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Jun 3, 2018

Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:Each time you relax you get better at it. You’ll notice as you are able to 
Bible verse for meditation:
Romans 14:7-11 NRSV7 We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written,“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,    and every tongue shall give praise to God.”12 So then, each of us will be accountable to God
KJV7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. 
What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel?
Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning.
Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation:
Many of the misunderstandings that e have with other people are because we fail to recognize what we have in common, our amazing ability to see the world from only our own perspective. In preparing for this meditation I was doing research for this episode I found a large amount of search results on how to deal with difficult people. It seems that when we have a disagreement with other people we immediately assume that resolving the problem involves us learning to deal with someone who is flawed and is in the wrong. What we often fail to realize is that they are viewing the world from their perspective and we are viewing it from our perspective. Our nature is to see ourselves at the center of focus.  When we slow down and begin to imagine how we are all the same before God, we realize that our perspective is not magic or absolute in any way. It is just the perspective we have by default. As Paul says, none of us live to ourselves and none of us die to ourselves. We are not the center of our universe. We are interconnected with other children of God in a way to bless and challenge each other. It is interesting to think that my life may be most meaningful, not for what I do, but for what circumstances I create in other people’s lives that allows them to grow closer to God. I may never change the world in a significant way, but perhaps my life will overlap with someone who will. Each of us are, at the same time invaluable to God, while also we are nothing special. This realization allows for the height of Christian focus. Whether we live or die, we do it unto the Lord.  This scripture states quite clearly that this is why Jesus came to earth and died. He is the Savior and God of the living and of the dead. As we begin to realize that our own importance is not how we should evaluate our lives a paradoxical thing happens. We realize that to constantly focus on increasing our own perspective of our own self worth may not be the most satisfying pursuit. Instead we can focus on playing whatever role we can in the God’s great human theater. As we are committed to living for God and living according to our deeply held Christian values, we serve and worship in true and genuine ways. Praise be to God for allowing us to learn from each other and to teach each other, both directly but more often indirectly. 

Meditation of Prayer:Pray as directed by the Spirit.Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him.
Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm:I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. 
Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life.  Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion:Each week.  Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact
Question: what joy has God brought you as you have approached him in meditation? 
Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Patreon.com/Christianmeditationpodcast
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Final Question: Whose perspective would you stand the most to gain from understanding and how can you do that?
Final thought - I have come to believe that, since self esteem does not seem to be represented in the bible that a focus on increasing it, may not be the most fruitful way to gain more happiness in life. This is also borne out in my psychological worldview. The counseling model that I use in my chaplaincy work strongly represents this also. Constant preoccupation about our own self importance is often times counterproductive. What is productive is spending all of our energy in living according to our deeply held values. Allow God’s word to be these values in your life and dedicate all the energy of your soul to living according to His message to you.