What's the difference between meditation and prayer?

Answer 1

*Within the Judeo-Christian traditions we find two overlapping practices called Prayer and Contemplation. Prayer is a direct address to a spiritual entity.
Contemplation is a prolonged period of conscious thought about a specific topic, sometimes a religious ideal, but most often on a scriptual passage.
*From the standpoint of mental cultivation,
both of these activities are exercises in concentration. The normal deluge of conscious thought is restricted, and the mind is brought to one conscious area of operation. The results are those you find in any concentrative practices: a deep calm,
a physiological slowing of the metabolism, and a sense of peace and well-being.

Out of the Hindu tradition comes Yogic Meditation, which is also purely concentrative. The traditional basic exercises consist of focusing the mind on a single object - a stone, a candle flame, a syllable and not allowing the mind to wander.
Having acquired the basic skill, the yogi proceeds to expand his practice by taking on the complex objects of meditation, such as chants, colorful religious images, energy channels in the body, and so forth.
Still, no matter how complex the object of meditation, the meditation itself remains purely an exercise in concentration.

*Within the Buddhist tradition, concentration is also highly valued, but a new element is added and More highly stressed: the element of awareness. Buddhist Meditation aims at the development of awareness, using concentration as a tool
toward that end.

Vipassana is the oldest of the Buddhist meditations.
Vipassana method of meditation comes directly from the Satipatthana Sutta.
Vipassana is a direct and gradual cultivation of Mindfulness or awareness.
It proceeds piece by piece over a period of years. "One's attention is carefully directed to an intense examination of certain aspects of one's own existence. The meditator is trained to notice more and more of the flow of life experience. Vipassana is a gentle technique, and is very, very thorough. It is an ancient and codified system of Training your mind, a set of exercises dedicated to the purpose of becoming more and more aware of your own life experiences. It is attentive listening,
mindul seeing, and careful observation and testing. We learn to smell acutely, to touch fully, and to really pay attention to the changes taking place in all these experiences. "We learn to listen attentively to our own thoughts without being caught up in them."
*The object of Vipassana Practice is to learn to see the Truths of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and selfLessness of
phenomena. "Through the process of Mindfulness we become aware of what we really are, down below the Ego image. 'We wake up to what Life really is.'
Vipassana is a form of Mental Training and discipline that teaches you to see the world in an entirely new Optimistic way.
You will learn for the first time what is truly happening to you, around you, and within you. 'It is a process of self-discovery and a participatory investigation in which you observe your own experiences while participating in them.' The whole meaning of the word Vipassana is looking into something with complete clarity and precision, seeing each component as distinct, and piercing all the way through to perceive the most fundamental reality of that thing. This disciplinary training of the mind leads to insight into the basic reality of whatever is being examined.
Vipassana Bhavana means the cultivation of the mind toward the aim of seeing in a unique and special way that leads to insight and Full understanding into the very nature of Life itself.
*In Vipassana Meditation we cultivate this special way of seeing Life. We train ourselves to see reality exactly as it is, and we this special mode of perception is Mindfulness.

Use whatever techniques or a combination of these techniques, which work best for you and which helps you to mindfully live life compassionately And peaceably with all human beings.

*Thank You for you excellent question.

Peace and Friendship - to everyone.

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Answer 2

Meditation is self-reflection... Prayer is speaking with God

Answer 3

Nothing really.

Prayer need not have words. There are prayers of petition, prayers of intercession and prayers of contemplation.

Contemplative prayer is meditation.

At least to Christians. We quite the chatter in our minds and just dwell in the presense of God.

Answer 4

For myself prayer is talking and meditation is being still. ~ : )

Answer 5

Meditation doesn't rely on some omnipotent being's intervention. It's just a mental exercise.

Answer 6

Lust is entirely physical - you want to have sex with this person, grope this person. All body stuff. Love is emotional - yes, there are aspects of lust in love but for the most part it's wanting to be with that person, talk with that person, cuddle, and to stay with them forever. tl;dr Lust leaves when you gain a few pounds, love stays and asks if you want cake.

Answer 7

meditation has nothing to do with speaking with god