Science in Christian Perspective

Meditation: A Requirement
HELEN E. MARTIN 
Unionville High School 
Unionville, Pennsylvania 19390

From: JASA 31 (June 1979): 96-101.

A summary is given of some of the important studies investigating the reported physiological and psychological benefits of four types of secular meditation including Zen, Yoga, TM and the Relaxation Response. These are then discussed with respect to biblical principles and the command, purpose, content and values of biblical meditation are presented.

In recent days we have been hearing much about the benefits of meditation. It has been credited with reducing blood pressure, relieving inner tensions, reducing drug abuse, and improving the general well-being and health of the populace. Meditation is a term frequently used in Scripture to refer to a particular obedience to a command of God. With these considerations in mind, several areas for study present themselves:

1. The types of meditation studied by the scientific community and their reputed benefits.
2. The research performed by the scientific community verifying the benefits of the meditative technique.
3. The pitfalls the child of God might fall prey to while engaging in secular meditation.
4. The purpose of scriptural meditation.
5. The content of scriptural meditation.
6. The values of scriptural meditation.

Types of Meditation and Reputed Benefits

The most popular concept evoked by the term "meditation" is that of Transcendental Meditation (TM). Forem¹ reports that it "requires no discipline or control, nor is it emotionally demanding." Also, he states that it is not a philosophy or a religion but a technique and the Maharishi, the popularizer of this modern yogic technique, claims that its success lies in the fact that "it utilizes the powerful natural tendency of the mind to move always in the direction of greater happiness." It is claimed that if TM were accepted on a wide scale, it could "render suffering obsolete in this generation." Wallace, one of the first to study the claims of TM and who is presently serving as president of Maharishi International University in Iowa, reported that practitioners of TM had fewer colds, headaches, allergic reactions, exhibited improvement in hypertention, overweight, acne, asthma, ulcers, insomnia, multiple sclerosis and mental health. Francis G. Driscoll,² superintendent of schools in East Chester, New York, instituted a course in TM in the secondary schools. He was of the impression that it involved "no religious or philosophic conflict." He reported that students who began the practice of TM saw grades improve, relationships with family, teachers, and peers improve and drug abuse disappear.

In 1972 the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois was the first major legislative body in the United States to officially recognize the value of TM. According to James H. Greenfield,³ writing on the value of TM in the publication of the Philadelphia Bar Association, four United States Senators have endorsed TM in the Congressional Record, including Senators Tunny, Stevenson, Gravel and Schweiker. In the article, lawyers are urged to begin TM to become more alert.

According to the Stanford Research Institute, the number of TM practitioners has increased from a few hundred in 1965 to more than 240,000 in June 1973. The National Institute of Mental Health awarded an initial grant of $21,540 to help train 120 secondary school teachers to teach TM in American high schools. Thus TM has become a very popular and well publicized technique making a wide variety of claims.

As TM began to he studied the results of the studies were compared with studies of Zen and more traditional Yoga practitioners. These studies were compared by Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School who began to document the studies of Wallace and expand upon them. He developed a thesis that these were just ways to elicit a hypometabolic response which he termed the Relaxation Repsonse. In his best-selling hook, The Relaxation Response, he summarizes and carefully documents all of his studies and suggests that TM, Yoga and Zen are examples of what men and women have known throughout the ages. The repetition of the rosary by the Catholic, the repetition of the mantra by the TM practitioner, the concentration on an alogieal problem termed the Koan by the Zen and even the prayer of any believer are basically the same in effect; they each elicit a relaxation response within the individual. This response is of great physiological benefit and can he elicited in a nonreligious way by meditating on any word one might choose for approxitnately 20 minutes twice a day.

Most of the scientific research that has been performed has been limited to basically four types of meditation, namely: Yoga, Zen, TM and the Relaxation Response. Yoga consists of meditation practices and physical techniques in a quiet environment. The goal is to achieve "union with the absolute" by meditation. Later the altered state of consciousness was sought by physical methods. Zen, developed from Yoga, is very similar to it and is associated with the Buddhist religioo. In Zen meditation the subject is said to achieve a "controlled psycliophysiologic decrease of the cerebral excitatory state" by a crossed-leg posture, closed eyes, regulation of respiration, and concentration on the Koan (an alogical problem-e.g., What is the sound of one hand clapping? )⁴

TM is a widely practiced form of Yoga based on the Hindu religion. TM has been more widely tested than Yoga or Zen because of the uniformity of training of the practitioners and the good availability of subjects

There exists a level of consciousness into which one can remove himself for brief periods of time, which provides physiological and psychological benefits.

in the parts of the world where advanced experimental facilities are also available. The practice of TM involves thinking on a specific sound called a "mantra", purportedly a meaningless Sanscrit word of known beneficial effects.⁵ The mantra is chosen for each individual at the time of instruction. The subject does not know the meaning of his own mantra. According to the Maharishi's followers, only a TM instructor is trained to pick out the correct mantra for an individual and the would-be mediator should be checked periodically to ascertain that he is meditating correctly. There are several introductory lectures, a personal interview, a fee of $125 and then four consecutive days of training. At some point the subject is required to bring a white handkerchief, some sweet fruit and some freshly cut flowers as an offering to the lectures which are conducted partially in Sanscrit.

Benson ⁴ has distilled the similarities of these and other devices toward mysticism into four elements, namely:
(1) A mental device-there should be a constant stimulus-e.g., a word, or phrase repeated silently or audibly, or fixed gazing at an object. The purpose of these procedures is to shift from logical, externally-oriented thought. (2) A passive attitude. (3) Decreased muscle tonus. (4) A quiet environment.

He believes that it is a wakeful, hypometabolie state. These aspects could lead to sleep so he postulates that over the centuries extreme positions of posture and kneeling became means to prevent the practitioner from falling asleep. He further suggests that any simple word can he used to elicit the response and that the Relaxation Response could he used twice a day for not longer than twenty minutes to produce the same effects as TM, Zen, Yoga or any other means of eliciting the response. He warns that it should not he practiced within two hours after a meal since the digestive processes seem to interfere with the desired response. Also, he has observed the development of hallucinations and withdrawal from reality in subjects who practiced it more frequently than suggested.

Research on Meditation

Woolfolk⁶ has prepared quite a complete survey of the literature concerning the physiological effects of Zen, Yoga and TM. Also, Benson⁴ has completed a comparison of various methods of evoking the relaxation response. Woolfolk and Benson differ in their evaluation of the data. Woolfolk observes that most research has not yielded thoroughly consistent results. lie further observes that most research tends to indicate that it is a wakeful state accompanied by cortical and autonomic arousal. He sees the greatest relation ship between data on Zen practitioners and TM practitioners.

Benson believes in the existence of a wakeful, hypometabolic state characterized by decreased oxygen consumption, decreased carbon dioxide elimination and a decreased respiratory rate. He has noted that the deetroeneephala gram shows increased slower alpha wave activity and occasional theta wave activity, an increase in the forearm blood flow, a decreased heart rate and muscle tension and an increase in skin resistance and blood lactate. The changes, he hypothesizes, "result from an integrated hypothalmie response leading to decreased sympathetic nervous system activity."

Kasamatsu⁷ studied the effects of Zen meditation on 48 priests and disciples. From his study of the EEC patterns he concluded that Zen meditation produced a specific change in consciousness. He observed a decrease in oxygen consumption to a level of 30% below normal levels and a decrease in metabolism which could not be explained by the decreased respiratory rate.

In investigating the physiological effects of four yogis who claimed to be able to control and stop their heart beat,⁸ one was found to slow his heart rate as he claimed while three others were not able to stop the beat but were able to retard it through meditation and muscle control. EEC recordings showed persistent alpha activity with increased amplitude and modulation. Datey⁹ used "Shavasan," a yogic exercise, to treat 47 patients with hypertension of various etiologies and noted a significant response in 52% of the cases treated. But as Benson" noted, these results are difficult to evaluate because the method of blood pressure recording was not described. Patel'tm reports treating 20 patients with a yogic technique and observing statistically significant reductions in blood pressure and postulates that this is accomplished by a lower sympathetic tune which is maintained by an altered, habitual interaction with the environment. These subjects were additionally helped with biofeedback and in a twelve month followup, antihypcrteusive therapy was stopped altogether in five patients and reduced by 33-60% in seven others. One even benefited indirectly by relief of migraine and depression.

TM has been studied the most widely and completely of all the meditative techniques. Consistently, physiological changes have been observed by several investigators.^12,13 These changes include decreased oxygen consumption and respiratory rate, alpha and occasional theta wave activity in EEC recordings. Rieckert'4 observed increased forearm blood circulation and decreased finger circulation. There is no observed decrease in blood pressure during the meditation period.

Stress has been associated with urban living conditions and with an increase in hypertension in studies of Puerto Rican populations, as noted by Benson¹⁵, and Zulu populations.¹⁶ Yet stress is difficult to quantify and thus its effects are difficult to study. TM claims to relieve stress and reduce hypertension. Benson¹⁷ reports a study of 30 hypertensive subjects whose systolic blood pressure decreased statistically significantly from 150.20±18.9 aim of mercury to 142.1±20.4 mm of mercury after three weeks of meditation, to 140.1 ±22.9 mm of mercury after six weeks of meditation, to 135.2 mm of mercury after nine weeks of TM. He also mutes that four weeks later nine stopped the practice of TM and their blood pressures returned to control levels.

Pagaun¹⁸ in his study of the EEC's of five TM practitioners noted that meditation involved some sleep and that it gives rise to quite different states from day to day and from practitioner to practitioner. He questions whether the benefits are due to TM or to sleep. This question is also raised by Michaels¹⁹ who studied concentration of plasma, epinephrine, oorephinephrine as well as lactate. In comparing twelve TM meditators and twelve subjects as controls who merely rested, he detected no statistically different results. His study of these catecholamiues resulted because of their possible connection with stress. Pitts and McClure²⁰ conducted a double blind experiment demonstrating the production of anxiety symptoms and anxiety attacks by the infusion of the lactate ion in fourteen patients with anxiety neuroses and ten controls. The lactate ion produced fewer anxiety symptoms in controls than in patients, but those experiencing some symptoms were statistically significant. Their theory has been questioned²¹ but seems to have been accepted by Michaels and Wallace and others, and blood lactate was reportedly lowered by Wallace et al.²² In his study of TM, Wallace had suggested that this lowering of lactate had produced the subjective feelings of relaxation akin to those following exercise yet without the fatigue of exercise.

In a study of the respiratory system during TM, Allison²³ notes that the rate of respiration during TM is about half that during a resting state. By measuring the temperature of inhaled and exhaled air with the help of two thermistors one cm in front of each nostril and one thermistor located one cm in front of the mouth and by comparing mean thermistor temperatures, he concluded that the respirations are shallow.

As noted in an editorial in Lancct²⁴, findings of Wallace and Benson indicate that oxygen consumption is of the same order of maguitude as happens after some hours of sleep but is produced promptly when TM is put into action.

Seaman²⁵ studied the effects of TM on self-actualization as measured by the Personal Orientation Inventory. He concluded that the practice of TM for a two mouth period had "a salutary influence on a subject's psychological state." The TM group scored significantly higher than the control group in "ability to express feelings in spontaneous action," "acceptance of aggression and capacity for intimate contact."

A report of a retrospective study by Benson²⁶ indicates that TNT affects drug abuse. In this study 1950 subjects received questionnaires and 1080 men and 781 women responded. The number of drug users in all categories (including marijuana, LSD, alcohol, cigarettes and the like) decreased markedly after the start of TM so that after 21 months, must of the subjects had stopped completely. Benson goes on to warn that this was a retrospective study without controls and that a prospective study is needed to verify the conclusions. Yet there does seem to be some relationship between the practice of TM and the abuse of various kinds of drugs.

In yet another study Benson²⁷ tested the use of TM to treat migraine headache patients. These results suggested only limited usefulness. Six of the seventeen patients treated were considered improved and one was considered to be in a worse state than before the use of TM.

The Relaxation Response, or the non-religious meditation technique, consists of four elements including a mental device, a passive attitude, relaxed muscle tonus, and a quiet environment. It has been tested by, Benson with some results similar to those shown in various TM studies. In a study with Bearv, Benson's observed decreased oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide elimination and respiratory rate. In another study") of 22 borderline, hypertensive subjects who used the Relaxation Response, the subjects averaged a control blood pressure of 146.5/94.6 mm of mercury and during the experimental period a blood pressure of 139.5/ 90.8 mm of mercury. Benson reports that this could have been a placebo effect, but regardless of the mechanism this suggests that TM is an effective means of
lowering borderline hypertensive blood pressure. Ben-son, also demonstrated the efficiency of the Relaxation Response in the reduction of premature ventricular contractions (P.V.Cs) in ambulatory patients with proven stable ischaemic heart disease. Frequent P.V.C.s are associated with increased mortality in such patients. These heats reportedly decrease during sleep in patients with and without heart disease and it has been hypothesized that this is due to lessened sympathtic tone.²⁹

Encouraging the mind to be open, passive and boundless in an altered state of consciousness for definite periods of time each (lay 5 a disobedience to the Word of God.

Thus over and over again results seem to indicate some decreased sympathetic nervous system activity and possibly an increased parasympathetic nervous system activity and this in torn is related in some way to an integrated hypothalmic response .^{4, 30}

The results do not indicate that the subject is in a hypnotic state for metabolic processes during a hypnotic state correspond to those of the suggested state.³² Nor do most experimenters believe the state is one of sleep entirely. Benson'5 points out that at the onset of TM there is a sudden decrease of 10-20% in oxygen consumption while in sleep it is more gradual, requiring four or five hours for an 8% decrease. Also, he notes EEC alpha waves found in meditation are not found in sleep and he notes a decrease in blood lactate which is not similar to sleeping patterns. He concludes that it is a hypothalmic response which is characterized by decreased sympathetic activity. Woolfolk's objection is that be is not as convinced of the mechanism and be suggests a shift to new techniques which would allow for the systematic isolation and investigation of technical and extrateclinical factors that are active in producing psychophysiological change.⁶

The Pitfalls

It seems then that investigators are beginning to admit that there exists a level of consciousness into which one can remove oneself for brief periods of time and that this level of consciousness provides physiological and psychological benefits, some of which are more well documented than others. But all four methods for entering this level of consciousness provide serious problems for the Christian.

The Christian is a sinner who has been regenerated by God's mercy and who believes the Bible to be the only inspired and infallible word of God to man. He is not perfect in this life, yet he endeavors by God's grace to live a life pleasing to God as defined by the Scriptures. Thus, each activity of his must be evaluated in the light of the Word of God.

Of the four methods described in this paper and studied by the scientific community, two are directly and obviously in opposition to the declared Word of God. Zen and Yoga are forms of Buddhism and Hinduism respectively and thus to practice either form for physiological benefit is a direct violation of the first and second commandments as defined in Exodus 20, namely, "Thou shalt have no other gods" and "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image." Both Hinduism and Buddhism are polytheistic and must not be practiced by the Christian.

TM is a bit more subtle in its presentation to the enlightened, educated individual in today's society. It claims to he unrelated to any religious belief and prospective converts are told that they may continue in their present beliefs and still practice TM. But TM is a yogie technique and is derived from the Hindu religion.³² Practitioners are required to bring the handkerchief, fruit and flowers and are repeating words they do not understand. Thus to involve oneself in the practice of TM is to deliberately disobey the first and second commandments. Not only are offerings made but the goal of TM, as it is with Yoga and Zen, is to achieve "union with the absolute".³³ In endeavoring to accomplish this the practitioner is denying the distinction between the creature and the Creator. The belief that man has a tendency to move always in the direction of greater happiness denies the Christian's belief that because of sin, mail is totally depraved. The Mararishi also states, "Life is not a struggle. It is bliss," This is a direct contradiction to Romans 7. A federal lawsuit was filed in New Jersey to halt the teaching of TM in public high schools under a federal grant. The basis for the suit was the separation of church and state. On October 19, 1977, a federal judge declared that TM was religious in nature and was constitutionally barred from public schools.

Thus, the only remaining technique to be evaluated is the Relaxation Response. What most be considered is not only the apparently beneficial results but the method used to obtain the state of better health. An individual is not merely relaxing but is entering an altered state of consciousness by maintaining a passive attitude arid using some mental or visual device to keep his mind in this frame. The child of God is clearly instructed in Philippians 4 concerning the boundaries he is to draw around his thought processes. He is commanded to think on things which are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, things of good report, virtuous things, and things worthy of praise. He is promised in verse 9 that if he will carefully select and restrict his thoughts, the God of peace will be with him and (in verse 7) that the peace of God will keep him, his heart and his mind. Isaiah 26:3 also promises peace if the mind is kept on God. Therefore, encouraging the mind to be open, passive and boundless in an altered state of consciousness for definite periods of time each day is a disobedience to the Word of God.

However, if truly secular and sinful endeavors produce some mechanism which in turn produces favorable physiological changes, there must be a Scriptural counterpart. The only logical correlate to secular meditation is meditation in the biblical sense of the word, which, however, is entirely different from any of the aforementioned activities in object, in method and in goal.

The Purpose of Biblical Meditation

Meditation is a practice commanded by God in Scripture. Isaac meditated, and when the law was recorded in Deuteronomy, it was also commanded that believers meditate. (Deuteronomy 6:6, 7) In Joshua 1:8 the word meditate is proceeded by the two words "thou shalt" and Psalm 119 deals almost entirely with meditation. Thus, Scripture commands and assumes that the child of God will meditate.

The purpose of meditation defined in Scripture is that of obedience to God and His Word. If one loves his Creator, he endeavors in all his imperfections to be obedient as the book of James states so clearly. Thus in order to be obedient, one must meditate; in this way he will begin to delight in the Word so that he will not sin against God. (Psalm 119:10) The godly man described in Psalm 1 delights in the law "and in his law doth he meditate day and night . . . . The ungodly are not so."

The actions of the child of God are qualitatively different from those of the wicked. (II Corinthians 5:17, Romans 8:10). The goal of the Christian is obedience; thus, the Word becomes so much a part of him that he will recognize sin and be kept from it. Hence, the object of the meditation is not a meaningless word or an alogical problem but the Holy Word of God.

The Content of Biblical Meditation

Charles Bridges in his exposition of Psalm 119 quotes Bishop Horn's definition of meditation and states it

is that exercise of mind, whereby it recalls a known truth, as some kinds of creatures do their food, to be ruminated upon, until the nutritious parts are extracted, and fitted for the purposes of life.³⁴

Thomas Manton, a seventeenth cenutry Puritan expositor, states that 

meditation is not a flourishing of the wit, that we may please the fancy by playing with divine truths but a serious inculcation of them upon the heart, that we may urge it to practice.³⁵

Meditation, as the Bible defines it, is solely on the Word of God and under the tutorship of God. The mind is not blank nor is the mind at rest, for it is working out a thorough and complete understanding of the Word of God so that the Word will become part of the person, so that the person will be obedient to God. It is a diligent, careful analysis of the thought expressed by the Word.

From the foregoing statements it might seem that meditation is a very arduous process and can be entered into only by hard work. For the natural man, who is engulfed by his own sin, this is true and yet as this natural man is regenerated by God's grace, his desire is to he obedient and to please God. At first the process of biblical meditation may prove difficult, but as it is practiced the child of God begins to feel increasingly relaxed as he delights in God's law and meditates therein day and night. At times it is very difficult work, but if one loves his heavenly Father, delighting in Him and His Word becomes sheer pleasure and God's Word begins to draw boundaries around his thought processes even when he is not wrestling with the intent of a particular phrase of Scripture. Thus, obedience becomes a fruit of meditation.

The purpose of Christian meditation must always be that of love of God. If it becomes a desire to reduce blood pressure or to achieve a mystical experience, it is not Christian meditation but humanism.

The Values of Biblical Meditation

The values of meditation are explained in Psalm 1. The ungodly shall perish but the godly man, whose delight is in the Law of the Lord and who meditates therein day and night, is promised that whatsoever be does shall prosper. It is also interesting to note the other comment the psalmist makes concerning the ungodly in Psalm 1, for he is likened to the "chaff which the wind driveth away." He is one who is at the mercy of change and change produces stress which in turn has been related to hypertension and other diseases.'5' The godly are not like the chaff but have inner stability which is dependent upon the sovereign God, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe (Hebrews 13:8, Luke 16:17).

Thomas Manton also notes that meditation

helpeth to prevent vain thoughts. The mind of man is restless and cannot lie idle; therefore it is good to employ it with good thoughts, and set it at work on holy things; for then there will be no time and heart for vanity.

David prayed that his meditations would be acceptable in the sight of God in Psalm 19.

However, there are several admonitions that the child of God must take very seriously. The purpose of meditation must always be that of love to God. If it becomes a desire to reduce blood pressure or to achieve a mystical experience, it is not meditation but humanism. Also, there must he consistent dependence upon the Holy Spirit to retrieve to mind that truth which is needed. Christians should also he reminded to suit the truth to the occasion. (e.g., When overwhelmed by a sinful state, one should not meditate upon man's total depravity but upon Romans 8 that there is no condemnation to those in Christ.) A man has some control over what thoughts he is involved in and his thoughts betray his concerns, affections and goals. The Christian is told to control his thoughts (II Corinthians 10:5).

Conclusion

Secular meditation, which makes a host of claims and is extremely popular, does in fact produce some sorts of apparently good physiological changes. Yet the Christian must evaluate not only the good results of an activity but the means by which those good results are attained. Every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17), yet the problem of ungodly means producing healthier bodies arises. This apparent contradiction is noted in Scripture where it is stated that the just and the unjust benefit from the sunlight and the rain (Matthew 4:45), and Paul confronts the problem of unjust activities encouraging the goodness of God (Romans 5 and 6) by noting that "Where sin abounded grace did much more abound." He then asks the rhetorical question, "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" and responds, "God forbid." The Bible clearly teaches that Christians are to lead holy lives and if any means to achieve better physical health result from activities of disobedience to the Word of God then the Christian cannot involve himself in those activities. The practice of Zen, Yoga and TM constitutes disobedience to the first and second commandments. In the cast of the Relaxation Response the mind is encouraged to enter into an altered consciousness and a boundless state of thought not permitted by Phihppians 4.

God is the originator of all that is good and has defined the boundaries of the mental activities for His children. He has also commanded a particular mental discipline defined as biblical meditation and those involved in scientific investigations are aware that there exist sound biological reasons for many commandments such as those to ancient Israel concerning diet. Man, created in the image of God, was ordained to he like Him and through biblical meditation the child of God is not only obedient but also complete physiologically and psychologically.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author wishes to thank Pastor James Hufstetler of Grand Rapids, Michigan, who through direct discussion and correspondence helped her to formalize her thinking in the area of biblical meditation.

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