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Definition: Meditation from The SAGE Glossary of the Social and Behavioral Sciences

A practice in which the individual focuses his or her attention inward to achieve a greater sense of clarity and stillness. Involving both mind and body, meditation has been linked to increases in wellness and life adjustment. It is practiced in secular and religious contexts.

Meditation

From Encyclopedia of Global Religions
Meditation practices develop mental focus, which is used for the attainment of particular states of consciousness. Meditation is most readily associated with Hinduism and Buddhism; however, it is also practiced in Islam, Christianity, Judaism, numerous indigenous traditions, and a variety of new religious movements. The global dissemination of meditation practice is traced in this entry from India through China as well as from the Middle East through Europe and the Americas. Among the earliest representations of meditation practice are figures sitting in what appear to be meditative postures on seals from archaeological sites in the Indus Valley civilization (ca. 2700 BCE). The first extensive recorded treatment of meditation practice in Hinduism is found in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (100 BCE to 200 CE). In this classic text, dhyana (meditation) focused on the cessation of thought. Samkhya philosophy, a dualist philosophy that sees the cosmos as consisting of two radically different…
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Full text Article meditation

From Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
The achievement through thought control of a tranquil state and total relaxation of mind and body, usually as a religious or spiritual practice. Meditation is a common component of many Eastern belief systems, but is now also used in the West in a non-spiritual context as a relaxation technique. The…
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Full text Article Meditation

From Book of Bible Quotations
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. But his delight is in the law of the…
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Full text Article Meditation

From Encyclopedia of Women's Health
Traditionally meditation was used exclusively for spiritual growth. More recently, it has become a valuable tool for relaxation, stress relief, and as an adjunct to medical healing. Those who meditate on a regular basis report a sense of healing, deeper concentration and insight, a heightened sense…
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Full text Article Meditation

From Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology
A group of people doing yoga in a city park. (©...
Meditation is the practice of an extended state of contemplation for achieving calm, psychological balance, and wellbeing. It is sometimes practiced with the goal of achieving an altered state of consciousness. Meditation has been used for thousands of years as a spiritual practice and for physical…
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Full text Article Meditation

From Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Pupils meditating in lotus position on desk in...
Meditation is a practice of concentrated focus upon a sound, object, visualization, the breath, movement, or attention itself in order to increase awareness of the present moment, reduce stress, promote relaxation, and enhance personal and spiritual growth. Meditation techniques have been practiced…
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Full text Article Meditation

From Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Men and women meditating on exercise mats at a...
Meditation is a practice of concentrated focus upon a sound, object, visualization, the breath, movement, or attention itself in order to increase awareness of the present moment, reduce stress, promote relaxation, and enhance personal and spiritual growth. Meditation benefits people with or without…
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Full text Article Meditation

From The SAGE Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Religion
Meditation is a term whose definition shifts significantly with a religious or spiritual context. Its long use in Christian discourse hews most closely to its etymology, with the English word deriving from the Latin meditatio , or the Old French meditacion , denoting sustained reflection on a…
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Full text Article MEDITATION

From Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity
In Antiquity, the term meditation did not refer to a kind of prayer which was purely mental, but to a personal assimilation brought about through the continual recitation in a low voice of the sacred words drawn from the liturgy and lectio divina. Scripture (e.g., Josh 1:8; Ps 1:2) invites us often…
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Full text Article meditation

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Act of spiritual contemplation, practised by members of many religions or as a secular exercise. It is a central practice in Buddhism and Hinduisum (the Sanskrit term is samādhi ) and the movement for transcendental meditation . There are traditions of meditation in all main religions. Meditation…
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Full text Article meditation

From Library of Health and Living: The Encyclopedia of Men's Health
A process of mental focus that can provide relaxation and relieve stress. There are numerous methods for meditation; what is most important is that the one selected results in a sense of well-being and calm. Meditation is most effective when done with a structured approach and in a location that…
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