The last chapter of Main’s book, Awakening, is about meditation. The meditation he talks about is contemplative prayer. And for it, we need silence. “The first thing to understand is the wonder and marvel of silence,” as Main says. In our society, we like constant noise. Don’t believe me? Consider that we have little portable computers we take with us called smartphones. They produce both audible noise and mental noise.
The purpose of meditation, as Main sees it, is worshipping God. While worship can be noisy, as it is in our church worship services, it also requires silence. In the Old Testament (1 Kings 18-19), the prophet Elijah triumphs over the prophets of Baal, a pagan god. After that victory, he finds himself depressed. He tells God, “Take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” God speaks to Elijah in what English Standard Version translates as “a low whisper.”
For Elijah to hear God, he had to be silent and listen. While God does not speak to us audibly now, He does speak. When we seek His presence, He speaks to our hearts. Repeated time daily in His presence aids in our recovery from trauma and makes us into who God created us to be.
“Worship is impossible without silence because once we come into the presence of the Mystery all we can do is bow and bend low.” John Main
How meditation helps me
Meditation has helped me recover from childhood trauma. That sentence seems almost like an understatement. Thanks to meditation, I have learned not to give heed to every thought that comes into my mind. I can reject any negative self-talk because I have learned while meditating to observe my mind.
I practice both breath observation and contemplative prayer, which can also be described as Christian meditation. While breath observation helps me focus my mind, contemplative prayer helps me connect deeper with God. Both are what I need. In previous articles, I looked at the benefits that studies show meditation has for trauma survivors. Now, I will look at what meditation has done in my life.
Practicing silence before God, and I include breath observation in that, has helped me calm my brain. Trauma affects our brains, enlarging a part of the brain called the amygdala. I would wake up every morning for as long as I could remember with tremendous anxiety. After around two and half years of practicing meditation and tapping every morning, I no longer wake up with anxiety.
I am comfortable being silent while praying. Perhaps that sounds weird to some. My advice is to try it out. Play around with different contemplative prayer techniques. See if you don’t feel closer to your Creator. See if you don’t come to cherish those moments of silence before God. Go on, I dare you.
“As we persevere in our daily meditation we come to love and cherish those moments of stillness and silence as the most precious, most real moments of our day.” John Main
This is the last in an eight-part series on the book Awakening by John Main. If you haven’t already read the previous articles, here are the links to them:
Bless you dear Gina. It is wonderful to spend quiet times with the Lord and yes as we do, we are in a position to hear His voice. This healing journey is day by day and we can rejoice when we are shown new tools to our healing. Love you, dear girl. So very proud of you. <3
I'm so glad you're meditating