DAY 25: IS MEDITATION OKAY? [3 of 4] The opposite of Christian prayer, Hindu meditation is focused on one's own spirit, seeking to supposedly gain self-awareness through this occult practice. What does the Bible say about that? Are we supposed to focus on ourselves? No! Romans 8:5–6 tells us to deny ourselves because focusing inward only leads to death. But using our minds to pray to God in a conversation leads to life and peace. So, meditation is nothing at all like biblical prayer. “Those who practice transcendental meditation are setting their minds on their own spirit, looking within themselves in order to transcend themselves, rather than on the Spirit of God. Searching one’s own mind—or emptying one’s mind of all thought—may result in numbness or a temporary escape from reality, but...cannot bring true [and lasting] peace.” Meditation is for getting people into an altered state of consciousness (a hypnotic state), making them highly suggestible to dark spiritual realms we do not want to mess with. Unfortunately, before getting saved, I practiced meditation as part of the New Age movement—resulting in close encounters with actual demons!