The term “meditation” is carrying new meaning as this long-time tradition of the East is making its way more and more into western society. People are taking time out to meditate, practicing it in schools, prisons, hospitals, law firms, government buildings and corporate offices.

Meditation is poised to become one answer to the world’s fast-paced lifestyle. On one end of the spectrum, meditation is taught to use one’s own thoughts to achieve higher spiritual levels. On the other hand, it can simply be used as a method of relaxation. It is often recommended by doctors as an aid for stress and chronic diseases, and there are various types of meditation.

“The method of meditation that I recommend to people to do is a spiritual kind of meditation—something that offers you some deeper insights into the way you are feeling, the way you are at a particular moment, looking for a solution,” says Jenna Maraj, regional director of the Brahma Kumaris World Organization for the mid-Atlantic United States.

Certain types of meditation can have negative aspects, according to Seventh-day Adventist experts. “The danger, to be very blunt, is when you get into an altered state of consciousness,” says Manuel Vasquez, an Adventist who has written several books on meditation. “You’re not fully in control of all your faculties and that’s when demons and evil influences can really penetrate into your thinking.”

There’s a major difference between Christian meditation and mystical meditation, Vasquez says. “Christian meditation is highly promoted in scriptures….You fill your mind with themes of Christianity, your own personal religious experience, the life of Christ, the passage you may be reading in the Bible. And you do it all in a conscious state.”

With mystical meditation, you empty your mind, Vasquez explains. “The whole aim of mystical meditation is to get into an altered state of consciousness, something like self-hypnosis, so that you can get into the metaphysical world and do all kinds of things, like listen to voices of spirit entities or spirit masters, or even the voice of Christ.”

Dr. Peter Landless, health ministries associate director for the Adventist world church, says that although one must be careful in the methods of meditation they get involved with, they shouldn’t dismiss meditation altogether.

“There are aspects of meditation related to new age, non-spiritual, non-religious meditation, which I think would pose definite dangers to the Christian growth because they focus on an aspect which is more self-centric as opposed to God-centered,” he says. “But within the framework of meditating and contemplating the goodness of God, His love for us, in eliciting a response in following Him and our commitment to Him, that kind of meditation is safe and also to be recommended.” 

Landless believes that “for every genuine and beneficial thing the Lord has given us, the devil creates a counterfeit. Meditation was never of itself a bad thing. But when it focuses and brings us into unity, not with the creator of the universe and the savior of mankind, but tries to get us into some kind of oneness with ourselves and with nature, it almost becomes a pantheistic, new age type of experience. I think we need to be very careful of that. I think there’s a balance…Put it into perspective.”

In mystical meditation, Vasquez adds, “you have not separated your spirit from your body because that’s impossible, biblically speaking. What happens is the experience of demons are transmitting those experiences that they have, because they live in another dimension, they’re transmitting them to your brain. And you think you are actually doing these things.”

Maraj says meditators at Brahma Kumaris have a connection to God in meditation. “I think God plays a crucial role in people learning how to meditate. To me, God is very accessible.” She explains that they don’t let their minds wander in the direction of spiritualism. “You just don’t think about it. For example, if I think about you, I know that we have a connection. If I don’t think about you, we won’t have a connection. It’s as simple as that.”

Dr. Bogdan Scur, a professor of religion at Columbia Union College, a Seventh-day Adventist institution in Takoma Park, Maryland, says that meditation is a practice with its foundation in the Bible. It is nothing but “listening prayer,” a form of prayer where people not only speak to God, but listen, he says. “Any practice [of meditation] that would deny the natural faculties is not acceptable,” Scur says. “Christian meditation affirms the use of the mind.”

Scur refers to Jesus Christ, who spent whole nights in prayer and meditation. He recommends spending time each day not only talking to God, but listening. “When you read [the Bible or devotionals], pause and listen,” he says. 

Meditation has been scientifically proven to bring many health benefits. “The neuro-physiological benefits of meditation include positive effects on the emotions, slowing down of the heart rate, decreasing the breathing rate, lowering the blood pressure,” Landless says. “In general [it] gives a person a feeling of well-being and being relaxed.”

“The claims for mystical meditation are great, especially by doctors, by psychiatrists, and the bottom line is it works,” says Vasquez. But, he adds, “They need to ask themselves beyond the question, ‘Does it work?’ They need to ask themselves, ‘Who makes it work?’ Because there’s divine power and there’s demonic power and both can bring healing.”

Landless recommends spending time each day contemplating the life of Christ, which enhances spiritual well-being and translates into improved physical health.