Shekina Meditation

So what are people experiencing in Meditation? Wow, great question. heres an answer (randomly selected from a pile of perfect answers) from someone new to the practice…

Today was my fourth time experiencing Shekina Meditation. However, it was my first time experiencing an imagination meditation. Rachel led the meditation. She chose the passage from the gospel story where Jesus miraculously calms a storm during a boat trip across Lake Galilee with his disciples. I was pleasantly surprised by the experience. At the beginning of the meditation Rachel led us to the shore amidst the crowds of people where Jesus was calling us to himself. We were encouraged to really experience being there. This was such a powerful experience for me. There was chaos on the shore—lots of people, and lots of commotion and confusion. Then I saw Jesus. He was amazing; I was enamored. Coming into his presence made all the chaos and confusion seem insignificant. He was so pure, strong and trustworthy. My soul was fully attracted to him. I felt peace. I felt safe. I felt fulfilled. I couldn’t even remember, let alone be bothered by the fact that a seemingly life-threatening storm was coming. I felt healing just by dwelling in this place where Jesus was. But then, we were led into the experience of the storm while crossing the lake. This experience was not so ostensibly pleasurable. I suddenly became confused. I didn’t understand why this was happening. The meditation became difficult at this point. But there was another breakthrough. I realized that the way I was feeling was similar to the other disciples in the boat. How quick we were to let our troubles and fears fog our minds, to turn back and doubt Jesus. But then Jesus calmed the storm, restored our faith and brought peace to our souls.

Let me say I’m not the type to have such profound experiences, which is why I was so surprised and thrilled that I had this one. I came to faith four years ago. For the first two years my doubts were based on intellectual struggles. I’ve pretty much dealt with those and now have a strong intellectual foundation for my faith. However, for the later two years up to the present, many of my doubts have more been based on not having enough of a fulfilling, personal, experiential relationship with God. Being that I don’t seem to be the type that’s wired for the more charismatic type experiences, I think I may have discovered a very powerful life-transforming spiritual discipline here with Shekina Meditation, especially through imagination meditation. It facilitates a personal encounter with Jesus, which in turn grows my relationship with him. All it takes is some time to sit down and imagine being with him. It’s so powerful because I know that it’s not simply fantasy imagination. I know that in doing this something real is actually happening. The Holy Spirit is present, truly ushering me into the presence of Jesus. Jesus is actually really ministering to me in this time. He’s renewing my mind and feeding my soul. I’m definitely coming back for more.

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Nice one! and also, here’s a groovy icon. Although I don’t  think they are sacred (sorry my earnest orthodox family!) and don’t use them at all in my own practice, I love the artwork. And yeah, I think I get it, visual meditation.

So here it is, a tidbit from a hebrew speaking person who has been coming to the meditation times with us. She wrote this in a shout out to some friends, and thought it was a good insight to share…

“Mmmm mysterious! Let me explain, for some days now I’ve been meditating on “shekina”, which in the Hebrew simply means “to dwell” (shochen) Exodus 25:8 ” … Let them build Me a sanctuary that I may dwell (shocen) with them”

The letter goes on with more words from the Tanach and some seasons greetings, but the main point is right there. It’s a good excuse to talk about part of the point, the reason behind of the whole thing, which might come in handy just about now.

It was something she said after the meditation jumped out to me like an indian cow on the highway. She mentioned that when she moved into new zip code in Israel, she had to talk about where she was and who she was, just a run of the mill newbie discussion with her budding hebrew skills.

Turns out she had to say the word for neighborhood (שכונה -Shechonah) and neighbor (שכן-shochen) alot. Did you catch it?  It comes from the same root word that we get shekina. A surprisingly common and familiar word to use for lofty God concepts, don’t you think?

Dwelling, house, abode, living place. Dwelling meditation. Yeah, I like it.

So go with the thought, with the implications. God wants to live with you, in your hood?

Now that’s something to meditate on. Often when we start, we invoke the hope and expectation that God would do just that, reveal the presence among us, like right then and there. True, its a sobering even high goal for a one hour circle on a rooftop, if you look at it one way.

On the other hand, anything less might just be a waste of time.

P.s. The newly minted “Bizaam! Insights” category could be full of stuff like this, and better.  You know, lightbulb moments you might get during the meditation time and in discussions after. Even juicy musings on the the topic by frequent flyers. So come on down, weigh in and let it loose man, we’ll supply the pulpit.

Okay, pulpit is too strong. Look, don’t get all preachy, nobody likes a know it all. Just say what you learned like a normal human being, ok? ;)

This blog will be a stream of experiences, a chance for those practicing Shekina Meditation, to nurture and grow what they do.

And it has begun! What is the vision? Simple;

A place to discover meditation as a valid and wholesome Christian practice

Somewhere to contribute and learn from our  shared experiences

A place to experiment grow your own practice

I don’t think of Shekina Meditation as a brand, it cannot be owned, it is user generated and tailored by the very people who practice it. It is based on very old practices and ideas,  infused with the sensitivities and values of our times.

It is centered on Christian truths, so if you are a Christian you may find a lot familiar things, like the use of the Bible as a source text, a clear emphasis on Jesus as well as central Christian truths.

If you have a background in popular forms of meditation, you will see some familiar things, like breathing and opening techniques, mind and body preparation and other meditation techniques.

But its likely that it is not really like anything you have done before. Many of these practices have not been common for centuries. Get curious, dig around and see what you can find. We will be building out the about and faq sections over the next few weeks so that you can get a sense of what we do, and why.

For now its a seed. Feel free to come here and water it from time to time. Anyone who has had experience in Shekina Meditation can send in an email to us with their experience and we will post it. Feel free to comment and ask questions, lets bring this thing to life!