Hello, I am new here and wanted to post an introduction. Wasn't sure where to do it. I found out about Shalom Place when I was reading Kundalini Energy & Christian Spirituality. It's an incredibly helpful book! I was interested in a part of the book where Mr St Romain mentioned that meditation practice can make one's nervous system less stress-reactive. Stress is something that affects me a lot as a sensitive person with an autism-spectrum diagnosis. My main concern is that some forms of meditation such as Centering Prayer may make me actually more sensitive. For example I have been experiencing some spiritual sensations in my heart as a result of CP that I don't know the meaning of (guessing purification). It is not an unpleasant sensation and it seems to come and go regardless of whether I'm practicing. Are there particular types of meditation, such as mindfulness meditation, that help with this nervous system over-sensitivity? I appreciate any responses from the members here. Thank you. I will add that I am at the beginning of a career in counselling (autism-spectrum individuals) and planning to start a practice this year. One of my concerns is losing the ability to concentrate and move forward with my goals and what I believe God is guiding me to do in the world.

Hi Romi. Thanks for re-posting your questions here.

If it's stress that adversely affects you, then many types of meditation and spiritual practices can help to reduce stress. Some, as you've noted, can also heighten your sensitivity to stress, which is a mixed blessing. More sensitivity can help you be more aware of when and how you're stressing so you can reduce your stressful activities; but it might also mean more actual experiences of stress, at least for awhile.

The guiding principle is to do what seems to help and quit doing what makes things worse. I know. . . not very helpful. But we're all unique and need to pay attention to the kind of feedback we're receiving internally. Praying for guidance in this area is helpful, too. It might be good to do less spiritual practice than more, at least for a short while so things can calm down. My experience has been that Lectio Divina is usually a good practice as it gently leads us from engagement with the Word to resting in God, strengthening the mind and will to support spiritual awareness.

Let us know how it goes.

Hi Phil,

Thank you for your reply and suggestions. This is very helpful and I think Lectio Divina sounds like an appropriate practice for this stage of my life. It's not something I have done much of before - only in the context of a prayer group at church.

I have a book on my shelf that I haven't read yet, but I noticed it has a chapter on the practice of Lectio Divina along with chapters on other topics. The book is called "The Good & Beautiful God". This will help me get started.

The heart sensations have lessened in the past little while and I'm feeling fine. But without another practice I was a bit at a loss as to how to maintain and grow my relationship with God. I think Lectio will be a good fit for this.

I'll keep the group posted on how it goes. Thank you for your support.