Meditation is a method in the sense of a consciously chosen and systematic practice including continuous (i.e., repetitive or long-term) action intended at generating specific results, at least in part, via universal processes.
Whether the use of attention is defined by a limited concentrative focus or an expansive and inclusive awareness, it is attention based.
- Its anticipated consequences include long-term and basic interior change impacting many areas of a person's life, including perceptual, emotional, intellectual, and behavioral patterns, as well as a movement toward more fundamental components of existence.
- In addition, a number of additional qualities are often associated with meditation but do not appear in our description.
- We've seen that the popular notion of meditation includes closed eyelids and a sitting position.
In terms of effects, we've seen how meditation is often linked with shortterm changes in state, including arousal reduction, mental absorption, mental clarity, and a feeling of touch with basic elements of reality.
- Although none of these qualities are mentioned in our description, they are nevertheless considered to be indicative of meditation.
- Meditation, when defined in this way, may be differentiated from a variety of other kinds of practice with which it has certain characteristics.
- The borderlines, on the other hand, are often gradient rather than absolute, and there is a lot of space for overlap.
The following is just a basic outline of some of these differences.
- Meditation and pure relaxation methods are often lumped together in scientific discourse.
- Only meditation, in our language, has long-term transformational goals beyond the health and wellbeing that come with simple relaxation.
- Methods like progressive muscle relaxation and autogenic training, with a few exceptions, are not promoted as transformational techniques.
- In general, contemporary relaxation methods that concentrate only on brief rest and enjoyment are excluded from our definition of meditation.
- Medicine and meditation are etymologically linked, thus they may overlap.
Meditation is often practiced for better health in both contemporary and traditional settings, and inner techniques may be complemented with medical plants, pills, and concoctions.
- Meditation was formerly thought to have the ability to drive away demons that might otherwise cause sickness in early China.
- However, the overlap between meditation and medicine in early China was far from total, and the two were regarded as distinct professions.
- Only when health oriented methods are also utilized for longterm inner change are they considered meditation in our language.
- Prayer, like meditation, is a consciously performed activity that often follows more or less well-defined protocols.
- It is often intended to produce specific results, such as the forgiveness of sins, but it may also be driven by a feeling of duty rather than the expectation of future benefits.
One of the most important differences between meditation and prayer is the constant action required in the former.
- Prayer involves considerably more complicated behaviors, and it often involves sequences of acts or utterances rather than a single continuous activity; it is sequential rather than continuous.
- Meditation, unlike prayer, is a technical technique of selftransformation rather than a communication way of expressing devotion, supplication, submission, or thanks to a supernatural entity in the archetypal instance.
In reality, there is a lot of overlap, such as when an Orthodox Christian does the Jesus Prayer, which is a brief, formulaic, and very devotional prayer that is repeated again and over, sometimes with the use of breathing exercises.
- Sufism's dhikr, Hinduism's japa, and Buddhism's nianfo (Chinese) or nenbutsu (Japanese) are all related activities.
- Devotional visualization techniques need similar concerns.
Many kinds of meditation, like prayer, seek to make touch with basic elements of reality, which are often described in anthropomorphic terms as divine creatures with their own sense of action.
- Prayer approaches meditation when it becomes wordless, as in certain types of Christian mysticism.
- Although the word "mysticism" is broad and complex, it usually refers to personal experiences and states rather than technical problems.
- Although meditation as a self-transformative practice may be associated with a mystical perspective, it is not always the case.
- Meditation varies from ritual in that it is usually more focused on the person rather than the group, and it involves continuous or repeated activity rather than the stepwise or sequential processes of ritual.
- Meditation, on the other hand, may be done in a group environment and ritual in an individual one. In a number of rituals, repetition is also an important component.
- Meditation is often accompanied by ritual, and rituals include contemplative elements, thus the line between the two is hazy.
Shamanism and spirit mediumship include entering a different state of consciousness and communicating with gods or spirits not for the shaman or medium's own benefit, but for the benefit of another individual or a community.
While this is not the same as the self-transformational goal of meditation, many traditions believe that meditation is beneficial not just to the meditator but also to his surroundings, and communal meditation is often performed for the benefit of a whole community.
What about Hatha Yoga, Taiji, and Qigong, for example?
- These are focused with inner change and require the use of attention, despite the fact that they concentrate on the body.
- They vary from the most common types of meditation in that they include sequential rather than repeated movements in addition to static (and therefore long-lasting) postures.
- Traditional martial arts, which are often said to have meditative elements, place a greater emphasis on outward selfdefense than interior transformation.
However, it is arguable that some of them achieve this aim in part by incorporating methods for inner change, but, like physical practices, in a manner that is focused on sequential rather than repeated motions.
Though it is likewise a transformational activity, psychotherapy varies from meditation in many ways.
- For starters, it necessitates the presence of a therapist, while meditation often occurs without the active or interfering presence of another person.
- Second, psychotherapy barely qualifies as a method in our limited definition, since it lacks the long-term or repeated elements that define meditation.
Note, however, that other kinds of guiding, which are often associated with meditation and are sometimes regarded necessary for its efficacy, share these and other therapeutic characteristics.
There are meditative and non-meditative aspects to many activities.
- Some practitioners want long-term change, while others seek short-term relaxation; some prioritize inner growth, while others prioritize physical health; some pursue spiritual goals, while others attempt to enhance their job or sports performance.
- This phenomena isn't limited to contemporary meditation practices.
- Traditional meditation techniques may also be used to gain financial riches, physical health, and other worldly advantages.
- This examination of the nature of meditation does not address all of the issues surrounding the word, and we may still be undecided about whether or not to include certain practices.
At the very least, we have a set of criteria to debate.
- Many activities, whether they are named meditation or have other titles, may come close to our description but lack one or two characteristics, thereby falling into the gray region between meditation and other kinds of practice.
- Some meditation like activities, for example, mirror ritual and prayer in that they are performed in steps rather than in a continuous or repeated manner.
Rather than defining a natural class or taxon, our definition aims to provide a single point of reference for cross-cultural and comparative research based on practical and theoretical considerations.