There is a kind of meditation for which I feel not merely distaste but something akin to horror. Without giving details of my own experience – and I’ve done my fair share of experimentation in these things – I’m confident enough to maintain that there are forms of meditation one would be wise to avoid. Not being as wise as I should have been in years gone by and having gotten myself much too close to “the edge” in the process, I believe I can offer some cautionary advice to those similarly drawn to a quest for “contemplative experience.” And my very first piece of advice is not to seek “experience” at all, which is also what most “experienced” contemplatives would likewise advise. If one is a Christian, then I can say — with the backing of the vast majority of the greatest Christian spiritual masters — seeking and even having “experiences” are more likely than not to be distractions from the real purpose not only of contemplation but of life in Christ itself (as we will touch on below). But I am getting ahead of myself. Before going on, allow me to give a single example of the sort of meditative path – both the theory and practice – that I have in mind and would caution others not to tread.
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