Meditation - Cultivating Inner Quiet Part One
The negative effects environmental noise has on your health including hearing loss, increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and increased appetite leading to weight gain are no secret.
What I want to focus on today is quieting the inner noise, which is just as destructive to true health.
"Internal noise" or the constant stream of self-talk that runs through your mind can greatly impact your health as well.
Much of this internal noise or self-talk is negative - thoughts of worry, anger, fear, anxiety, guilt and shame.
Those thoughts, as we've seen before, create chemical reactions that powerfully affect your physical body.
The seemingly never-ending cycle of noisy self-talk, if not dealt with, can cause chronic stress which has been implicated in heart disease, cancer, depression, fatigue, digestive problems, chronic pain and more! It's critical that we find ways to quiet this inner conversation and change it from negative to positive in order to create vibrant wholeness and true health.
We are told in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to "cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
" I believe detoxing or cleansing spirit, soul and body by learning strategies for taking your thoughts captive and making them line up with the Word of God is a significant first step.
Your thinking is critical to a healthy spirit and soul.
To me, this is foundational if we are to live in peace (shalom-wholeness).
I would like to focus on one very effective and possibly misunderstood way to achieve this - meditation.
Meditation has been proven to quiet the mind, relax the body, reduce stress hormones, boost the immune system, lower blood pressure, improve concentration and sleep, relieve headaches and even lower the risk of heart disease and cancer.
But for many Christians, meditation has a negative connotation because we automatically conjure up visions of "contemplating your navel," emptying your mind and chanting or, worse, leaving yourself open to ungodly spiritual forces.
What I am suggesting is Christian meditation and yes, there is definitely such a thing! We are encouraged numerous times in scripture to intentionally fill our minds with God's Word.
For example: Philippians 4:8 (Message Bible) Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious-the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.
Joshua 1:8 NIV Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.
Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Isaiah 26:3 NLT You will keep in perfect peace, all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Matthew 15:19 reveals the intimate connection between spirit and soul (mind, will and emotions): "For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.
" There are different ways to meditate on God's Word and spend quality time in His presence, allowing him to draw you into a closer, more intimate relationship.
What I want to focus on today is quieting the inner noise, which is just as destructive to true health.
"Internal noise" or the constant stream of self-talk that runs through your mind can greatly impact your health as well.
Much of this internal noise or self-talk is negative - thoughts of worry, anger, fear, anxiety, guilt and shame.
Those thoughts, as we've seen before, create chemical reactions that powerfully affect your physical body.
The seemingly never-ending cycle of noisy self-talk, if not dealt with, can cause chronic stress which has been implicated in heart disease, cancer, depression, fatigue, digestive problems, chronic pain and more! It's critical that we find ways to quiet this inner conversation and change it from negative to positive in order to create vibrant wholeness and true health.
We are told in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to "cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
" I believe detoxing or cleansing spirit, soul and body by learning strategies for taking your thoughts captive and making them line up with the Word of God is a significant first step.
Your thinking is critical to a healthy spirit and soul.
To me, this is foundational if we are to live in peace (shalom-wholeness).
I would like to focus on one very effective and possibly misunderstood way to achieve this - meditation.
Meditation has been proven to quiet the mind, relax the body, reduce stress hormones, boost the immune system, lower blood pressure, improve concentration and sleep, relieve headaches and even lower the risk of heart disease and cancer.
But for many Christians, meditation has a negative connotation because we automatically conjure up visions of "contemplating your navel," emptying your mind and chanting or, worse, leaving yourself open to ungodly spiritual forces.
What I am suggesting is Christian meditation and yes, there is definitely such a thing! We are encouraged numerous times in scripture to intentionally fill our minds with God's Word.
For example: Philippians 4:8 (Message Bible) Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious-the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.
Joshua 1:8 NIV Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.
Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Isaiah 26:3 NLT You will keep in perfect peace, all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Matthew 15:19 reveals the intimate connection between spirit and soul (mind, will and emotions): "For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.
" There are different ways to meditate on God's Word and spend quality time in His presence, allowing him to draw you into a closer, more intimate relationship.
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