Going through a divorce is one of life’s most difficult transitions. Divorcing your spouse can make you feel as if your world is being turned upside down. And no matter how optimistic you are about the future, change can still be unsettling.
When I went through my divorce, I lost my way. I felt alone and separated from the world. All I wanted to do was hide from the people and pastimes I once loved, particularly traveling, since I no longer had my husband to go with me.
Incorporating a Christ-centered meditation practice into my life when I was going through my divorce, a practice I still engage in today, has allowed me never to feel like I’m alone again. That’s because I’ve since developed an intimate relationship with God. Today, Christ is always in my heart and by my side, even when I’m physically by myself.
From my relationship with Christ, I receive the strength I need to move my life forward in positivity and light, instead of in the shadow of my divorce. It didn’t have to be this way; my divorce could’ve cast a shadow on every aspect of my existence had I let it. Thankfully, my Christ-centered meditation practice gave me the support I yearned for when I needed it the most. I want the same for you.
If you’re divorcing your spouse or have gone through a divorce, this is what a Christ-centered meditation practice can offer you. As you will see, the benefits can go far beyond this list.
You can build a support group through Christ-centered guided meditation.
Some people are proponents of creating a support group based on their Christ-centered guided meditation practice. I’m afraid I have to disagree, at least when first getting started. When beginning a Christ-centered guided meditation practice, I believe it’s critical to look to Christ and God alone for support.
The purpose of Christ-centered meditation is to get to know what’s inside of us, our true self, so to speak, and to build our spirit. It’s hard to do that with outside distractions. For this reason, it’s helpful to find a teacher who practices and makes Christ-centered guided meditations to learn the process.
Following a trauma, any trauma, divorce included, the first source of support to look for should be from Christ himself. Once you establish or re-establish a relationship with Christ through Christ-centered meditation, you can then look to join or build a support group by sharing that practice with others.
What’s important to understand is that the relationship you build with Christ will bring you everything you can ever need. So that should be and remain your primary focus even if you offer and garner support from others who, like yourself, have adopted Christ-centered meditation.
Christ-centered guided meditation helps you discover self-love.
Cultivating a relationship with Christ the way I did when going through my divorce enabled me to find love within myself, which I often lacked during this challenging time. As I learned to love God before all others, I noticed an overall love inside of me growing. I was very wounded, and the healing I received from this practice was nothing less than a miracle.
As the love inside me continued to flourish, I found the strength to pray for those around me. I started praying for my ex-husband even though he continued to hurt me. I experienced Christ working in me as I learned to be still with God. I found love, and then love flowed out to others. “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is Love.” (1 John 4)
Christ-centered meditation leads to greater self-mastery.
When we invite Christ’s Spirit into our heart, His Spirit connects with our human spirit. In that interconnection, we start to have a relationship to a higher power and consciousness. It’s out of that consciousness that self-control, creativity, and wisdom begin to grow and flow.
So if, as a result of your divorce, you’ve been having trouble focusing on your job, reading, enjoying the hobbies you once did, or whatever you’ve noticed is “off,” consider accepting Christ into your heart. It can cause the fog to lift.
You will know when it happens, too, because, out of nowhere, you will have a burst of creativity you didn’t know previously or haven’t seen in a long, long while. That, dear Reader, is a gift from Christ.
Christ-centered guided meditation improves physical and emotional health.
Feeling alone in the world can have all kinds of adverse effects on your emotional health, which, in turn, can affect your physical health. Fortunately, Christ-centered guided meditation can improve both. Having a relationship with Christ can feed our soul in a very literal sense. By bringing Christ into our life, His Light will bring new thoughts, people, and, of course, love.
Without Christ, we don’t have much room for anything else. Our soul is a complicated, sometimes dark place, made up of our mind, emotions, and desires. We store experiences in our soul since the time we’re born. All of that “old” stuff can weigh us down. When we open ourselves to Christ, he heals us, body and soul.
Christian-guided meditation helps you gain clarity.
Through Christian-guided meditation, the healing we receive results in clarity. When we don’t have the pain in our life to distract us. Instead, we become free to bask in God’s Light.
The light of Christ illuminates everything inside us, including what weighs us down and is harmful to us. We can see the light and the darkness in ourselves, which allows us to let go of all we no longer want in our lives, like past hurt, anger, and self-loathing.
With that negativity gone, we have more room for love, compassion, and kindness. This is the space we hold in meditation. It’s a healing space where Christ can co-exist as our healer.
Christ-centered guided meditation helps you to have compassion for yourself and others.
To love another, you must first love yourself. When asked which commandment is most important, Jesus had this to say: “‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’” (Mark 12:30-31 NIV)
A Christ-centered meditation practice in which you first learn compassion toward your pain leads to self-love. This self-love gives you the strength and understanding to love others, knowing we all are suffering on some level. The message of Christ is to move out of selfishness into service. This cycle of giving love to others brings love and joy back to you. We give his compassion and love, and it returns to us.
Christian-guided meditation improves spirituality.
As you use Christian-guided meditation to put your faith and trust in Christ, leaning on him for support, your spirituality increases. In other words, Christ helps you build up your spirit, strengthening it at a time, such as during a divorce, when you need to most.
Through Christian-centered guided meditation, you will feel more spiritual; you will discover a power within yourself, leading to a mastery of your thoughts, emotions, and actions. That, in turn, can improve your overall health and well-being.
When you’re healthy and free from pain, you have more space in your heart for your spirit to flow and create. You have the clarity and strength to project unconditional love onto everyone you meet. You become everything Christ is; his attributes become merged with your spirit. You become a mirror of him, and you radiate outward.
Final thoughts…
To have more spirituality, the Bible tells us it’s necessary to surrender our body and soul (secularly the self) to our spirit, taking the spiritual journey we hear about in secular meditation one step further. It means we take our meditation practice to a much higher and more powerful level.
The Bible refers to this transmission of power in 1 Thessalonians 5:23: “And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In layman’s terms, the verse explains how we live in a body, have a soul, and are a spirit.
To connect our spirit to the God of peace, we must first invite The Spirit of Christ into our heart. Divorce is as good as a reason as any to do this. Christ-centered meditation gives us the strength to extend this invitation. And a safe space to heal.
If you would like to learn more about how to improve your life through an approach of feeding the whole person, body, soul, and spirit, follow me on my blog, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Medium. If you would like to work with me, schedule a session today.
Tonyah Dee has studied the Bible and wisdom traditions of the world for the last 30 years and teaches about finding ways to increase inner strength, stability, and confidence through practicing spiritual disciplines and healthy habits daily. Tonyah is a nutritionist, registered dietitian (R.D.), and earned her B.S. from Loma Linda University. She also holds certifications in Christ-centered life coaching, equine therapy, and meditation. Tonyah has been published in Scary Mommy, MSN, The Mighty, Mantra Wellness, CoveyClub, Thrive Global. Follow Tonyah on her blog, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Medium.