Two of the many search terms I used in my research were "Christian meditation" and "Mormon meditation." LDS Perfect Day's
blog showed up in the search results several times. I followed his instructions on several occasions but got frustrated because they didn't do anything for me. I had done some
mindfulness meditation in previous years but felt like I hadn't benefited
much. I wondered if there was some sort of Christian- or
Mormon-specific way to meditate, but eventually dropped the subject.
Months later I came across a guy named Phil McLemore. He wrote a number of very good articles in Sunstone1
and has been featured on many podcasts2. Some of the things he's taught
really resonated with me. He talks about how some members of the church feel spiritually stagnant, like they're not making any progress, and
feel underfulfilled by their religious practice. I could totally relate to that! That was exactly how I felt! He says we feel like we need to
make the natural man a saint through willpower and checklists as
opposed to "crucifying" the natural man by being spiritually reborn as a
saint. (I'm also quite guilty of the checklists and to do lists.) He discovered years ago that practicing transcendental
meditation helped him spiritually transcend the level he had been stuck
on for years. Meditation allowed him to commune with God and learn for
himself what kind of Being God is, and he found himself becoming a more
Christlike person without checklists and willpower.
Phil has an online meditation course that he charges for.3
I felt like his website was kind of scammy, so I dismissed the idea of
taking it. Then I came across someone who had bought the course and
felt like it was helpful. I was intrigued and bought it ($49). I
learned a LOT. He provides some guided meditations to get you started
till you're able to do unguided on your own. I like using them once or twice a day and have liked his style of meditation better than mindfulness meditation.
I'm
only two months in, so I can't say I've experienced anything profound.
Phil said it took him many months. But I feel pretty certain that what
he teaches is right and I will eventually have a breakthrough. I wish I
had started meditating with Phil right from the beginning. If I had
started last spring, I would have been much further along right now!
1 Hindering the Saints, Becoming the Beloved of the Lord, Mormon Mantras, The Yoga of Christ
2 Mormon Stories, Mormon Matters, there are also some MP3s of presentations he's given at Sunstone symposiums floating around the internet
3 I'm not shilling for him or getting any kind of kickback for the link. He gives the basics on how to meditate in the Mormon Mantras article for free.
