

Mantra meditation is a deeply peaceful experience that allows our body to rest, recover, and it gives us more energy afterward.

This peaceful experience creates inner joy and also helps us boost the happiness chemicals in our brain.

With more peace, fear and stress become diminished and our creativity and confidence grow exponentially.

Benefits of Breath Meditation

Focusing on the breath comes with all the same benefits as mantra meditation. Peace, focus, concentration, joy, creativity, rest and recovery all take place.

Because you’re focusing on your breath instead of a mantra though, there are some differences.

In mantra meditation, we focus on a sound in our head. In breath, we observe reality as it truly is.

Through breath meditation, we become more aware of subtlety. We become more mindful and alert. Our minds become trained to be conscious of our breath. We tap into feeling beyond the mind.

Through this greater awareness, our wisdom and compassion grow. It is through practicing the power of observation without judgement that we become more identified with the awareness underlying our thoughts and experiences. We then see through the cloud of thoughts and are able to experience the true nature of reality.

Our once unconscious thoughts, habits and behaviors become conscious choices. By becoming more aware of ourselves and others, our intelligence grows. Afterall, observation is the foundation of all science.

As we become more mindful and conscious of ourselves, our words, thoughts and deeds become aligned with our highest intentions.

We can sense our subtlest emotional changes and we can witness them rather than being consumed by them.

To recap the mantra meditation vs. breath meditation score so far: mantra gives us focus. But breath gives us focus and awareness.

 

So, is Mantra or Breath Meditation Better?

This is like asking whether a sunrise or a sunset is better. Breath and mantra are two sides of the same coin. Both have incredible benefits and are absolutely miraculous practices that have changed my life.

But, there are differences that I think are very important to know. While mantra meditation tends to be much easier, it can be much more challenging to consistently focus on your breath.

 

My Meditation Story

I spent years trying to develop a consistent, daily practice of breath meditation. I had done many meditation retreats and spent months in monasteries practicing. But as soon as I left those places, I stopped practicing daily meditation.

It was just too hard to practice breath meditation for me. My mind would wander. I’d get bored. My mind would scream, “This sucks!”

Then I took a mantra meditation course and I was blown away. It was very easy to keep my mind occupied with the mantra. The experience was pleasant and beautiful. Most importantly, it was something I could stick to.

And so I did mantra meditation for about 6 months straight without missing a day. I got all the benefits of focus, peace, joy, less stress. But I wanted more. I wanted mindfulness. As well as the heightened awareness I had experienced in retreats and monasteries. I wanted wisdom and self-awareness.

That’s when I started to try breath meditation and to my surprise, it was a pleasure as well. I have now been doing breath meditation consistently for several years and I know that this is the way.

 

Mantra Meditation vs. Breath Meditation: The Final Verdict

 

So, who wins the mantra meditation vs. breath meditation debate? The answer is not one or the other. It’s both. Sometimes, I’ll still go back and do mantra meditation when my mind is too chaotic to focus on my breath. It’s much easier to focus the mind on one thought than it is to clear your head of all thoughts. This is why starting with mantra meditation is something we highly recommend. Once you’ve practiced focusing on one thought (mantra), you can easily progress to no thoughts (breath).

Like working out at the gym, all that matters is doing it consistently. You won’t maintain the benefits otherwise. For this reason, starting with mantra meditation is highly recommended for new meditators. If you wish to move on to breath meditation, you will be much more prepared to do so. If you wish to stick with mantra meditation, that is also wonderful as the benefits are numerous and profound.

 

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Other Useful Resources:

Morning Meditation vs Evening Meditation?

Why Does Meditation Make me Sad?

What People Won’t Tell You About 2-Minute Meditation?

Weird Sensations While Meditating?

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Does Suffering Lead to Spiritual Awakening?

Q: Through sufferings, we contemplate, and then we awaken. This light is then shared. That is the journey, isn’t it?

For many people, suffering is a path to liberation. Once people have had enough, oftentimes they simply let go of the story they tell themselves of their suffering and they are suddenly free.

Suffering is not the only way to liberation, but I love seeing, time and time again, that this doorway to peace is often opened when people least expect but need it the most.

Q: “All suffering exists in the mind” that leaves out the heart and the intuition part. Any thoughts?

The heart and the gut (intuition) are essential to empathy and healthy emotions. From my experience, suffering most often starts in the mind and then our heart begins to ache. Emotions are where we feel our thoughts. Occasionally, like as in physical pain, our brain receives the pain signals and then our mind reacts unconsciously, and then our emotions may become fearful or agitated. But even in this case, they start in the mind.

However you are absolutely correct, our mental aversion to unpleasant circumstances can affect our hearts and obscure our intuition. We must listen to our heart and intuition as much, if not more so, than our mind.

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Which Meditation Technique Todd Recommends

Q: With so many mindfulness practices around, we would love to hear your top recommendations. Good old quiet meditation or something else?

Todd Answers: There is no one best meditation. Just like there is no best medicine for every single illness. Each meditation has its own benefits and maybe what one person needs at one particular moment.

For most people, a mantra helps calm the chaotic mind. After doing this for a while, moving onto breath-awareness meditation becomes easier. With heightened focus and concentration, moving on to body scanning may be right for you. For some, walking meditation, and more generally turning every activity of the day into a meditation, may be best. Adding a loving-kindness meditation to any of these can also prove deeply powerful for opening our hearts to the world. Whatever works for you, do it! Play, explore, have fun

Other Useful Resources:

Morning Meditation vs Evening Meditation

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Finding Inner Peace When People in Other Countries are Suffering

Q: It’s extremely difficult to be light and loose during the mass killing. What to do?

Is it possible to maintain inner peace when the world is going through so much? There are wars, terrorism and human rights violations. Is it achievable to be peaceful while other countries are suffering?

Todd Answers: Isn’t it interesting that a parent with a child in danger can run and save the child without thinking but if we watch TV we get stress and sadness? This empathy is natural, but the mental suffering doesn’t help the situation. 

In fact, panic often makes the situation worse. We must always channel that negative energy we consume into something positive, whether that’s political action, community action, or meditation and yoga.

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What is the Right Way to Practice Stillness

Q: How to practice stillness? Do we need to sit in silence and hold our breath?

How to achieve inner stillness? 

Todd Answers: Ha! Please don’t hold your breath for too long. It is much better to practice watching your breath because your breath is always with you. You don’t have to try to freeze, because your brain will always be receiving information (light, sound, etc…). But what you can practice is stilling your focus.

Focus on one thing very intently, whether it’s your breath, a mantra, or a flower. And just practice extended concentration. Once we can still our minds, we will experience stillness. Not the other way around. This is the path to deep peace — a mind that is calm, not easily distracted, and able to just be in the here and now.

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How to Practice Stillness

Q: How to practice stillness? Do we need to sit in silence and hold our breath?

Todd Answers: Ha! Please don’t hold your breath for too long. It is much better to practice watching your breath because your breath is always with you. You don’t have to try to freeze, because your brain will always be receiving information (light, sound, etc…). But what you can practice is stilling your focus.

Focus on one thing very intently, whether it’s your breath, a mantra, or a flower. And just practice extended concentration. Once we can still our minds, we will experience stillness. Not the other way around. This is the path to deep peace — a mind that is calm, not easily distracted, and able to just be in the here and now.

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Is it Easy to Find Peace in Nature Than in a Chaotic City?

Q: Do you find it easier living in a space where nature surrounds you?

Todd Answers: It’s certainly very easy to feel at peace in nature. It is every animal’s natural home and humans are no different. It rejuvenates us and fills our hearts with beauty and minds with the wisdom of reflection.

However, I also find that being in a city is an amazing opportunity to practice finding peace in the chaos. It provides a unique opportunity for spiritual growth and to learn how to live harmoniously with our fellow people.

Everyone is different though. Some people have to live in cities but hate it. Some people would die just at thought of sleeping in a tent. When I was at a beautiful monastery in the jungles of Thailand, a Buddhist monk told me a beautiful saying I’ll never forget. It’s a mantra that they repeat in their mind that they say when walking, “I have arrived, I am home.” We can say this anytime, anywhere, to remind ourselves that we are whole and that we can be at peace no matter where we are or what is happening.

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