It has been said that “wisdom is a high degree of knowledge from learned men. ” Where that knowledge comes from is critical to the thinker who lives out the wisdom.
We assume today that the wise always use good and practical judgement. Many look to the wisest of the human race for the truth of right decisions. Is there a better way?
In my own search for “wisdom” I have come to love the passage from “Fraction of St Epiphanius.”
In that beautiful, liturgical and much quoted writing we are told:
“Wisdom is brighter than the sun and all the stars.
Wisdom is the light of the Father existing from Him from eternity.
Wisdom has existed from eternity; she renews everyone.
She enters the souls of the righteous through all ages.
Wisdom is more precious than pearls; and unequal to all honors.
Wisdom has counsel, might and knowledge.
By wisdom kings reign; the great men are honored.
And the princes of the earth govern!
Wisdom loves those who love her and protects those who keep her.
Those who seek wisdom find grace!
Wisdom walks in the way of justice, and moves in the path of truth.
Wisdom grants riches to those who acknowledge her, and fills their treasuries with joy.”
This is one of the most profound liturgical prayers I’ve ever heard. I hope it blesses you as much as it has blessed me. Please don’t let the feminine gender used to describe “wisdom” throw you off.
The biblical scriptures the words were taken from literally do translate to the feminine gender. There is a reason for that. In our bibles both sin and wisdom are often symbolized by a woman; both in prophecy and revelation.
The reason is that most women bring forth children.
Just as sin brings forth sin and wisdom brings forth wisdom.
Any Godly person participating in the Christian religion will at some point seek out the ways of wisdom. Take Solomon as an example. He did it; and to some degree we all do.
The last two lines of the above liturgical passage have been very significant to me in the seeking of wisdom in my own life as I have journeyed down the path of transformation as a Christian.
Those lines say: “Wisdom walks in the way of justice; and moves in the path of TRUTH. Wisdom grants richness to those who acknowledge her, and fills their treasuries with joy.”
It would be safe to assume from these words that the truth should bring us to a place of joy. That place is all I seek here as we continue to study and look at the subjects of mindfulness, meditation and yoga and hopefully discern whether or not they are practices in which a professing Christian should indulge.
Maybe the definition of true wisdom is part of our problem.
Have our current educational systems actually taught ANY of the wisdom of God?
Our children’s textbooks have been filled with garbage from ancient pagan religions instead of acknowledging the One True God.
There are several types of “wisdom.” We must sift out the chaff and know the difference. Our children should have been taught this; but they have not been educated in the art of true wisdom by the public schools.
If discernment hasn’t been a part of their home life; the children of today have nothing solid and true to base their thoughts of wisdom upon.
Two types of wisdom prevail; the wisdom of men, and the wisdom of God.
The true seeker of REAL wisdom must be careful not to seek the first; but to carefully follow the path of the second.
Walking down the road to wisdom are the masses who sincerely wish to fill their minds with true wisdom. They wish to know the proper ways to guide their thoughts and direct their minds toward healing, nourishment and the strengthening of the physical body.
Eventually, as we walk this road in daily life we will come to the subject of “exercise.” We will all probably ask the question; “Is it good or wrong to do yoga?”
Many of us in this 2 Timothy 4:2 community have been exploring every angle of this question; seeking to know true wisdom. Several past articles have been published in this series with the hopes of exploring the facts and educating ourselves in a way that sheds the proper light on these subjects.
Unfortunately; since most of our current culture has taken a long-time acceptance of these things with no questions asked; the writer understands this may be a message published much too late.
Still; we linger here one last time on the subject in hopes that some eyes may be opened to God’s truth yet; no matter how painful the process may be or how hard it will be to go counter-culture with your decisions.
If one soul understands the message; it is well worth the writing.
The fact is that our research shows in every way that yoga proves out to be a very un-Christian activity.
It makes sense that Christian people should strive to follow the Christian religious activities established by Jesus Christ and his disciples as Christianity was born so very long ago.
In the end we have found that the activities of yoga are always eventually linked with either Buddhist or Hindu religious practices.
This remains consistently true, even though yoga instructors may tout that their classes have nothing to do with religion. Because the very first steps of the ladder leading one upwards in the activities of yoga seem vague; the progressions always led one to a place and time that is religious in nature and that nature is definitely NOT Christian.
In all of the reading and research I’ve accidentally stumbled into stories of how people practicing yoga found it mixed well with the worship of Mother Earth and the practices of various different sects of witches who claim to be “good” witches doing only helpful magik. A wise person will remember the scriptures about witches and sorcery and walk away from these scenes if they wish to stay on the true path to wisdom defined by God.
These people are not going to come out and tell you who they are; but they do exist and they exist in many different styles and cultures. However; the largest problem is not the practice of witchcraft or atheism associated with yoga; it is simply the practices that relate to the Bhuddist and Hindu religions.
Most of our culture has not been educated in the differences of The One True God and all the little demigods that the Bhuddist and Hindu religions serve. They are pantheistic in nature and Christianity is monotheistic in nature; meaning we serve One God and One God alone. These other religions have little gods for everything. The name of “god” is used loosely; so do not be deceived and think they are talking about the One God that you worship as a Christian.
These are the walls that come up in our faces every time we look at those who are using yoga as a science for healing and well-being. What is commonly called a “science” will always at some point in time revert to the worship activities used by both ancients and modern-day people in a pagan eastern religious practice.
It never fails. You will find these elements somewhere in your classes. You can try to avoid them by sitting that part out or not using the same words or logic; but then the benefits of yoga will probably not pan out for you.
You have a choice to make. Whether you know it or not, just sitting in the presence of those who are participating in pagan religious practices puts you in the same boat by association.
The concepts of yoga all sound so very logical and scientific until you get to that huge bit of truth in the end. Many find it too hard to accept the truth at that point because they have already fallen for the beginnings of yoga hook, line and sinker; and they have already felt the “feel-good feelings” that are produced from these activities. They have already incorporated yoga into their days as a lifestyle. At that point; they cannot conceive of giving the practice up.
Yoga DOES make you feel good.
The poses are well thought out positions which are set to release endorphins, dopamine and serotonin into your brain. Those chemicals always make a person fell better (happier) and temporarily they bring more peace and relaxation into your emotional state.
Please consider that you can experience these same chemical effects of the brain in many other ways too. It doesn’t have to be yoga. ALL exercise increases this interaction of the brain and certain foods also contribute to your chemical balances and cause you to feel “happier.”
This “chemical balancing of the brain” part of yoga is based on scientific knowledge of the workings of our brains; but the end results of using this scientific knowledge in the practice of yoga will always led you to pagan places and practices.
Have you noticed the rise in the numbers of people who seem very proud to step up and say “My religion is pagan?”
In the not-to-distant past you would never have witnessed such boldness. People would have been shocked and dismayed. No more. It is common.
I’ve definitely noticed this trend; and I have a theory that a lot of the credit can be given to the rising number of people practicing yoga. It is a calm, quiet accepting movement.
Another very interesting claim of yoga classes is that it gives you the ability to “redirect your brain.”
We all want to be able to form new and better habits; right?
This is done through neuroplasticity.
The word “neuroplasticity” has been thrown around a lot lately, like it is a new thought; but that knowledge of this activity of the brain has actually been around for hundreds of years. With the new developments of technology in imaging though; people have become more aware of this science because now they can look at an image and make observations about the whole process of the brain where they did not have this technology in the past.
Neuroplasticity is simply the capacity of the brain to redirect itself.
It is a natural and sometimes healing occurrence that happens with all of us all of the time; we simply have not paid attention to the fact that it DOES happen until recently.
Now people have tied this to the fact that yoga seems to increase the brain’s ability to use this process. This happens because of the repetitions and the repeated patterns of yoga exercises, however; this same process of neuroplasticity of the brain can and DOES happen naturally on its own, without the use of yoga at all.
The same endorphins may be produced from ANY type of exercise. It does not have to be yoga. Yoga is just the popular means of seeking out this type of transformation. It is the type of transformation that will help you to change your habits and develop new and better ways to live.
How does it work?
Basically, your brain redirects its connections from one place to another and this produces a different result than before, which in turn eliminates old brain processes and creates new brain processes.
When we have a path (synapse) that is broken, damaged or blocked, the brain simply takes another path. It is a lot like taking a detour when you are driving. You come to a fork in the road, you see a”road closed” sign and you unexpectedly decide to go in a different direction hoping that you will still reach your desired destination.
Sometimes you do.
Sometimes you do not.
Sometimes you encounter new experiences on your journey even before you reach your desired destination.
Sometimes these new experiences keep you from ever getting to the first desired destination; and they change your mind and you find yourself deciding to take a different pathway than before.
The “roads” that are damaged, broken or blocked are called synapse and they connect one location of the brain to another.
Sometimes these connections die.
The part of the brain that lives on and is more healthy is described in medical journals as the “gray matter.” This is the part of the brain that is thicker, more alive, more active than the other parts which are not used as often and become weak over time and sometimnes become useless in the end.
The whole point of neuroplasticity is to keep the gray parts there, busy and active and doing what they are supposed to be doing.
Please be aware that everything I have told you is simply from a layman’s perspective. I am NOT A MEDICAL DOCTOR, and I do not claim to be an expert on the function of the brain at all. I’ve simply done a LOT of study on this subject in my own process of seeking wisdom. I’ve made up my own comparisons and observations along the way. I’ve prayed for God to show me when I’m wrong; but I’m only human and I’m definitely not educated in the medical field. Please do keep all of that in mind as you read my thoughts on this subject.
Also; know that I’m seeking RELIGIOUS wisdom here; not medical advice.
I’m qualified to pray to God as a Christian believer for the sake of seeking his best ways for me to live my spiritual and physical life and that is my only intention here.
At any rate; the interesting thing about all of the illustrations I gave in my laymen’s opinion and description of neuroplasticity is that even as I sought out these facts; the process of neuroplasticity was actually going on inside the recesses of my own brain.
Now isn’t that ironic?
Once my brain could not pull one tiny bit of information about the science of how the brain works; but now when I think of it all; my brain has redirected enough to pull up the new knowledge that I have gathered. My brain has changed because of my repeated actions of seeking out the facts.
Another ironic and funny thing is that your brain NEVER stops changing. It is constantly redirecting it’s patterns over and over again all day long. The brain you went ot bed with is not the brain you woke up with and the brain you woke up with today will not be the brain you have tomorrow. That is how God designed the brain to work.
These facts are pretty amazing and fascinating to consider, but ancient people knew these things long before we did. They used this knowledge in religious practices and the pagan ways that have eventually brought us to the art/practice/exercise of yoga. Yoga exercise is NOT just about physical exercise; it is actually about a whole life function which includes mind, body, soul and spirit. Basically; yoga isn’t just exercise but it is a lifestyle.
That would be a problem for a Christian.
A Christian should be seeking God’s definition of wholeness. That definition evolves around confessing our sins (which includes the fact that God despises pagan practices and considers them idolatry), repenting (which means making a complete turn AWAY from the places where we have sinned), receiving salvation by believing in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as The Son of God; and deciding to follow Him with all of the heart, soul, spirit and mind; which then becomes a part of being adopted into the Family of God, where you become filled with God’s Holy Spirit which begins a renewal process in your own life. (Sorry for the run-on sentence; but it explains the process without interruptions.)
In the Christian life the mind is renewed by God in the way above, and ONLY this way. It does not happen through another religion, or through an ancient spiritual practice or ritual that was previously used and performed in the worship of pagan idols.
That last paragraph should help clear up the muddy water for some..
The fact is that yoga is an all-encompassing spiritual way of life. It is used for healing, restoring, bringing peace and joy and fulfillment, training the physical body to be more fit and helping the body to achieve the proper balance and nutrients it needs, as well as the soul, mind and spirit.
But; guess what?
So is the Christian lifestyle and all -encompassing spiritual way of life! The main difference in both lifestyles mentioned here is that the Christian choice is eternal and forever; and the other (the pagan based one) is earthly, temporary and eventually it fades away never to be again. The temporary help is available from spirits on this earth who have rebelled against God and have been expelled from His Kingdom. The permanent help is from the saving grace of Jesus Christ and God’s Holy Spirit.
Both things can work for the moment and during the time that we live on this earth. There are benefits from both things. I guess it is like deciding if you want to use a band aid for the cure; or if you want to be eternally healed forever. It is a choice.
The thing to see here is that the SOURCE of both avenues are different.
One source is God and one source is Bhudda, or a whole endless line of “little gods” that are purely pagan in nature.
Can you see the difference?
A very helpful tool that I’ve found in pointing out the differences in these religions is to go back to the bible and study the plagues of Egypt during the days of Pharaoh. With the ten plagues of Egypt God was showing all people that He did not tolerate pagan gods. With every plague that happened God was protesting a different ancient pagan religion. The Egyptians were one of the first ancient cultures to use some of the practices we now see in yoga.
Each plague brought to Egypt a lesson on directing our attention away from these false gods and idols and became a strong nudge toward putting our trust into the TRUE God of Heaven and Earth.
Similar to the way that some yoga teachers and instructors are using patterns of repetition in teaching their way of life; God was using patterns and repeating them to teach us His way of life.
Why did God chose the same way of teaching?
Because He was the maker and creator of our brains. He knows how they work. Those instructors were merely imitating a technique long known because God was first to set the pattern. They had figured out PART of the way that God had made us. They did not know it ALL; but God does. He has written down all that we need to know in the Holy Scriptures. It is in His Word that we can find the true, whole, good, healthy lifestyle that we need.
Our Creator uses what He knows works best with our brains to teach us; and that is what the yoga teachers are attempting to do too. The problem they all eventually have is that their way is based on falsehoods. The right technique will not work with the wrong information.
So in considering the process of “renewing our minds” let’s look at yoga’s way first; then let’s compare it to God’s way. You can choose what way will work best for your life.
You can decide whether or not to follow these yoga instructor’s advice in renewing your brain; or you can chooses God’s way. The difference is that God invented the brain. He knows exactly how it works. The yoga instructors are basing their patterns around what they have been able to know so far; which is MUCH LESS than the maker of the Universe.
What God knows is sure and true.
What your yoga instructor can teach you is based on limited knowledge and trial and error and the thoughts of men.
What they know has been perverted because all idolatry is a perverted version of God’s truth. At first some of this process may bring you a temporary peace, but it will also eventually lead you down a path of chaos and confusion.
What at first may seem healing in yoga will not last. It is a false illusion. Only God’s true laws of living can hold and last forever. As followers of Christ we must look at the whole story and see the end from the beginning. Life is not trial and error and a sampling of everything. We must be careful that our temples that are carrying around God’s Holy Spirit are cared for properly and abundantly.
Some people are being duped into finding that lovely beginning, getting hooked, and then losing their souls in the process.
Once we cross over the line to letting this happen; it is very hard to pull back. I’ve seen it over and over again. Only God can help. Only God can open a person’s eyes wider to the truth; so we all must be praying for this to happen to those who have been deceived.
The scientific aspects of yoga sound so good that it is hard to see the forest for the trees.
Jesus warned us how life would be in the end-times. He told us that great deceptions would cover the earth and explained that even the elect could be deceived.
Our Lord and Master pointed out to us that we should be ever diligent and discern the times in which we were living. He asked that we remain awake and alert, faithful and prayerful and that we should be leaning in on His Word for all of our direction.
Are you truly following Him?
Are you reading His love letters every day and discerning the pathways of your life?
So what does God REALLY tell us about the use of meditation?
You may be surprised to hear me say that I do not believe that God forbids meditation at all. He only asks that we meditate on the right things. We can clearly hear these instructions in Psalm 19:14; “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”
When we read this scripture our hearts instantly know how to meditate. It starts with keeping the words of our mouths pure, clean and holy. If you are chanting a mantra for a pagan religious practice; do you think that is acceptable to God?
Then we are led to think about the meditations of our hearts. The things our hearts dwell on need to be the things of God. If you are using a false religion as a medium to meditate; you are not dwelling on God at all. The yoga poses were created for the worship of pagan gods.
Through so much false advertising, deceptions and mind-control techniques and tricks our world has come to accept those poses as graceful elements of art. They have called evil good and good evil. This turns God’s face away from the people because they are moving and living in a kingdom that does not resemble His in any way. God detests idolatry and considers it an abomination.
Are you constantly studying your poses and postures? Does that not make your heart full of the images of the things that displease God?
God made mankind in His own image. The ONLY image that you should be striving to imitate is the image of God that was put within you on the day you were created.
The scriptures end with the words that God is our strength and our Redeemer.
Do you want to change?
Come to your Redeemer. He has the power to change your life. He will give you a new heart and soul which will bring healing and health and wholeness like you have never experienced. He is the one who truly knows how to rewire your brain and help you to be strong enough to change your bad habits. You don’t have to learn how to focus or spend hours doing yoga; He can change you just as you are right where you are this very moment.
Trust Him. Jesus is the way, the truth and the light. Nothing else compares or even comes close.
And we are brought back to those beloved words from the litergy about wisdom that I mentioned above. The palmist knows the true answers and has found the way to complete wisdom. Here are his words:
“Wisdom is Our Savior Jesus Christ
who redeemed us with the Sacrifice of His Body,
bought us by His bloodshed
and chose us for His Eternal Kingdom.
We ask You O our Master to grant us
Divine Wisdom in You alone.
To accept this Sacrifice from our hands,
accept our fasting and prayers,
so we may dare as sons to cry to You
Our Heavenly Father,
Our Father…..”
Want to feel those good endorphins running through your body and making you relax and have peace?
You don’t have to go to a yoga class to achieve that. Sit down right where you are and begin to worship with all of your heart. You will feel an everlasting peace that passes all understanding. It is indescribable; and so much better than yoga.
Why risk it all by taking the wrong path?
If you miss your class next week; the feelings from worship will not go away. They will be with you forever. They will give you the strength you need to pick up the pieces of your life and make a new start. You won’t just be changing a habit; you will be restoring your life.
God will not leave you or forsake you; He is constant.
So the end of all this wisdom seeking and finding answers has led me back to the answers that were already hiding in my heart. God is the only answer. You don’t even have to understand why; just give your own will over to God and see what He will do.
There are so many scriptures to back up this way of life. This blog is based on learning this lifestyle and living it out.
We have finished gathering the information about something that we do not need to do.
Now let’s move forward and learn from the scriptures what we DO need to do.
Let’s let God be our geru and let’s seek His answers to how to have wholeness in our lives.
He can guide us in changing those bad habits into good habits.
Our God can show us how to eat, exercise, rest and worship.
He knows all of our spiritual and physical needs.
From this point forward the AN APPLE A DAY column of this blog is going to be full of articles that will prove that God’s ways are working better than any yoga class in the land.
We will learn what “mindfulness” and “meditation” means in God’s Word instead of reading those magazines that keep jumping on the shelves of our stores.
Keep reading this section of the blog; because the best is yet to come!