Do some LDS meditate?


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Some things don’t change much over time.  PC, when are you going to stop asking all the thought-provoking questions and just become LDS already?  You know . . . having the Gift of the Holy Ghost by priesthood authority will distil many of these understandings on you in ways that most LDS are not even aware happens, but certainly happens nonetheless. 

 

IMO, the question(s) posed are a bit too broad to address without various qualifications.  I am not aware of any LDS member who meditates to reach some sort of enlightenment as your initial questions seem to indicate is the paradigm you are working from.  (e.g. “place where the veil . . . is thinner”, “seek glimpses into future exaltation”, “fear of welcoming ‘unclean spirits’”) 

 

As I understand it, the Buddha eschewed religious questions altogethe.  Enlightenment was not about seeking God, or becoming enlightened spiritually.  In fact, in the ways we westerners view “religion”, Buddhism is not a religion at all.  Rather, the Buddha taught that the enlightenment he was teaching was to properly see the sources of our own mental anguish, and to overcome them.  To end suffering.  The Buddha is reputed to have said: "I have taught one thing and one thing only, dukkha and the cessation of dukkha."  Dukkha being suffering, anxiety,  or lack of satisfaction. To this end, meditation and mindfulness as taught by Buddhism are wonderful tools LDS can and should use in everyday living to become more like Christ and Heavenly Father. 

 

A very good resource for mindfulness meditation is The Science of Mindfulness: A research-Based Path to Well-Being.  The practice as I understand it is entirely in line with LDS/Christian teachings, and in no way opens one to “unclean spirits”.  On the contrary, it teaches one of the unreliability of some of our thoughts that could be impressions/temptations, and how to critically analyze the thoughts and dismiss them.  Very powerful for those prone to anxiety, depression, or addictions or other social/mental issues. 

 

“The purpose of this thread is to explore whether or not the doctrines of premortal existence and Exaltation make the idea of the emptying kind of meditation more palatable.“  I see no logical connection given my (limited) understanding of what meditation is, and what it is not, at least from the Buddhist perspective.  Perhaps an understanding of Zen, Hindu, or modern western ideals would change that.  Or perhaps I’m missing the how the absence of such doctrines might generate fear of being mindful of the present, and impassionately observing one’s own thought processes.  I don’t see how such would present a fear in the absence of those doctrines, as I can’t see them connected with inviting evil spirits, or other undesirable effects.

 

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Some things don’t change much over time.  PC, when are you going to stop asking all the thought-provoking questions and just become LDS already?  

 

 

Even though my hypothesis proved incorrect (that LDS doctrines might lead many to participate in the kind of meditation I associate with Eastern Mysticism), I still discovered that LDS seem much more open to it than I am.  While this reality would not necessarily stop me from converting, it certainly would not prompt me in that direction.  :cool:

 

Besides...there are some here that may fear that if I ever did convert I would stop asking the thought-provoking questions.  :eek:

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Guest LiterateParakeet

Here are some interesting thoughts on what happens in our brains when we meditate.

 

This article that tells about how meditation changes the brain:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/use-your-mind-change-your-brain/201305/is-your-brain-meditation
 
This guy, Brewer, accidentally found how to help people learn to meditate...using MRI feedback:
 
Podcast: Download Episode Description: Dr. Judson Brewer is an assistant professor at Yale in psychiatry and a contemplative scientist studying the effects of meditation on the brain. He and his colleagues believe they have found a way to use FMRI to give meditators real time feedback on their mindfulness practice.
 
 
Edited by LiterateParakeet
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Here are some interesting thoughts on what happens in our brains when we meditate.

 

This article that tells about how meditation changes the brain:

 

There is a type of psychological therapy called "mindfulness."  That word is very pervasive in Buddhist writings, though I understand that therapists can be trained to use the techniques sans the spirituality.  When I mention such things to our Buddhist monks he rants, "Chaplain, they keeping trying to take God out of it!"

 

Existential therapy without existentialist philosophy, mindfulness therapy without its Buddhist roots, spirituality without religion.  I guess folks get some temporal benefit, but a lot of this seems like chasing after shadows.

 

Maybe we should just do one thing--like our own faith--and do it well.

 

Ironically, you can use that psychology today website to find a therapist.  In your search, you can filter for religion.  And yes, LDS is one option.  in the Seattle area there is one guy.  In Salt Lake City there are dozens.  :-)

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