A new, old thing is sweeping the West in recent years. This thing is meditation. Meditation is nothing new, but in the past it was confined to the fringes, the hippies, the new age movement. Unfortunately, with Youtube and other social media today, meditation has become a widespread phenomenon, and it’s growing.
What is meditation, and should Christians do it? In order to answer this first we need to define exactly what is referred to by “meditation”, and next what the Bible says with regards to meditation.
What is meditation?
Meditation as we know it in western society is a form of eastern mysticism. Although it usually is just called “meditation”, it is actually called “zen meditation”. The practice is to empty the mind, often by reciting a “mantra” over and over, until the mind goes blank. You may have heard of transcendental meditation; that is exactly what zen meditation is. If you are emptying your mind, you are participating in zen meditation, also known as transcendental meditation.
First and foremost, this form of meditation is not only extremely dangerous, it is potentially deadly to any Christian. There is absolutely nothing good about this form of meditation for any Christian. A Christian is to trust in God, not in occult practices to manipulate the mind’s chemistry and states of consciousness, which is literally witchcraft.
What is the goal of meditation?
The goal of this form of meditation is to empty the mind and get in touch with the spirit world; although for most people, they are not consciously aware that this is what they are doing – especially since the very objective is to empty the mind of thought. The objective is actually to achieve a “zen” state, which is an altered form of consciousness which takes people to a “higher level” of consciousness (although technically you should probably call this a “lower level”, since it involves entering the demonic spirit realm.)
By doing so, one is supposed to experience a sense of inner peace, decrease stress, and better health. Unfortunately, these touted benefits are really a lie. While on the one hand, eliminating all thoughts from the mind will also inadvertently cause the person to think less negative thoughts, which is beneficial for the body and mind, the problem is that when a person empties their mind of all thoughts (not just negative thoughts), they also create an open door for demonic spirits to enter their mind and body.
What does the Bible say about meditation?
The Bible never tells us to empty our minds. The Bible does mention the word “meditation”, but this is the exact opposite of the type of meditation we think of today which is rooted in eastern mysticism.
Instead, the Bible teaches us to meditate on the Word of God. This means to simply spend time reading the Bible and thinking about the Bible, and spending time in the presence of God in prayer. The Bible never tells us to stop thinking entirely.
Moreover, the Bible specifically warns against any Christian using the strategies for which one achieves an empty mind, which is reciting mindless mantras (whether it is a phrase, or simply “om”).
Matthew 6:7 says, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”
Other translations unfortunately use less concise wording: “babbling”; but the problem with this is that “vain repetitions” is very specific and important, and is true to the original text. The word in Greek is “battalogēsēte” which means, “do not use vain repetitions”. This is important because it is precisely talking about eastern meditation with their mindless mantras used to clear the mind and get in touch with the spirit world.
The Bible says that repeating mantras will not get you heard by God. God desires a personal relationship, and wants us to talk directly to Him. If we were to try to use mantras repeated over and over, first of all, God is not going to listen to it; and worse, this is literally witchcraft, for it is attempting to manually access the spirit world through force of will, whether that is your intention or not.
Unfortunately, a Christian is indeed likely to access the spirit world, but the wrong one, because they will not get in touch with God or even nothingness, but rather demons. Demons can and will enter the minds of Christians if they let down their guard.
Christians fight a spiritual war
Paul says that our battle is not with flesh and blood, but against the spiritual powers of darkness. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).
Paul goes on to say that we should put on the full armor of God, because it is analogous to a real war, although our war is spiritual, but no less real. It may even be more real than a physical war.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
(Ephesian 6:13-17)
A Christian is always at war against the spiritual world (whether they know it or not, and if they do not then they are derelict soldiers who will be injured and possibly killed by the enemy). By participating in eastern meditation by emptying the mind and repeating mindless mantras, this is analogous to a Christian taking off the armor of God, namely the belt of truth, the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit.
Christians need to be on their guard
Paul also says with to pray always, as well as praying for other Christians, so that no one might be left spiritually unguarded (Ephesians 6:18). This doesn’t mean pray every minute of every day, but keep an open channel of communication between you and God. Never stop actually thinking.
This is because if you stop thinking by participating in the mediation of emptying the mind, and especially if you take your mind and your eyes off of God, then you give the enemy, which is the demonic realm, entrance into your mind to wreak havoc on your life. A Christian who participates in meditation is showing their flesh in the middle of a battle, leaving their mind and heart unguarded.
A Christian must always be on their guard against attacks of the evil one – specifically, against the onslaught of demonic oppression. Demons are inevitably camping by (if they are not in your home or already in your mind, which they very well may be if you are not offensively attacking them on a daily basis); they are just waiting for Christians to let their guard down. A Christian doing meditation is an open door to demonic attack. It is just the same as a soldier sleeping on the battlefield. They are going to get injured if not slaughtered.
Similar dangerous practices like zen meditation
Similar to zen meditation is other occult practices, such as yoga, which many Christians mistake for a flexibility exercise. Pilates on the other hand is totally safe as this is simply a form of flexibility exercise. However, yoga is a dangerous occult practice which, unbeknownst to most yoga-goers, actually involves particular body positions that are designed specifically to emulate and attract demons. I’ll discuss yoga in another article, but just keep in mind that, like zen meditation, yoga should be avoided like the plague; if you want a flexibility program, choose Pilates.
Likewise, zen meditation should be avoided like the plague by any Christian. Instead of meditating to try to manually achieve a higher state of being, simply spend time in prayer with God and the Bible. If you attempt to use human rituals to alter your life instead of trusting in God, you are committing witchcraft. Yes, actual witchcraft. Spells and curses are not the only form of witchcraft.
Even though you may think you’re simply achieving lower stress, the actual way zen meditation achieves this lower stress is by creating an altered form of consciousness which is caused by the emptying of the mind, and mantras. Other occult practices are usually paralleled, like listening to certain frequency music to achieve this altered mental state, astral projection, and candles, which although a Christian may believe these are innocent, candles when used in the presence of an occult practice like zen meditation or yoga are actually a demonic signal.
To be clear, as a side note I don’t think there is anything wrong with candles by themselves, like to add a nice smell to the room. However, candles used to achieve a state of zen during meditation is an occult practice and increases the potential for demonic presence and possession.
Stacking of rocks, touching of the fingers, candles, certain body postures; all of these were designed by demonic monks who sought the best ways to access the demonic realm – although they may not have realized it was demonic (they probably thought they were seeking presence with the “gods” or “the universe”, which were in fact demons.)
Christians should never do zen meditation
So beware! Zen meditation (emptying the mind) is actually an evil, pagan ritual of accessing the demonic realm, whether that is your intention or not. There is no such thing as “safe meditation”, even if your only goal is to reduce stress. The very act of emptying the mind is extremely dangerous to any Christian. While it may seem innocent, it is actually witchcraft and a deeply occult practice. No Christian should ever do meditation or emptying of the mind under any circumstances.
The only “meditation” a Christian should do is spending time in the Bible and prayer, which is the total opposite of zen meditation, despite sharing the same name. Spending time in the Bible, prayer, and memorization of scripture are essential tools to prevent demons from entering your mind, heart, and life. Don’t sleep on the battlefield. Do not empty your mind. Don’t do zen meditation.