2006-07-16 18:19:00 · 15 answers · asked by domestic?goddess 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I'm going to assume that you are really interested in this, and take the time to answer you. Meditation is an intensely personal, internal experience, aimed at 'quiet mind'. The objective is to silence your 'internal dialog', such that the 'silent watcher' behind your thoughts can experience reality directly, unmediated by the senses.
While there are many different ways to meditate, the simplest for a beginner is the 'counting' meditation. Find a nice quite spot where you can stretch out and relax... the quieter and more comfortable, the better. Close your eyes, and breathe deeply and slowly, in through your nose, out through your mouth. Count each exhalation silently, in your mind. When you get to four, start over...
inhale... exhale.. (1)...
inhale... exhale.. (2)...
inhale... exhale.. (3)...
inhale... exhale.. (4)...
inhale... exhale.. (1)...
inhale... exhale.. (2)...
... etc.
As you do this, various thoughts will pop up in your mind, and you may lose track of the counting. You must gently dismiss those thoughts, and return to your task of breathing and counting... 1... 2... 3... 4...
Your subconscious does not want your mind to be silent, and so it will oppose what you are doing.
As you learn to dismiss these extraneous thoughts more easily, your mind will become more desperate, and you may start hearing auditory hallucinations... voices... strange sounds. They are not real... it is just your mind playing tricks on you. Gently dismiss them, just like the extraneous thoughts.
As your mind gets more desperate, you may experience visions... sort of like waking dreams. They will seem very interesting, fascinating, and you will want to follow them, and focus on them. Do not. Again, it will just be your mind playing tricks on you. Gently dismiss them, and return to your task of breathing and counting... 1... 2... 3... 4...
This will not all happen at once, of course. Do this once or twice a day, every day, at the same time (if possible), for 15 or 20 minutes at a time. As you gain experience, you may work up to around 30 minutes. You will find that it is very relaxing and refreshing, and that after doing it, you will feel very refreshed and alert... recharged. It may take you a few weeks... maybe even a month or two... before you are actually able to achieve 'quiet mind'... but once you do, you will find yourself experiencing a sense of 'connectedness' that will blow your mind. I will not try to describe it for you... you will know it when it comes.
After you have a few months experience with this, get a book titled to 'How To Meditate', by Lawrence LeShan. Or, you might look up 'how to meditate' in Google. Also look up 'satori' and 'kundalini'.
You will find this to be one of most profoundly rewarding experiences of your life. Good luck.
2006-07-16 20:23:27 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes. The difference is that prayer is a communication with a deity and meditation is an exercise that calms and clears your mind. Journeying might be considered similar to prayer, but more direct in contact, but they are still two very different things.
2006-07-16 18:37:17 · answer #2 · answered by phae_talon 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Definitely. Meditation is a thought process where you concentrate on a subject at a given time and ponder on it in the recesses of your mind. You go deeper into the subject and try to gather the various facets of it and get impressions about it from various thought processes.
Prayer is a communication with God. Its you talking to God as one to one relationship. But while in prayer, you get answers too from God. Its not like meditation where you get answers too for your problems but this is like conversation with a friend. When you are deeply involved in prayer, that experience is altogether different.
2006-07-16 18:29:31 · answer #3 · answered by sunilbernard 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Meditation and prayer are TWO TOTALLY different things...prayer is talking to god...meditation involves a bunch of different things but thats not one of them, meditation goes into the mind and can do different things, relax your body, put you in an out of body experience...different things
2006-07-16 18:23:13 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In simple terms, prayer is "speaking to", while meditation is "listening to".
The world has many interpretations for what prayer is, and what meditation is. In truth, they are the same, as there are no true divisions.
Meditation is a stillness, a listening to that part of you that you sense as sacred, or greater than you.
Prayer is your eternal connection to that perfect part of you that the world refers to as "God", and many other names. Meditation runs along with that connection, as one with it, and you, and everything created.
2006-07-17 12:37:21 · answer #5 · answered by Sky in the Grass 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The difference (as it was explained to me by a Quaker) is that meditation aims at emptying the mind whereas prayer consists of active praise for, supplication to or love of a deity. So one should have an empty, receptive mind, the other fills the mind with the worshipped being.
Both may be part of worship, of course.
2006-07-16 18:25:52 · answer #6 · answered by Owlwings 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The main difference between prayer and meditation is that the prayer is the way of love and surrender to the unknown God to know the ultimate reality, where as meditation is the individual way of will and the wisdom to know the ultimate reality of the self and the existence.
2016-03-26 21:13:35 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Meditation is a quieting time, and getting into the inner self. It is very deep thinking.Prayer is between the person and God.
2006-07-16 18:24:40 · answer #8 · answered by Bethany 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
prayer is a repeat process in which a chant or mantra that was created is chanted repeatedly. medition is the total shutdown of mind, body and soul in order to receive god's love and power.
2006-07-16 18:46:53 · answer #9 · answered by santosh s 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most definitely.
Praying places emphasis on fellowship/communication with God in terms of thanksgiving, praise, petition (the most popular), and intercession on behalf of others. It involves both your mind and your heart.
Meditation is an internal thinking focus that relies on external sources.
Now...... one can meditate on God and scripture, but if you are talking to God, you are praying.
2006-07-16 18:30:42 · answer #10 · answered by Katie My Katie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋