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This is not a Christian question, per se.
Jesus just made a statement from a truth, a fact, a phenomenon he also knew.
So Buddhists and others that meditate in groups....
Why is it...that meditating (or prayer for those that can't relate) in groups is more powerful?
I dislike groups for some obvious reasons...yet, I am drawn to go
to a monthly 3 hour meditation....I think it has more "power".
(SRF or Self Realization Fellowship, btw.)
Why is it when 2 or more gather it is more powerful, do you think?
Not to say, being alone is not also wonderful...
Thank you.
To answer such a thread one would have to establish what you even mean by "more powerful". Then would have to establish that it actually is.
Playing with our moment to moment attention however can give us great insight into our place in the universe, the world, and our species. Great moral intuitions come out of constant practice of things like mindfulness meditation. And those gifted with particularly labile consciousnesses are able to self-affect their own interpretations and stimulation to heighten them.
If one plays with their feelings about things like their place in humanity then these feelings are of course going to be heightened if one is surrounded with living breathing examples of that humanity.
We are after all a social species and as such much of our desires and feelings lie in that direction.
Perhaps none of this is the kind of answer many want to hear however. There are several people one these fora who will likely churn out the kind of nonsense many want to be fed. Such as the idea we are all actually part of some universal consciousness and meditation attempts to access it will heighten your access to those around you and you all become one with the great universal consciousness / god or some such.
Be wary of such charlatans however. They are selling you ideas that are, at this time, nothing more than unsubstantiated nonsense and canards.
My guess is the liver shiver you get when you feel the community between you and the others. It's the same feeling you get at a football game with 70,000 people screaming, or a rock concert when your favorite song is played and everyone holds up a lighter. Or do they do that anymore? We used to do that 20 years ago.
Jesus was speaking in the context of church discipline when he said what he did about 2 or more. God is with the
Christian always--as he promised us the Holy Spirit.
I think it's simply psychology when you are part of a community. It is self-reinforcing (the power of conformity and shared routines, perhaps). There is almost always someone who is providing an example of the desired behavior or attitude, which influences others to do so as well, even if they are not feeling 100% into it that day.
I think it's simply psychology when you are part of a community. It is self-reinforcing (the power of conformity and shared routines, perhaps). There is almost always someone who is providing an example of the desired behavior or attitude, which influences others to do so as well, even if they are not feeling 100% into it that day.
Interesting...like the tuning fork of the higher pitch draws the other tuning
forks to vibrate at it's pitch. Hmm.
Interesting...like the tuning fork of the higher pitch draws the other tuning
forks to vibrate at it's pitch. Hmm.
Umm... No?
Not to intrude on your metaphysics, but the regular physics is wrong on this one. If you have two tuning forks of differing pitches, they don't change each other's pitch. They can, if they are tuned closely but not exactly the same, create a perceived third tone, a beat frequency, but one tuning fork doesn't warp the output of a second tuning fork regardless of the frequency involved.
This has been your Science PSA We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
-NoCapo
Is there any particular reason why I should not? Lack of gratitude much? You ask a question and people give their time to answer and this is the thanks they get. For shame.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn
"establish that it actually is"?
Not sure what your question is? Are you asking me what I meant by those words?
I mean you are declaring that it is "more powerful". I am highlighting the fact that that might just be your opinion and it might not _actually_ be more powerful. To fully answer your question it would be worth establishing THAT it is actually more powerful in such a scenario and that this is not just your personal impression.
Another possible answer to your question is that nonsense loves company. Perhaps if one is engaged in nonsense then it sort of "self validates" itself if others are doing it too.
Moderator cut: orphaned quote and response
Last edited by Miss Blue; 07-05-2013 at 07:50 AM..
Interesting question. Quaker "silent meeting" is a slightly different approach with the members not exactly "meditating," but waiting "on the Spirit" and determining whether any message that may come is for sharing with the group or is for the person. Somehow even an hour of silence as opposed to one where one or more messages may be shared is a definitely different experience. Interestingly enough, even atheist members who do not see the group "waiting" as experiencing something outside one's self indicate that it is a deep experience for them. One such indicated that it is essentially an identification with a community that has been a big and positive part of his life.
Emotional response to a sort of "unity of purpose?"
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