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Contemplation on Christ’s Life and Teachings

We can make our Christmas celebrations so much more meaningful by contemplating Christ’s life and teachings alone or in groups.

These visualizations can be used as methods of entering into the forms of prayer or meditation which suit you most.

Contemplation

This visualization is similar to the contemplation techniques used by some Christian monks. We bring a scene, event or teaching from Christ’s life into focus. We concentrate on it dwelling on the message or lesson, which can be received through his words or actions.

After some contemplation, we mentally create a phrase, which expresses what this means for us at this moment. (At some other time the same words or actions may offer us a totally different message. This is especially true of the parables because they can be understood at so many different levels.)

Once we have mentally established a phrase, which represents the essage we have tuned into to, we move deeper into the message limit it to only three words, which express its essential meaning.

Then we select only one word (which may or may not be a part of the message) which expresses the essence of this message. This will most often be a spiritual value such as love, peace, forgiveness, faith, service, sacrifice, humility, strength, fearlessness, devotion etc.

We, then begin to focus more intensely on this word.

Focusing on this word, we gradually become attuned to its inner quality or energy. We begin to feel the vibration of this quality or virtue such as love or peace etc. permeating our body and mind.

As our concentration increases, this vibration or quality permeates our whole being. We are immersed in it and become transformed by it.

We remain in this bliss returning over and over again to this energy, which is vibrating in our being, or moving into our chosen form of prayer or meditation.

By Robert Elias Najemy

(Adapted from the forthcoming "The Art of Meditation" by Robert Elias Najemy. His book "The Psychology of Happiness" (ISBN 0-9710116-0-5) is available at http://www.amazon.com and http://www.HolisticHarmony.com. His writings can be viewed at http://www.HolisticHarmony.com where you can also download FREE articles and e-books.