Posted by Kendall on July 26, 1999 at 13:07:10:
I became a born-again Christian in my teens. Prior to that I was searching for God through the eastern religions, meditation with a little mood altering drug thrown in for the experience. When I found Jesus, I rejected all of the eastern experiences as cultish and "from the enemy" and "wrong". I wandered in my faith, married an alcoholic, became a Mormon, and eventually came back to a personal relationship with Jesus. My dilemma is that I want more. I want what I have read about in the threads of your discussions, a deeper and real experience with the Lord. I am still attracted to the eastern experiences, meditation, clearing my soul and living in the now, practicing the presence of God. I see so many similarities between what the Christian experience could be and what the eastern ways teach. But I am afraid to embrace these ways of experience because I rejected them at the outset of my Christian walk. How can I be sure that these practices are really ways to enhance my experience with the one true God? How do I know that it isn't all just a lie and a trap of the devil to lead me away from God (He is an angel of light...)I believe that every religion that does not profess Jesus as the Son of God, the Sacrifice for our sins, is a dead end. I believe that they have found truth but they are not the Truth. Can we really use the practices that they developed to find real truth, to deepen our walk with God in this life? Can you recommend to me books that will help me with this search? Are we really more than just physical bodies? Do we truly have energy fields surrounding us that the Lord God created that have an effect upon our being? Is this truly a Christian concept? I would be most interested in hearing what you think and have discovered on your own journeys about these and other pertinent matters. I am a baby seeker compared to your other considerations and thank you for your patience with me.