I was first motivated to explore meditation, despite my fear of it, because of physical suffering. After years of enduring chronic pain, my search for relief led me to the science of mind-body medicine. This taught me that incessant thinking could be contributing to my pain. I knew my mind was always racing, despite years of sincere prayer and faith, so I began looking into how to quiet it. Once I overcame my fears and started practicing meditation to quiet my mind, I found relief from chronic pain and discovered a new dimension of my faith.
The human mind naturally wants to stay busy all the time, but this isn’t in anyone’s best interest. Many daily activities don’t require much mental effort, which allows the mind to wander and get into trouble. Examples include taking a shower, doing routine chores, commuting, and grocery shopping. None of these activities require constant thought; however, our minds often run nonstop during these times, creating tension and wasting valuable energy that could be better used for something productive. Even worse, our vivid imaginations can take over, conjuring dreadful stories about the future (worry), replaying painful scenes from the past, and exaggerating everything that’s wrong with the present. Meditation is about learning to quiet this noise, so the mind remains clear and composed throughout the day, and ready to serve when needed.
During the darkest moments of my journey through chronic physical pain, my mind was constantly running. Not all of my thoughts were negative—I often found myself holding onto positive ones to keep the negative ones at bay. Many people believe that constant thinking is unavoidable or that it enhances productivity, and I used to think this way as well. However, I came to realize that incessant thinking is counterproductive and can be harmful. This unending mental activity can drain our energy, create tension, block creativity, and ultimately lead to both physical and emotional pain.
Busyness has become a disease in our culture, harming our health and well-being. Constant busyness has led many to accept nonstop thinking as normal, resulting in an increase in mind-body symptoms. Finding mental stillness is growing increasingly difficult due to the overwhelming demands of daily life and the information overload from electronic media. Consequently, many people have developed a fear of silence because they are so accustomed to the noise. Busyness has even infiltrated some churches, making them feel more like pep rallies than places for quiet reflection and introspection. This environment fosters a shallow and fragile faith that requires constant reinforcement, and it contributes to a mind that never truly finds rest.
Meditation is sometimes mistakenly seen as solely an Eastern or secular practice, but its roots in the Christian faith run deep. The Desert Fathers and Mothers practiced mental stillness, as did Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, St. Augustine, and Ignatius of Loyola, to name a few. Many wrongly believe that the Judeo-Christian scriptures don’t encourage quieting the mind, but this idea is implied throughout the texts. The scriptures admonish us to let go of thoughts related to worry, fear, anger, hatred, lust, unforgiveness, materialism, judgment, and the past. Since most repetitive and negative thoughts revolve around these issues, releasing them naturally results in a very quiet mind.
Freeing oneself from these negative or sinful thoughts can be difficult if you don’t know how to quiet your mind. A quiet mind provides freedom from past pain, freedom from future worries, and freedom from harmful worldly thinking. Why would anyone be against that?
Learning to quiet the mind does not happen automatically through prayer, scripture study, or practicing faith and sacraments. It is a skill that requires discipline and regular practice. Meditation involves learning to gently separate from your thoughts and emotions, rather than being a slave to them, by directing your attention away from thoughts. I emphasize “gently” because it should not be a battle—if you fight with your mind, you will lose.
Meditation involves increasing awareness by creating space between you and your thoughts and feelings. This allows you to observe them without identifying with them. Once you disidentify from your thoughts and feelings, you can see them from a fresh perspective. This new awareness helps you see the folly of repetitive, negative, and unconstructive thoughts—and then let them go. Once these thoughts are released, there is more space and energy available for productive thinking. The result is a mind that is sharper and clearer, and better able to think critically.
Our belief systems shape the constant stream of thoughts in our minds and affect our ability to think critically. Unfortunately, not all of our beliefs are truly our own. Many are implanted in us by others—parents, advertisers, the media, politicians, and religious leaders. Practicing daily meditation can help you examine beliefs planted by others, making them more visible. Consistently evaluating your beliefs, especially those influenced by others, is essential. If you neglect this practice, you’ll waste time and energy on unimportant things, only to have the harsh realities of life shatter the illusions that have been programmed in you.
One way to tell if a belief is truly yours is to notice if you have a strong emotional reaction when it is challenged. A powerful emotional response can indicate that the belief was imposed on you by someone else rather than one you hold independently. Meditation creates space inside so you can look at these beliefs objectively and critically and then decide whether to keep them or let them go.
Some forms of meditation are tied to specific worldviews and should be approached with discernment. But discernment is very different from fear. Christians need not reject meditation wholesale simply because it appears in other traditions. Singing and fasting also appear in other traditions and are viewed as spiritually neutral. Rather than promoting fear of meditation because it is used in other religions, Christians can recognize that people across cultures have long used similar techniques to calm the mind and nurture the soul.
It is best to avoid so-called meditation techniques that require intense concentration. Meditation isn’t about concentration; it’s about relaxed attention. Concentration is a highly focused form of thinking that consumes energy and creates tension. Meditation, on the other hand, is the most relaxed state a person can be in without falling asleep.
Meditation is not about training your mind—it’s about training your attention. Attention is directed toward feelings, the breath, and other body sensations rather than toward thoughts. Thoughts are allowed to pass by without getting lost in them—until they eventually fade away. The goal is to quiet your mind while remaining highly alert, aware, and relaxed.
Contemporary scientific research aligns with what many Christians throughout history have known: beneath the chaos of our thoughts lies a peace that transcends understanding, along with a subtle joy and love that defy natural explanation. Meditation has been shown to reduce stress, improve mental clarity, enhance emotional resilience, and cultivate love and compassion. Far from undermining a believer’s spiritual life, these benefits strengthen it.
A rested, centered, and emotionally balanced person is better equipped to pray, serve, and love. When Christians practice meditation to quiet their mental chatter, they often find it easier to hear God, discern His will, and live out their faith with greater peace. In a world full of distractions and busyness, meditation supports the virtues that the Church seeks to cultivate.
Meditation should not be seen as dangerous; instead, it can be a pathway to spiritual growth. It does not need to replace theology; instead, it can create the necessary inner space for thoughtful reflection on the Divine. Similarly, meditation does not replace prayer; it enhances prayer by quieting mental noise. By reclaiming the long-standing meditative traditions of Christianity and wisely engaging with various stillness techniques, the Christian can enrich his spiritual life rather than limit it.
There are many types of meditation, all of which aim to quiet the mind, enhance awareness and alertness, and provide rest. However, the traditional practice of sitting quietly and observing your breath can be uncomfortable at first and requires practice, which causes many to give up. Therefore, I suggest starting with a simpler form of meditation called expressive writing, as discussed in the above article “Repetitive Negative Thoughts and Physical Pain.” Expressive writing is more easily accepted as spiritually neutral and can help overcome the fear of meditation. For more details on this and how to free yourself from the tyranny of the mind, see my book, “Your Brilliant Mind: Wonderful Servant or Wicked Master?”.