Ordained minister, Dr. Dennis Hall exposes the myths of Eastern meditation grounded in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Although many report benefits from these types of meditation techniques, a recent study from Brown University uncovered meditation-related adverse effects that were serious or distressing enough to warrant additional treatment. These effects included psychosis, seizures, depersonalization, mania, and other forms of clinical deterioration. Meditators acknowledged that it is not unusual to experience visions, see or hear spirits, see light, and have out-of-body experiences all of which could be demonic oppression. Because of the shift in consciousness carried out through meditation, participants are open to major deceptions that are no different from the lie in the garden. In these Eastern meditations, full of mysticism, participants can believe that they are God, can lose their God-given ability to judge right from wrong, and have their moral standards lowered. He lays out the scriptural basis for biblical meditation, pointing out that there is no hint in the Bible that meditation is some kind of esoteric practice that requires instruction by gurus or teachers and special techniques for controlling one's breathing are repeating mantras. Dr. Hall carefully lays out elements required for biblical meditation and provides practical suggestions for meditating as part of Christian discipline.
