Spiritual Forums

Home


Donate!


Articles


CHAT!


Shop


 
Welcome to Spiritual Forums!.

We created this community for people from all backgrounds to discuss Spiritual, Paranormal, Metaphysical, Philosophical, Supernatural, and Esoteric subjects. From Astral Projection to Zen, all topics are welcome. We hope you enjoy your visits.

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest, which gives you limited access to most discussions and articles. By joining our free community you will be able to post messages, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload your own photos, and gain access to our Chat Rooms, Registration is fast, simple, and free, so please, join our community today! !

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, check our FAQs before contacting support. Please read our forum rules, since they are enforced by our volunteer staff. This will help you avoid any infractions and issues.

Go Back   Spiritual Forums > Spirituality & Beliefs > Meditation

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 03-05-2022, 04:31 PM
Hemera Hemera is offline
Guide
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 506
 
Contemplative prayer or meditation

Anyone know the difference? Or maybe there isn't one and it's all in the mind (literally) of the beholder and their belief system?

My understanding of contemplative prayer is that it's about listening to God/receiving messages from him through a meditative state, whereas meditation alone is becoming aware of one's thoughts and connecting to a higher state of consciousness which may or may not be termed as God.

Any thoughts welcome/
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 03-05-2022, 09:00 PM
FallingLeaves FallingLeaves is offline
Master
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 6,385
 
meditation is more along the lines of what you can do for yourself; listening to god means an openness to what god has to say. Which can be very different from what you would ask for for yourself if you are open to that...
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 04-05-2022, 03:57 AM
Miss Hepburn Miss Hepburn is offline
Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Southwest, USA
Posts: 24,946
  Miss Hepburn's Avatar
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemera
...My understanding of contemplative prayer is that it's about listening to God/receiving messages from him through a meditative state,
whereas meditation alone is becoming aware of one's thoughts and connecting to a higher state of consciousness which may or may not be termed as God.
Hi,I feel very strongly about the difference! :)
(And I am not a Buddhist, nor believe as they do regarding meditation.
So they will take this in their direction. Follow what rings true.) :)

Meditation according to what I was taught and what I believe...
would have nothing, at all, with becoming aware of your thoughts..connecting to God, yes.
Thus, silencing thoughts, sitting in stillness to know God.
Focusing on this...the sincerity to know God...period, nothing more, nothing else;
No thoughts, just focus. Holding an empty cup, waiting to be filled and given an experience.

Contemplation, which is a wonderful thing, but different would be, say, taking a subject or idea or verse and
'thinking about it'...almost like dissecting the meaning of it yourself.

Example: 'Delight in that Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.' - Psalm 37:4
or Seek the Kingdom of Heaven first...and all else with come.

When you would contemplate, your thoughts would go to 'Delight'...what is it to delight? An hour could be spent contemplating
all aspects and examples of what it is to delight in something...your baby, you new puppy, the sunset...
'delight in the Lord?'...now what would THAT mean!?
And so on ...

What is it to 'seek'...anything?...What is the Kingdom of Heaven ---(well, that could take 4 hours of sitting, pondering.)
"my desires''? -what are my desires...could they be given to me? What would that be like ? Is that possible? And so on.
That is contemplating...or pondering.
__________________

.
*I'll text in Navy Blue when I'm speaking as a Mod. :)


Prepare yourself for the coming astral journey of death by daily riding in the balloon of God-perception.
Through delusion you are perceiving yourself as a bundle of flesh and bones, which at best is a nest of troubles.
Meditate unceasingly, that you may quickly behold yourself as the Infinite Essence, free from every form of misery. ~Paramahansa's Guru's Guru
.


Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 04-05-2022, 04:32 AM
Unseeking Seeker Unseeking Seeker is online now
Master
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Delhi, India
Posts: 10,939
  Unseeking Seeker's Avatar
Thanks for explaining it so well, Miss H!

I’d like to ramble on a bit with these musings …

Prayer vs meditation, both require surrender of this here mind-body to That universal consciousness or God. However, is there not an inbuilt mental image, perhaps an expectation, maybe desire for a manifestation of light, a form, a heavenly being, perhaps a telepathic communication or wisdom download or anything else on these lines we have heard of, like the inner sound current or celestial music, maybe kundalini awakening or whatever?

The point I’m trying to make is that identity (ego) pursues us even in subtler realms of softened attention which we may call meditation or prayer. Many times, we ourselves manifest what we desire. So what then is the immutable truth?

There is this story …

Ramana Maharishi had a disciple (sorry, I’ve forgotten who he was) who used to pray devoutly to Krishna* (*form of Lord Vishnu, part of the Trinity performing God’s work in the manifest universe). One day, this person didn’t attend Ramana’s morning Satsang. Upon being asked, he proffered that he was in his way but then Krishna appeared before him and he got engrossed with Him.

Now, the gathering of other disciples were most impressed. But not Ramana. He asked this disciple ‘So you saw Krishna? Do you see him here, now?’ There was silence. Ramana said ‘All that that comes and goes is unreal. Look for that that does not come and go’ ~ or words to that effect.

We each must discover for ourselves since we need to let go of lower mind and when we do that silence enlivens silence.
__________________
The Self has no attribute
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 04-05-2022, 05:12 AM
Gem Gem is offline
Master
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 22,074
  Gem's Avatar
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemera
Anyone know the difference? Or maybe there isn't one and it's all in the mind (literally) of the beholder and their belief system?
It depends on context, but I'll just say 'Contemplation' is musing over something and 'Meditation' is observing 'the way it is'.

I don't believe in God, so can't say much there, but musings are 'just coming to you' in contemplation.

Meditation starts simple, like I'm present and aware and 'this' is what it's like. That's the miracle.
__________________
Radiate boundless love towards the entire world ~ Buddha
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 04-05-2022, 09:44 AM
JustBe JustBe is offline
Master
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 3,251
  JustBe's Avatar
Contemplative prayer is more centring on something, usually a mantra or word.

Christians use the rosary as a form of contemplative prayer. As a child, it put me to sleep and I got bored and couldn’t wait for the pronounced ‘Hail holy Queen’ I would think to myself, yay we are nearly done.

Generally anything you do as a practice can either have an outward reasoning or inward awareness process at the forefront, so it’s probably better to notice inwardly first..
__________________
Your trials did not come to punish you, but to awaken you - to make you realise that you are a part of Spirit and that just behind the sparks of your life is
the Flame of Infinity.
Paramahansa Yogananda
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 04-05-2022, 04:51 PM
Hemera Hemera is offline
Guide
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 506
 
Thanks everyone -really useful explanations! I've interested in mystic Christianity and was exploring contemplative prayer and wondered what the difference between that and meditation actually was. I'll just go with where the need takes me, which is my usual approach anyway. I can sit in meditation for 20 minutes focusing on my breath, but I've felt the need for something different and more heart centred.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 09:14 AM.


Powered by vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
(c) Spiritual Forums