Christian Meditation and the Subconscious Mind

Controlling Negative Thoughts is Easier Said Than Done

I began to study and see what the scriptures said about our minds. When we come to Christ, we think that we're going to be instantly transformed to this new creation in Christ. We believe that many of our habits and problems are going to just disappear. Well God does work miracles, but for many of us, once the excitement of accepting Christ wears off, we often find ourselves challenged by our same old habits, problems, and mindsets. When we come to Christ, we are endowed with His spirit, but our old degenerate mind continues to need a constant overall. Read what the Bibles says about our minds: Romans 1:28- Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. Ephesians 4:23 - to be made new in the attitude of your minds. 2 Corinthians 11:3 - But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Romans 12:2 - Do not conform any longer to the pattern (conditioning) of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Paul said it best in Romans 7:21 when he stated that he knows what to do, but has trouble doing it. "When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22-For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23-but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. From these scriptures, along with countless more, we see that the "Christian" mind really isn't so Christian at all. Unless our minds are renewed and subdued by God's spirit, it's most likely that our minds our controlling our behavior instead of the other way around. Unfortunately, it's the mind that is making most Christians mentally ill. Our mind causes us to worry, to fear, to doubt, and more.

We're Plagued with Compulsive Thinking

Think about it! How often you just stop thinking? Try is for one minute. Even when we're trying to spend time with God, we're thinking about what we need to do next. These thoughts cause us to rush through our devotional time or scripture reading. Our mind has us convinced that we're going to miss out on something if we don't hurry it up. But just like we need to take time to relax our bodies, if we are to have continued mental health and well-being we need to spend time relaxing (and renewing) our minds as well.

Our Mind Interferes with our Relationship with God

According to many scriptures in the Bible, God speaks to his children with a still, small voice. God isn't going to shout you down or cause lightening to strike to make you listen to Him. No, instead, he's going to wait until you become still and quiet. Psalms 46:10 tells us to "Be still and know God." It's implying that it's through our stillness that our relationship with God becomes more intimate. Do you remember the story of Mary and Martha? In Luke 10, Jesus was invited to Martha’s home for dinner. Martha had chosen to serve Jesus by busily preparing her home for his comfort, yet, her sister Mary sat as Jesus feet to learn from him. The text goes on to say that Martha got upset because Mary wasn’t helping her and she wanted Jesus to scold her. However, Jesus reprimand Martha and said “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. Most of us tend to be more like Martha than Mary. Marthas spend most of their time doing for Jesus (having meetings, attending services, singing in the choir, heading committees, making a living, etc) and not enough time just abiding (dwelling) in his presence, meditating, being still enough to listen, and being filled up by his words. Just imagine the effect on the world if Christians actually took the time to linger in God’s presence!

We Must Learn to Abide in Christ

Jesus said it is only through abiding that we bear much fruit. Christian Meditation is a useful tool to assist believers in getting still before God so that they can build a relationship not based on doing, but on abiding. Abiding promotes intimacy. Intimacy involves time. It involves not only listening but getting to know the person for whom we have affections. Saint John 15:4 declares, “abide in me and I will abide in you.” Verse 7 says, “if you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” That means we must integrate dwelling with Christ with embracing his word. The abiding builds relationship and the Word of God brings transformation. It also brings blessings our way.

Why Just Hearing a Great Sermon Isn't Enough

How many times have you heard an excellent sermon or message that inspired you to make some changes in your life, but within a matter of weeks you were back to your old habits and routine? Kind of like those New Year's Resolutions. The Bible says, you can’t put new wine into old wine bottles or you’ll ruin the new wine! If you have corrupted thinking, you’ve got to get rid of it before you can embrace new truth. Here is another example. Remember the parable of the sower? Your mind is like the soil in a garden. Imagine a garden plot filled with weeds, worms, snails, and the like. You take a perfectly healthy plant and place it in the middle of that garden plot. What's going to happen to it? Is it going to continue to growth and thrive? Absolutely not! Before long the weeds and insects are going to devour it and suck out all it's nutrients. That is the same thing that happens when we try and plant new truth, God's truth, in a mind that is tainted with faulty mindsets, past conditioning, and falsehoods. Eventually the weeds are going to take over again. Therefore, before we can truly embrace God's truth we need to identify and get rid of the weeds planted in our minds: the negative thoughts and debilitating mind sets that we've accepted as truth. They are choking out the word of God and causing our Christian walk to be unfruitful. Otherwise, you’ll have two minds warring against each other.

Christ-Centered Meditation Can Help You
Win the Battle for Your Mind

It was practicing meditation integrated with the scriptures that helped me to overcome years of depression. Christ-centered meditation helped me to become still enough so that I could observe what was really going on in my mind. Until then, my mind was controlling my thoughts and ultimately my behavior. It took me being still to even realize it. But once I recognized the thoughts I was thinking I was able to challenge, alter, or eliminate them altogether. Ongoing and consistent meditation taught me how to control my thoughts instead of allow them to control me. We can't change what we don't see or acknowledge. I call it unconscious living. It's when we continue to live on autopilot, doing the same things, the same ways without really considering whether these behaviors are working for us anymore.

Hear Stories of Others Who Have Found Peace, Joy,
and Greater Intimacy with Christ From Christian Meditation:

These CDs Have Been a Tremendous Blessing

Although I was a Christian for 22 years, the intimacy was never there until I started
meditating two years ago. I thought or was led to believe that meditation was only for the Eastern culture. Christian were not suppose to meditate because other spirits lurking in the spiritual realm would somehow attack me, or invade my life.

One morning during an early devotion I found Psalms 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God," naive of how many times the Bible mentions the word meditate. I researched the word meditate and found that all I had to do was to quiet my mind and control my thoughts. I thought it was easy, but found it to be one of the hardest discipline I had to accomplish. I shared this with my husband and our Bible group, and we all started seeking the Lord for guidance. Soon we found ourselves prostrated before His presence. We knew we were on to a true meaning of seeking Him alone, not through men. We continued to research on the Internet for Christian meditation, but not much found.

One day, after a year we found this website www.thechristianmediator.com and we order the CDs. This was confirmation to us, that we were not alone in being led the Holy Spirit. What a tremendous blessing these CDs have been to our group. This experience has given us a depth of God's presence that we have never had in 22 years of being Christians. We are living in complete faith allowing Him to guide us, and have seen his provision in every area of our life. Our relationship with the creator has given us peace knowing that He is in control not men and that his love is for those who seek Him earnestly, unconditionally, and at all times. We practice this discipline every morning & and once a week corporately. We are truly living the lifestyle that Jesus had and gave to his disciples; he sought that Father alone. It has changed our life!
- Carmen Goudie, Florida

I Felt More Calm After Using the Meditation Cd's

From my earliest childhood the only way felt I could survive in my home was to hide my feelings,suppress my emotions, and deny myself to keep peace in the house. In time I grew into a total people pleaser and was miserable. My every waking moment was devoted to making sure those closest to me were happy at any cost.

I had lost myself and had no real identity. I was in constant emotional pain. I had no
self-respect and no respect of any other kind. By the time I was in my forties, I was
completely exhausted with myself, my life, and wanted to be free of this tremendous burden, but by that time the stronghold was firmly set. My family life began to unravel, which aside from carnal walk with CHRIST, was the only thing holding me together. My constant negative thinking began to gravitate to a darker side. The negative thoughts were coming uncontrollably and I was stressed to the max. I noticed people who meditated seemed to be relaxed and confident. I wanted what they had but not at the expense of my faith in JESUS.

I began looking on-line to see if a thing called Christian Meditation even existed. That is how I found Rhonda Jones' website. After just using the meditation Cd's once, I felt so calm and relaxed that I shared these wonderful Cd's with my family and have seen a remarkable change in our home. I am truly grateful to GOD and Rhonda for helping to break through the enemy's stronghold and setting my mind free. I strongly recommend it to anyone who is struggling with constant negative thoughts.
-Lillie Sayles, Duncanville, Texa

              Meditation and Relaxation Has Helped Me to
                     Keep my Pain Levels Under Control

I suffer from fibromyalgia, chronic myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, IBS, and asthma, all of which get much worse during times of stress. I developed an interest in Christian meditation and guided imagery after working with a wonderful Christian psychologist several years ago who used hypnotherapy with Christian imagery to help me learn to cope with stress and pain.
He taped our sessions so I could listen to them at home. He gave me my life back! I then learned to do my own meditation by putting on a CD of the ocean and slow, tranquil music and doing my deep breathing with that. I would visualize myself on a beach with Christ over the waves with his arms outstretched to me. I would breathe in his healing love and breathe
out all stress and worry. But after awhile, I got bored with doing the same thing over and over and wanted some variety.

I began searching for Christian guided meditation and could find almost nothing online or in the stores till I happened upon one of Rhonda's CDs at Amazon.com. I purchased the CD on stress and toxic emotions. I loved the imagery in it and it lowered my stress levels which
helped lower my pain levels. I also love the one on the morning meditation with all the positive reinforcements. I have a good one by Sue Jones who is also a fibromyalgia sufferer that I use as well. And I have one by a sleep doctor that used guided relaxation of muscles and counting to 10 over and over to focus the breath which is also very good.

Guided imagery, meditation, and relaxation have helped me to keep my pain levels under control,and I now almost never take anything for pain. Stress has such a negative effect on the body physically and emotionally and meditation has been proven by research to lower blood pressure and pain levels as well as help with depression. I am so thrilled to find Rhonda's site so I can get a variety of Christian meditations because those meditations that involve my faith are even more effective for me.
                                                                                  -Sue DeVecka

So What is Christian Meditation?

If you look up the word "meditate" in the dictionary it means to "engage in thought or
contemplation; reflect." Meditation means the act of meditating; continued or extended
thought; reflection; contemplation; or devout religious contemplation or spiritual
introspection. Therefore the practice of Christian meditation would be to engage in thought,
contemplation, and reflection about our relationship with Christ and/or the Word of God.
There is nothing really mystical about it. We all meditate everyday when are minds are
singled-focused on something for an extended period of time. There are different methods
used to meditate on God but our goal is to create a more fruitful walk with the Lord.

But Isn't It Ungodly for Christians to Meditate?

I believe that Christians who are opposed to Christ-centered meditation don't really
understand the practice and its benefits. They also fail to acknowledge that meditating on
Christ is encouraged in the Bible. Read the following scriptures:

>Psalms chapter 46:10 tells us to be still and know that I am God.
>Joshua chapter 1 verse 8, admonishes us to meditate on God's word day and night.
>Psalms chapter 4: 4 persuades us,"When you are in your beds, search your hearts
and be silent.
>David desired in Psalms 104: 34, that his meditations be pleasing to the Lord.
>Isaiah declared in Chapter 50:4, "He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my
ear to listen like one being taught.
>Moses spent 40 days on the mountain abiding and learning from God (Exodus 34-
35).
>Paul received revelation and saw visions from heaven (2 Corinthians 12).John wrote
visions that are recorded in the book of Revelations.
>The Bible says even Jesus spent hours alone with God (Luke 5:16; Mark 1:35).

Our greatest inspirations and truths come during times of quietness, stillness, openness, and
reflection- all components of meditation. Almost any activity can be abused and used for
evil. Sometimes it's not what we do but our motivation for doing it. In the same light, the
practice of meditation can be used to honor God or dishonor Him. Some forms of
meditation encourage participants to empty their minds in an effort to connect with the
supernatural world. That can be dangerous. However, Christian meditation encourages
believers to be still before God so we can dwell in his presence, focus entirely on Him, and
quiet our minds so we can fully embrace His Word.

Ten Benefits of Christian Meditation Relaxation CDs:

You'll Learn to:
Relax and Quiet your Mind
Turn off Compulsive Thinking
Understand the Scriptures More Fully
Live with More Balance in your Life Hear the Voice of God More Clearly
Live in the Present Moment
Abide in God's Presence
Create a Greater Intimacy with God
Reduce or Eliminate Toxic Emotions like Stress, Anger, and Worry.
Observe the Thoughts You Think So You Can Challenge and Eliminate Them.

Learn more about our Christian Meditation CD series. We have over 23 meditations offered on 11 CDs and 6 New Affirmation CDs.