More on Secular Meditation

Dangers of New Age and other Creeping Practices. And, I mean Creeping, not as a commentary on the creepiness of that doctrine, but on the way they 'creep' into supposedly secular institutions, such as schools, government offices, and businesses.

Among the Other-than-Catholic practices being promoted:

• Labyrinth - this is actually Pre-Greek. The legend is from the Minoan times, but "there is little evidence to suggest that such a labyrinth ever existed on the island of Crete. Whether imaginary or real, the labyrinth in the Hellenic world was a negative symbol, associated with fear and an overwhelming sense of evil."
• Some medieval labyrinths - keep in mind that, during this time, Christianity in the West was borrowing art styles from many other parts of the world, including the East - India, China, etc.
• Centering Prayer - this was developed in its current form at a Trappist monastery, where the abbot and his monks had been in contact with both Buddhist and Hindu teachers/monks. BTW, the link takes you to an anti-Catholic Fundamentalist site - but, the information about the practice's origins is correct. Here is a Catholic source for the same. Keep in mind the time period of the Centering Prayer's initial introduction - the 1970's - when Transcendental Meditation was all the rage.

A nice explanation of how Christian meditation differs from that which is being hyped today.