As many mainstream Christians discover practice, others say it takes focus off God

By BONNA JOHNSON • Staff Writer• September 14, 2008
Like many churchgoers in the Bible Belt, Kristy Robinson teaches Sunday school with her husband and helps prepare communion at their Episcopal church in Franklin. Her daughter sings in the choir.
She rounds out her church- and prayer-filled life with another spiritual practice that's not quite as familiar: meditation.
"I'll see a difference in my day if I don't," says Robinson, who opens each day with 20 minutes of absolute silence. "It just feels more chaotic. Little things bother me more. I have lower coping ability."
All the chanting and incense and - yikes - even meditation altars may seem too New Age and mystical for some, but meditation has gone mainstream and been embraced by suburban moms and all types of busy people.
"I've seen a changing perception. In the past it's been viewed as a yogi sitting on a mountaintop," says Tammy Roth, a licensed therapist in Nashville who leads meditation retreats. "But people are now realizing there are all kinds of different forms of meditation and are finding different ways to slow the mind down and feel calmer."
Younger generations get an introduction in yoga classes, careerists escape on meditation retreats and boomers seek tranquility in meditation gardens. Meditation, it seems, is no longer associated as a counterculture activity made hip by The Beatles and favored by flower children.
Some approach meditation through Buddhism or other Eastern religions; more and more Christians meditate through the ancient ritual of centering prayer; while others develop their own style, whether it's patterned after the breathing techniques of popular guru Deepak Chopra or not.
Most sit on the floor or in a chair in their quest for inner stillness, usually focusing on a mantra or on their breathing, but you can even clear your mind while walking around, tending a garden or through movement-based activities, such as tai chi, quigong or walking a labyrinth.Click here for complete article:http://www.appliedmeditation.org/About_IAM/articles/Tennessean.html