MEDITATION
MEDITATION TYPE
The earliest records of meditation (dhyāna) are found in the Upanishads. The Sanskrit word dhyāna derives from the root dhyāi which means “to contemplate, meditate, think”. The English term meditation is derived from the Latin meditatio, from the verb meditari, meaning “to think, to contemplate, to ponder”.
There is no universally accepted definition for meditation, as it covers a wide range of similar practices in different traditions and cultures.
In spiritual traditions, meditation is considered a contemplative practice aimed at transcending ordinary thought, cultivating inner stillness, and realizing deeper truths or connection with the Divine. In Buddhism, meditation develops insight and leads toward enlightenment, in Hinduism, it is a path to self-realization and union with the ultimate reality (Brahman), in Christianity & Sufism meditation is the contemplative prayer or remembrance of God.
Psychology and neuroscience see meditation as a set of practices that focus on training attention and awareness to achieve improved mental clarity, emotional calmness, and psychological balance. It is used in clinical contexts to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and even improve clarity, focus and emotional balance. Many of the modern psychological research studies emphasize the role of attention and characterize the practice of meditation as attempts to detach from reflexive, discursive thinking, not judging the meditation-process itself – logical relaxation, in order to achieve a deeper, more devout, or more relaxed state.
So, while science frames meditative practices as mental health practices, spirituality frames them as a path to transcendence and ultimate truth. We can say that meditation is the practice of intentionally focusing the mind to cultivate awareness, presence, and mental well-being.
Meditation cannot be taught – it comes by itself, in its own time. But if you follow the right steps to begin with, you can speed up your progress considerably. The starting point in meditation is a quiet mind. No matter how complex a meditation technique is and how promising its effects may be, as long as the mind does not change its mode of operation, so long as the stillness of the mind does not occur, the meditative experience cannot take place.
Only with a quiet mind you can reach the peace and the calmness that are needed for deeper states of meditation, where a heightened spiritual awareness is directly experienced through the Self-revelation.