Hi,

I've only recently begun to get serious about the life or prayer after a 20 year recess. Saying prayers like I was taught as a child just doesn't cut it.

I took a retreat day on Zen a month or so ago and enjoyed it. Lately, I've been doing zen meditation twice a day and find it helps to calm my mind.

A very conservative Catholic friend has told me that she doesn't think that zen meditation is Christian prayer, and that I might even be opening myself up to demons.

So, now I'm wondering if I should keep doing zen meditation or not. I really don't want to move away from Christ.

Anyone with any feedback on this?

Hi again, CC. Thanks for registering to be part of the forum, and for your input.

Zen meditation is unlike centering prayer and other forms of Christian contemplative practice in that it doesn't do much to develop the intentional/volitional dimension of prayer. Its focus is concentrative instead.

That doesn't mean that it's bad, or that it opens you to demons. In fact, it does produce very good fruit, as you noted. But you do need to continually discern how this and any other practice affects your relationship with Christ, your relationship with others, etc. If you're not seeing a spiritual director to help you process this, I'd certainly recommend it.

Let's hear from others on what you think about using Eastern forms of meditation as a Christian.

Phil