Prayer & Meditation as therapy

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Wondering if any of you pray and/or meditation as a way of preventing or recovering from meltdowns, improving executive function, or any other therapeutic reason?

I pray the Liturgy of the Hours, and I find that it helps with executive function, because the sound of the bell calling me to prayer throughout the day helps me to get moving from one task to another. That is, when the bell rings (I downloaded a church bell ringtone to my cell phone and set it to ring at various hours of the day), I go read the psalms & prayers of the hour and then instead of coming back to my text twist game or whatever, I am more able to move on to the next thing I was supposed to be doing that day. Some days I'm so stressed out I don't even respond to the bell, but mostly it helps. And the more it becomes a habit, the easier it becomes to respond to the bell right away, and then maybe that can extend to responding to my to do list right away, or leaving the house early enough to be somewhere on time.

Also if I can slow down and calm down enough to pray properly, meditatively, it really does a lot to reduce my anxiety levels. Praying properly, for me, means to pray to be emptied of self, of my worries, of the mental static and brain fog, of my own will, and to become like a clean clear glass lamp waiting ready to be filled with God's light, shining in me and radiating out from me. Letting go of my will and my worries (or choosing to let go, even if I am not perfectly successful at actually letting go) means that I can relax knowing that God is in control, I don't have to be strong enough or functional enough to run my own life, God has His eye on me and He won't let my "deficits" get me in more trouble than I can handle with His support.

So, I'm interested in other people's experiences with prayer and/or meditation as self-therapy?

That is my own experience and continued practice: Trusting and relying upon the Creator of all.

Yes ... it's hard, isn't it? I mean, when things are scary, and you can't see how it will work out. It's hard to let Him be in control. But honestly, He's doing a much better job than I could.

That sounds really beautiful regina. I too heavily rely on prayer and meditation - although it is of the buddhist tradition so I can't comment on surrendering to God exactly.
The main benefit I've found is an improvement in my mental states. Years ago when my life was devoid of these practices and I didn't have the explanation of AS for my executive dysfunction it was really getting me down. I thought I was going crazy.
But now with the explanation coupled with the practices for my mind - I consider myself to be very happy. This is in spite of the fact that my level of functioning is still very low.
I've found it to be quite remarkable - that my brain is still so dysfunctional - yet I am able to sustain such positive thoughts in meditation. I'm also open to the possibility that the wiring in the brain changes over time - so perhaps eventually I will also be able to improve my executive functioning. It's currently my most disabling feature I think. The only reason I can continue with my practices is because it's my special interest. So I consider myself lucky in that respect.

The relaxation aspect of meditation helps with anxiety. And the divine sense of unity helps me feel integrated with the rest of the world. I never feel lonely, and my love for others seems to be growing stronger. I'm still not good with person-to-person contact though.

SporadSpontan, we have a lot in common!

Yeah I was inspired by your post. I love to read about others who benefit from the experience of 'letting go' and experiencing that oneness with something divine.

I'm attracted to stories of mystical hermits. I don't care what the religion is - when I read a post like yours it reminds me how the essence of all religions is much much more similar than is usually recognised. And I very much appreciate that essence.

From what I understand - people who believe in God can recognise this essence in all things that exist in the world. And I'm really into that as well. It's like every experience can be utilised for a connection with the divine. No opportunity is wasted - not even an AS meltdown. A lack of progress in the external world no longer matters so much when one knows they are progressing internally with prayer and meditation.

Meaning and inspiration can be found in everything - even where we least expect it. Formal ceremonies and conforming to a group are not necessary for everyone.

Once this union with a divine has been experienced I doubt it would be possible to ever separate oneself from it. I also doubt that anything could ever compare to it. As I write this - bubbles of joy are filling me up internally and tears are filling in my eyes.

Thank you for posting on this subject because the sharing of this sort of inspiration is probably rare for some of us with AS. I also very much appreciate the breaking down of boundaries between the religions. Of course we still recognise the differences - but to find this similar essence helps us to appreciate the differences.

It's far too easy for people to judge religions on their perception of superficial appearance, strange traditions, incongruent followers, and misinterpretations of symbolic text. And unfortunately this becomes an obstacle for people to experience the true meaning which underlies and far surpasses all of it.

Do you know http://www.hermitary.com/ ? The host seems to be more buddhist than anything. Excellent resource for spiritual solitaries of all traditions.

My faith started in the 12-step programs (e.g. AA). Only after I had "met" God and experienced the transformation in my life from turning over my will and my life into His care did I enter the Church. I have always considered Catholicism to be the metaphorical language with which to understand and express, and speak with, the ineffable God. I have family background in Catholicism. Others may find themselves more fluent in other "languages", but they are expressing the same reality.

Yes! Glad you responded. Nice to find another "communicant" among the atheist zealots on this forum.

Aww man - you used the word 'ineffable'! That's one of my very favourite words!! !

Thanks for the link to that website. I'll check it out.

And as for the extremist atheists - the amazing irony from our perspective is that the 'divine' can be found in all things - including the very words that deny this!! !

From an article in "L'actualité" (sorry, it's french ._. ) , of February 2010 (sounds odd, i know) it said that :

"Daily meditation can reduce risks of having heart attacks and vascular-cerebral accidents. The research was made by a team of experts from Iowa and Wisconsin, they recruited 201 Afro-American patients of which the diameter of their arteries was shortened by the accumulation of atherosclerosis plaques. All patients received a prescription of drugs to reduce their cholesterol ratio and their arterial pressure. Half of them also dedicated from 15 to 20 minutes per day to transcendental meditation, as taught by an instructor. Following a 5 year period, the members of that second group had an average of 47% less heart attacks or vascular-cerebral accidents than those of the first. As a basis for comparison, the statins ["statines" in french <.<] (which are drugs that lower the ratio of bad cholesterol) reduce heart attacks and VCAs by 30 to 40% in average. The antihypertensers ["antihypertenseurs" in french <.<] (which lower arterial pressure) will lower them by 25 to 30%."

(Please note that English in my second language and that i might have trouble with the "specific" terms <.< But all in all, i think it translates pretty much what the article said).

(edited for typos <.< And i checked a dictionnary for ratio (i'm forgetful sometimes =.= )) And sorry for not adhering to your beliefs sir. >.>

Makes perfect sense, thanks for posting it!



?? Not incompatible with my beliefs at all. Quite interesting, thanks.

There is no objective controlled observation that shows prayer to be effective as a healing agent. If prayer does have an effect it is the same as the "placebo effect" which is the effect of certain brain states on the operation of the body. Supernatural woo woo forces have no part in this. It is all natural and physical.

ruveyn

Actually my point in this post is to talk about the cognitive/psychological/emotional effect of the practice of praying or meditating -- ignoring the question of any divine response.

Although ruveyn and I have our differences I must agree he is right on point on religion. I find it unacceptably naive to formulate a non-existent fantasy construction to justify mental procedures.

I think doubt and questioning can certainly have their place.
And it's fine if a person is content with a life without spirituality.
But when the skepticism actually stands in the way of an appreciation for something that others find valuable and helpful then I would consider it problematic.
Intolerance of a belief that isn't harming anyone else is not going to contribute to world peace.
And as for ruveyn's mention of a placebo effect - if that's all it is then at least we're saving on medical bills. I know that I've saved myself hours of pointless communicating with so-called trained professionals because now - thanks to my practices - I can sort much of my own problems out for myself.
And I would consider many of the methods used in western psychology to be rather wanky in comparison to the spiritual methods that I practice. Of course that's just my opinion - I don't have a university degree to support it.

I have no argument with something that works. But insofar as it inserts itself into my personal understanding of the way the universe is structured I feel fine about rejecting it completely. Evidently there are troubled people where these techniques are useful. I am not so troubled and do not need them.

Matthew 7:6

Please don't feed the trolls.