How to Meditate with Jesus

In-sight
Exploring our inner life can be daunting, but it’s necessary for growth. After all, how can we become our best self and live a peaceful life if we don’t know who we are? Self-awareness is the beginning of wisdom. It is part of our personal work to know the perceptions, mindsets, thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and rudimentary desires that determine our view of reality and, therefore, help us to understand how we can color and create the reality we live in.
To hold onto our old and comfortable ways of being can cause resistance to change or prevent us from moving into higher levels of functioning and new ways of being. We must instead be willing to explore that which is keeping us stagnated or blocking us from achieving greater happiness. Meditation is self-discovery. It’s an exploration of one’s soul and an excavation and cleansing of our minds’ perspective.

Initiating and allowing a change in perspective is essential because, without this, we can get stuck in the same paradigm—in the same habits, thoughts, emotions, and desires—which prohibits us from fully recovering our power and growing into who we are meant to be. Unfortunately, we are all resistant to change and to exploring concepts we don’t initially believe in, support, or understand.

However, it’s important to note that resistance can come up because there might be something important for us to do or look at or a lesson for us to learn. We might need to make a change, and change is often hard. It may require courage and soul-searching. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of meditation is overcoming the resistance to do it.

In knowing this, we also need to know that resistance can point the way to our soul’s truth, evolution, purpose, and divine calling. Meditation is a discovery of these gifts. By resisting insight or change, we may, in actuality, be resisting getting to know our own souls and the messages inside our hearts. Our “free” will (free in the sense that we make choices for ourselves daily) can be defiant, rebellious, and powerful, directing us away from the very thing that might be beneficial for us. Inner work is a way for us to explore the truth beyond resistance, and Christ-centered meditation is an effective tool for doing that work.

All adult humans are on a path of recovery. We can lose contact with precious pieces of our identity. Recovery is searching for and finding something lost and regaining possession or control of something that is missing, stolen, or buried. It is a return to an optimal state of health.
mind, or strength.4 Every day during meditation, we are given the gift of recovering what we lost during the years prior or the day before. Maybe it was peace or happiness. Maybe it was our self-control or innocence. Regardless, we recover that which was lost along the way. We become awake to who we truly are, and the beauty that is in and around us.

In-spiration
Learning to meditate with Jesus keeps us tethered to a process of inner transformation. Every time we return to this space, it is with less resistance than the time before it. With practice, we begin to feel an intimate alignment with our multidimensional nature: our body, soul, and spirit. We grow in our ability to love and remain calm, even during hard times. Instead of seeking rewards from the outside world, the spiritual world within becomes nurturing and satisfying. A balance between the material and the spiritual world brings layers of unity, harmony, peace and abundance into our lives.

The intention and purpose of this eight-step Christ-centered meditation and prayer practice are to surrender our soul and connect our spirit to God’s Spirit. The motive is to be consciously led by the Spirit of God.

We are so much more than the anxiety, the addiction, the fluctuating thoughts of the mind, the waves of feelings, and the impulsive behaviors that come and go. We can choose to be guided and given power on our path to our divine authentic purpose. The Eleventh Step of Alcoholics Anonymous (“AA”) states it perfectly: “[We] [s]ought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”5

Imagine being able to sustain forward growth into higher states of consciousness and actions. Meditating with Jesus can guide us toward intimacy with divinity. We become more like those we spend time with, so why not spend time with Jesus? Jesus Christ, our brother and friend, can show us the way. This book and this practice are for those who seek to know God better, and in doing so, are open to gaining self-awareness and wisdom. The result is more peace and joy.

The goal is to join the movement that many travel in order to ignite and empower the light within our hearts. The way to do this is through Christ-centered meditation and prayer. We must use our words and say, “I will move toward the light, and I trust that it will be beneficial for me and for others.” This can cultivate the virtue of trust inside all of us.

In-tegrate
Imagine having a wise friend who wants to know you and co-create something special with you. With that in mind, commit to turning your attention to God’s Care and Affection for a period of time every day. Spend more time focused on spiritual practices, spiritual and scriptural texts, relationships, and, above all else, the Spirit of God, who is in your heart.

Begin to get your mind used to the idea that meditating with Jesus will be beneficial. Notice any resistance. Consider asking Jesus to be closer to you and guide you into more truth. Or start wherever you are and be open to divine guidance. Seek truth above all else, and let truth find you. Keep your mind and your heart open.