Meditation – Its Mystic Roots

Mind-full Meditation

Meditation isn’t what it used to be. The word traces back to Indo-European languages as old as 3,500 years. Back then, it meant “to judge or estimate.” Later, in Greek, it meant “to be mindful of,” and in Latin, “to think over or reflect on.” Meditation, as we will see, has long been a deliberate and thought-full practice rather than any attempt to empty or transcend the mind.

Mystic Meditation

In the 12th century, Christian mystics were using the Latin word meditationem to refer to the practice of spiritual contemplation, private devotions, and reverent prayer. In this mindful context, meditation had more to do with spiritual musings, thought, reflection, and study—or simply thinking things over from a God-centered perspective.

In 1924, Webster’s New International Dictionary defined meditation as “to be mindful of, to contemplate, to keep the mind fixed on, to watch, to study, to muse on, to ponder.” This was the classical definition of meditation, influenced by ancient Greek, Roman, Judaic, and Middle Eastern philosophies and religious practices. However, since 1924, Eastern religious concepts and practices have transformed our understanding of meditation.

One hundred years later, in 2024, the Merriam-Webster dictionary still includes definitions similar to the above. However, a newly emphasized definition is “to engage in mental exercise (such as concentration on one’s breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness.”

This rather vague definition is now duplicated word-for-word across hundreds of websites, magazines, and books, and is often presented as the only definition, while ignoring the long use of meditation in ancient Middle Eastern religions and among early Jewish and Christian mystics. Mystic meditation was (and perhaps still is) a religious practice focusing on deep thought, contemplation, reverence, and God.

This alteration (or addition) to the meaning of meditation can be traced to 19th-century European translators, who ascribed the English word meditation to both the Hindu practice of dhyana and the Buddhist practice of bhavana, although neither was entirely similar in concept or practice.

Read: God & New Age Spirituality

Nevertheless, within a few decades, ideas about meditation shifted to an Eastern focus, and the original Latin meanings and practices so prevalent in Western society, particularly in Christian mysticism, were gradually displaced.

What was lost in this conversion of meaning was the original emphasis on profound spiritual reflection, worship, and problem-solving. And while many practitioners today still think of meditation as a spiritual exercise, the critical difference is that, in almost all current models, God no longer plays a role.

Meditation, rather than being viewed as a powerful and rewarding technique for genuine spiritual progress, has been gradually transformed into a secular mental exercise intended to calm frayed nerves.

Mystic Contemplation

Contemplation is synonymous with meditation. Christians once used the two terms interchangeably, both in thought and practice. But unlike meditation, the act of contemplation has retained its association with Christian, Greek, and Middle Eastern mysticism.

The word contemplation has deep historical roots in Judeo-Christian thought and in the mystical practices of the 4th century AD. Even then, we can trace similar principles back another 700 years to the writings of Greek philosophers of the 3rd century BC, such as Plotinus.

Religionists originally conceived of contemplation as the practice of thoroughly pondering religious concepts. In principle, it’s an attempt to reach deeper levels of moral and spiritual insight, especially regarding spiritual meanings and values. In some traditions, contemplation is the act or state of beholding God, or coming into union with God.

In the 16th century, living a contemplative life of prayer received considerable attention through the works of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. In recent times, contemplation was popularized by Thomas Merton (1915-1968), an American Trappist monk who wrote extensively on the topic.

Throughout the Christian mystic tradition, there are various interpretations of contemplation, but in general, they emphasize an awareness of the presence of God in association with prayer (communion). Hence, contemplation is coupled with the act of listening, of being receptive to divine guidance. It is also a form of worship because it redirects the mind from the self to the contemplation of divinity.

While contemplation is often thought of as a monastic discipline, it’s not necessary to practice it in isolation. Some practitioners prefer to think of contemplation as a daily state of mind in which they are aware of the presence of God while, at the same time, responding to the outside world with love and compassion.

Read: Prayer – The Breath of Spirit Life.

In the classical sense, contemplation is a meditation technique, though it is not necessarily a Buddhist or Yoga meditation technique. Along with other meanings, Thomas Merton defines contemplation as the “vivid realization” that life proceeds from an “invisible, transcendent and infinitely abundant Source.”

The Psychology of Meditation

Sandra Anderson (2023) of Yoga International distinguishes between contemplation and meditation by taking the view that contemplation is “a train of thought about something,” whereas meditation is said to have more to do with “training the mind to rest in a particular focus, a practice that leads to a connection to the source of all consciousness.”

As you see, Anderson’s definitions are founded on the relatively new interpretation of meditation, which is itself derived from a secular Western Buddhist philosophy—a philosophy that, for the most part, excludes spiritual reflection, the inner Spirit, and God.

On the same website, Pandit Rajmani (2023) defines meditation as a science rather than a religious practice—a science used for “experiencing the center of consciousness within.” While Rajmani does not specify the nature of this center beyond it being simply consciousness, his notion of a “consciousness within” aligns with our idea that the indwelling Spirit is the center of God consciousness.

Meditation, however, is not a science as Rajmani suggests, although a professional psychological study of meditation would qualify as a social science.

To be clear, pure science is the study of material reality and requires factual evidence, as do the social sciences in their study of human behavior. Nonetheless, while contemplation and meditation are not scientific pursuits per se, they are effective psychological techniques for changing our way of thinking. Meditation has proven to be an effective way to relax, even to change thought patterns and brain structure when used in specific ways.

Read: Your Mind – Make it Spiritually Receptive

Meditation is a psychological process that loosely conforms to the so-called “science of mind” approach promoted by New Thought authors such as Ernest Holmes. But many authors who championed this “scientific” approach were not attempting to distance themselves from God. In fact, they actively embraced God and spirituality in their philosophies.

As a psychological method, and from a New Age or Western Buddhist perspective, meditation has an intellectual goal, which is connecting oneself to the “source of all consciousness.” But once again, it’s not entirely clear what that source is supposed to be.

Meditating With God

Other teachers of yoga and meditation are not as vague about it. Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952) claimed that human consciousness descends from cosmic consciousness, the consciousness of God beyond all creation.

Without a doubt, God is consciousness, just as God is love and God is energy, but we should realize this does not logically imply that consciousness is God, as some maintain. And this is true because the Divine Creator is the Source of all things, including consciousness. But even though consciousness itself is not spirit, it is a spiritual endowment that allows us to identify and appreciate profound values and meanings.

The most significant conceptual difference between Western contemplation and Eastern meditation is the idea that a Spirit of God lives within each of us and that God is a personal Deity with whom we can interact—a God who will lovingly guide us. Nonetheless, some Eastern meditation techniques are especially useful for reaching a superconscious level, where we contact God Within and thereby enter a heightened state of God consciousness.

In any event, the ultimate objectives of spiritual enhancement and universal wisdom are not so different in either the Western or Eastern traditions, although the mental exercises and religious concepts are. Several ideas overlap, and some techniques found in Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, and Islamic practices are shared, including creative visualization and mindfulness. The most rewarding approach is to take the best of all worlds, combining spiritual concepts and practices in a syncretic and effective way.

Next Read: Divine Meditation – An 8 Week Method.