Most traditions address the integration of mind, body, and spirit (this is a major theme of the Bhagavad-Gita); or that of spiritual practice with family life, work, and so on. Often, meditation is said to be incomplete if it doesn't lead to positive changes in one's daily life and attitudes. In that spirit some Zen practitioners have promoted "Zen driving," aimed at reducing road rage. Meditation is often presented not as a "free-standing" activity, but as one part of a wider spiritual tradition. Nevertheless, many meditators today d ...

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Meditation, Meditation - Overview, Meditation - Types of meditation, Meditation - Buddhism, Meditation - Christianity, Meditation - Judaism, Meditation - Hinduism, Meditation - Sufism, Meditation - Sikhism, Meditation - Taoism, Meditation - Transcendental Meditation, Meditation - Meditation in context, Meditation - Physical postures, Meditation - Frequency and duration, Meditation - Purposes and effects of meditation, Meditation - Metta meditation: the practice of loving-kindness, Meditation - Health applications and clinical studies of meditation, Meditation - Meditation and the brain, Meditation - Meditation and EEG's, Meditation - Adverse effects, Meditation - Meditation and drugs

Read more here: » Meditation: Encyclopedia II - Meditation - Meditation in context

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Meditation, Meditation - Overview, Meditation - Types of meditation, Meditation - Meditation in context, Meditation - Physical postures, Meditation - Frequency and duration, Meditation - Purposes and effects of meditation, Meditation - Metta meditation: the practice of loving-kindness, Meditation - Health applications and clinical studies of meditation, Meditation - Meditation and the brain, Meditation - Meditation and EEG's, Meditation - Adverse effects, Meditation - Meditation and drugs

Read more here: » Meditation: Encyclopedia II - Meditation - Meditation in context

These vary so much that it is difficult to venture any general comments. On one extreme there exist monks and nuns whose whole lives are ordered around meditation; on the other hand, one-minute meditations are not out of the question. Twenty or thirty minutes is probably a typical duration. Experienced meditators often find their sessions growing in length of their own accord. Observing the advice and instructions of one's spiritual teacher is generally held to be most beneficial. Many traditions stress regular practice. Accordingly, many meditators experience guilt or frustration upon failing to do so. Poss ...

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Meditation, Meditation - Overview, Meditation - Types of meditation, Meditation - Buddhism, Meditation - Christianity, Meditation - Judaism, Meditation - Hinduism, Meditation - Sufism, Meditation - Sikhism, Meditation - Taoism, Meditation - Transcendental Meditation, Meditation - Meditation in context, Meditation - Physical postures, Meditation - Frequency and duration, Meditation - Purposes and effects of meditation, Meditation - Metta meditation: the practice of loving-kindness, Meditation - Health applications and clinical studies of meditation, Meditation - Meditation and the brain, Meditation - Meditation and EEG's, Meditation - Adverse effects, Meditation - Meditation and drugs

Read more here: » Meditation: Encyclopedia II - Meditation - Frequency and duration

Meditation like yoga originated in Vedic Hinduism many centuries ago, it was much later adopted into a wide variety of practices of religious and non-religious formats which emphasize mental activity or quiesscence. The English word comes from the Latin meditatio, which originally indicated every type of physical or intellectual exercise, but which later could perhaps be better translated as "contemplation." This usage is found in Christian spirituality, for example, when one "meditates" on the sufferings of Christ; as w ...

Including:

Meditation - Overview Meditation - Types of meditation Meditation - Meditation in context Meditation - Physical postures Meditation - Frequency and duration Meditation - Purposes and effects of meditation Meditation - Metta meditation: the practice of loving-kindness Meditation - Health applications and clinical studies of meditation
Meditation - Meditation and the brain Meditation - Meditation and EEG's Meditation - Adverse effects Meditation - Meditation and drugs

Read more here: » Meditation: Encyclopedia - Meditation

"May all beings be happy" is a beautiful blessing that SN Goenka, a great teacher of the Buddhist Vipassana meditation, expresses throughout his teachings. This prayer was originally sung by the ancient spiritual masters of India and is still sung around the world even today.

In the moments of singing or saying these words in a spiritual context, they seem so full of meaning for us, and our hearts truly wish for happiness for all beings. But then, as we engage in the everyday world of work, it's not so easy to maintain the spirit of this blessing for all people. It's all too easy to become agitated and impatient, and to have negative rather than positive thoughts towards others.

See also: Spirituality At Work, Work As A Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Based Leadership

Read more here: » Work As A Spiritual Practice: Bless Outside For Happiness Inside  

Shikantaza (只管打座) is literally translated as "only focused on doing sitting". More often it is called: "just sitting" or "silent illumination". It is the main meditation technique of the Soto school of Zen Buddhism. The "just" in "just sitting" has two connotations: Firstly, one should do nothing but the sitting. Secondly, one should sit in the right "mindful" way. The Shobogenzo, an ancient document by the zen master Dogen Zenji (1200-1253), is the most important description of shikantaza. Shikantaza - Meditatio ...

Including:

Shikantaza - Meditation method Shikantaza - Empirical explanation of central Buddhist concepts Shikantaza - Theoretical context

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A Maharshi (from Sanskrit maha great + rishi) is a Rishi who has mastered many arts and is just before the stage of becoming a Brahmarshi. The term is technically a title, not a name, yet it is often used in that context. "Maharshi" may refer to any number of individuals who have had the title affixed to their name, such as Shri Ramana Maharshi, an Advaita Vedanta sage of South India, or Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who brought Transcendental Meditation to the western world. Other r

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Mysticism is the philosophy and practice of a direct experience of God. Although it needs to be born in mind that 'experience' is a hotly debated term in the discussion on mysticism, and experience understood simply as a psychological state or event may be contested. In the Christian context it is traditionally practiced through pursuit of the three disciplines of prayer (including Christian meditation and contemplation), fasting (including other forms of abstinence and self-denial), and alms-giving, all discussed by Jesus in the Sermon on t ...

Including:

Christian mysticism - Biblical foundations Christian mysticism - The Practice of Christian Mysticism Christian mysticism - Christian mystics Christian mysticism - Bibliography
Christian mysticism - Classics

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The Passion is the technical term for the suffering and Agony of Jesus that led directly to the Crucifixion, a central Christian event. The "Passion narratives" tell this story in the Gospels. The etymological origins of this meaning of the word lie in the Latin passio that first appears in the 2nd century, precisely to describe the travails and suffering of Jesus in this present context. All the other meanings of "passion" have been derived from this one. Passion - Passion narratives. The canonical ...

Including:

Passion - Passion narratives Passion - Instruments of the Passion
Passion - Meditation device
Passion - Stations of the Cross Passion - Musical settings of Gospel narratives Passion - Passion plays Passion - External link

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Shikantaza is often referred to as the method of no method. While other forms of meditation often have quite clear instructions - such as focusing on the breathing process - shikantaza is held to make use of pure consciousness or mindfulness. The basic idea is that one has to transcend, go beyond, the thinking mind. While sitting one should not think about the sitting, but "really" sit, being one with the sitting. The moment one stops thinking about methods or other things, the correct way suddenly appears. From the viewpoint of Zen, ...

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Shikantaza, Shikantaza - Meditation method, Shikantaza - Empirical explanation of central Buddhist concepts, Shikantaza - Theoretical context

Read more here: » Shikantaza: Encyclopedia II - Shikantaza - Meditation method

Yogic Yang Spiral - Group meditations in yoga. The practice of group meditation and prayer is nothing new. From time immemorial in yoga and other religious practises people have come together to worship, pray or meditate. Paramahansa Yogananda said "Why shouldn’t you strengthen your own vibrations through fellowship with people seeking Self-realization, and by group meditation with them? This practice will fortify your own spiritual convictions; you will find that many seemingly insuperable barriers in your ...

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Yogic Yang Spiral, Yogic Yang Spiral - General context, Yogic Yang Spiral - Group meditations in yoga, Yogic Yang Spiral - The group effect, Yogic Yang Spiral - Large groups can arguably have measurable effects, Yogic Yang Spiral - The occurrences and symbolism of the spiral shape, Yogic Yang Spiral - Effects of the yogic yang spiral meditation according to their initiator, Yogic Yang Spiral - Global effects, Yogic Yang Spiral - Description of specific influences according to the zodiacal sign, Yogic Yang Spiral - Description of the tattvic influences, Yogic Yang Spiral - Influence of the planets, Yogic Yang Spiral - Effects due to the large numbers of yogis participating in the yang spiral

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The complex nature of gnostic teaching and the fact that much of the material relating to the schools comprising Gnosticism has traditionally come from critiques by orthodox Christians make it difficult to be precise about early Christian gnostic systems. Irenaeus (Adversus Haereses) described several different schools of 2nd century gnosticism in disparaging and often sarcastic detail while contrasting them with Christianity to their detriment. Despite this modern discussion of gnosticism at first relied heavily on Irenaeus and other ...

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Gnosticism, Gnosticism - Overview, Gnosticism - Etymology and philosophical context, Gnosticism - The meaning of 'gnosis', Gnosticism - The Platonist and Aristotelian traditions, Gnosticism - Neoplatonism and Plotinus' 'Address to the Gnostics', Gnosticism - Sources, Gnosticism - Heresiologists and gnostic detractors, Gnosticism - Gnostic texts preserved before 1945, Gnosticism - The Nag Hammadi library, Gnosticism - History, Gnosticism - The development of the Syrian-Egyptian school, Gnosticism - The development of the Persian school, Gnosticism - Nature and Structure of Gnosticism, Gnosticism - A typological model: the main features of gnosticism, Gnosticism - Dualism and monism, Gnosticism - Moral and ritual practise, Gnosticism - Major gnostic schools and their texts, Gnosticism - 'Gnosticism' as a potentially flawed category, Gnosticism - Gnosticism in modern times, Gnosticism - Scholars of gnosticism and those influenced by it, Gnosticism - Modern gnostic 'revivals', Gnosticism - Gnosticism in pop culture, Gnosticism - Literature, Gnosticism - Film and television, Gnosticism - Music, Gnosticism - Art, Gnosticism - Computer console and 'tabletop' games

Read more here: » Gnosticism: Encyclopedia II - Gnosticism - Overview

Gnosticism - The meaning of 'gnosis'. The word gnosticism is a modern construction, though based on an antiquated linguistic expression; it comes from the Greek word meaning 'knowledge', gnosis (γνώσις). However, gnosis itself refers to a very specialised form of knowledge, deriving both from the exact meaning of the original Greek term and its usage in Platonist philosophy. Unlike modern English, ancient Greek was capable of discerning between several different forms of knowing. ...

See also:

Gnosticism, Gnosticism - Overview, Gnosticism - Etymology and philosophical context, Gnosticism - The meaning of 'gnosis', Gnosticism - The Platonist and Aristotelian traditions, Gnosticism - Neoplatonism and Plotinus' 'Address to the Gnostics', Gnosticism - Sources, Gnosticism - Heresiologists and gnostic detractors, Gnosticism - Gnostic texts preserved before 1945, Gnosticism - The Nag Hammadi library, Gnosticism - History, Gnosticism - The development of the Syrian-Egyptian school, Gnosticism - The development of the Persian school, Gnosticism - Nature and Structure of Gnosticism, Gnosticism - A typological model: the main features of gnosticism, Gnosticism - Dualism and monism, Gnosticism - Moral and ritual practise, Gnosticism - Major gnostic schools and their texts, Gnosticism - 'Gnosticism' as a potentially flawed category, Gnosticism - Gnosticism in modern times, Gnosticism - Scholars of gnosticism and those influenced by it, Gnosticism - Modern gnostic 'revivals', Gnosticism - Gnosticism in pop culture, Gnosticism - Literature, Gnosticism - Film and television, Gnosticism - Music, Gnosticism - Art, Gnosticism - Computer console and 'tabletop' games

Read more here: » Gnosticism: Encyclopedia II - Gnosticism - Etymology and philosophical context

Gnosticism - Heresiologists and gnostic detractors. Prior to the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library in 1945 (arguably until its translation and eventual publication in 1977), gnosticism was known primarily only through the works of heresiologists, Church Fathers who worked to chronicle those movements perceived to be deviating from the developing orthodox church, and to refute their teachings as they did so, with the ultimate aim of demonstrating their moral inferiority. The problems with such sources are immed ...

See also:

Gnosticism, Gnosticism - Overview, Gnosticism - Etymology and philosophical context, Gnosticism - The meaning of 'gnosis', Gnosticism - The Platonist and Aristotelian traditions, Gnosticism - Neoplatonism and Plotinus' 'Address to the Gnostics', Gnosticism - Sources, Gnosticism - Heresiologists and gnostic detractors, Gnosticism - Gnostic texts preserved before 1945, Gnosticism - The Nag Hammadi library, Gnosticism - History, Gnosticism - The development of the Syrian-Egyptian school, Gnosticism - The development of the Persian school, Gnosticism - Nature and Structure of Gnosticism, Gnosticism - A typological model: the main features of gnosticism, Gnosticism - Dualism and monism, Gnosticism - Moral and ritual practise, Gnosticism - Major gnostic schools and their texts, Gnosticism - 'Gnosticism' as a potentially flawed category, Gnosticism - Gnosticism in modern times, Gnosticism - Scholars of gnosticism and those influenced by it, Gnosticism - Modern gnostic 'revivals', Gnosticism - Gnosticism in pop culture, Gnosticism - Literature, Gnosticism - Film and television, Gnosticism - Music, Gnosticism - Art, Gnosticism - Computer console and 'tabletop' games

Read more here: » Gnosticism: Encyclopedia II - Gnosticism - Sources

Gnosticism - The development of the Syrian-Egyptian school. Though the notion of a direct inheritance between the schools described above is disputed, Bentley Layton has sketched out a relationship between the various gnostic movements in his introduction to The Gnostic Scriptures (SCM Press, London, 1987). In this model, Classical Gnosticism and The School of Thomas antedated, and influenced the development of, Valentinus (whom Layton called 'the great [gnostic] reformer' and 'the focal point' of gnostic ...

See also:

Gnosticism, Gnosticism - Overview, Gnosticism - Etymology and philosophical context, Gnosticism - The meaning of 'gnosis', Gnosticism - The Platonist and Aristotelian traditions, Gnosticism - Neoplatonism and Plotinus' 'Address to the Gnostics', Gnosticism - Sources, Gnosticism - Heresiologists and gnostic detractors, Gnosticism - Gnostic texts preserved before 1945, Gnosticism - The Nag Hammadi library, Gnosticism - History, Gnosticism - The development of the Syrian-Egyptian school, Gnosticism - The development of the Persian school, Gnosticism - Nature and Structure of Gnosticism, Gnosticism - A typological model: the main features of gnosticism, Gnosticism - Dualism and monism, Gnosticism - Moral and ritual practise, Gnosticism - Major gnostic schools and their texts, Gnosticism - 'Gnosticism' as a potentially flawed category, Gnosticism - Gnosticism in modern times, Gnosticism - Scholars of gnosticism and those influenced by it, Gnosticism - Modern gnostic 'revivals', Gnosticism - Gnosticism in pop culture, Gnosticism - Literature, Gnosticism - Film and television, Gnosticism - Music, Gnosticism - Art, Gnosticism - Computer console and 'tabletop' games

Read more here: » Gnosticism: Encyclopedia II - Gnosticism - History

Gnosticism - A typological model: the main features of gnosticism. Though difficulties have arisen in offering a definitive, categorical definition of gnosticism (see below), various strategies have been employed in overcoming the problem, with varying degrees of success. It is therefore appropriate to offer a typological model of those ancient philosophical movements typically called gnostic; the model offered is adapted from Christoph Markschies' version, as described in Gnosis: An Introduction: ...

See also:

Gnosticism, Gnosticism - Overview, Gnosticism - Etymology and philosophical context, Gnosticism - The meaning of 'gnosis', Gnosticism - The Platonist and Aristotelian traditions, Gnosticism - Neoplatonism and Plotinus' 'Address to the Gnostics', Gnosticism - Sources, Gnosticism - Heresiologists and gnostic detractors, Gnosticism - Gnostic texts preserved before 1945, Gnosticism - The Nag Hammadi library, Gnosticism - History, Gnosticism - The development of the Syrian-Egyptian school, Gnosticism - The development of the Persian school, Gnosticism - Nature and Structure of Gnosticism, Gnosticism - A typological model: the main features of gnosticism, Gnosticism - Dualism and monism, Gnosticism - Moral and ritual practise, Gnosticism - Major gnostic schools and their texts, Gnosticism - 'Gnosticism' as a potentially flawed category, Gnosticism - Gnosticism in modern times, Gnosticism - Scholars of gnosticism and those influenced by it, Gnosticism - Modern gnostic 'revivals', Gnosticism - Gnosticism in pop culture, Gnosticism - Literature, Gnosticism - Film and television, Gnosticism - Music, Gnosticism - Art, Gnosticism - Computer console and 'tabletop' games

Read more here: » Gnosticism: Encyclopedia II - Gnosticism - Nature and Structure of Gnosticism

In 1966 in Messina, Italy, a conference was held concerning systems of gnosis. Among its several aim were the need to incept a program to translate the recently-acquired Nag Hammadi libary (see above) and the need to arrive at an agreement concerning an accurate definition of gnosticism. This was in answer to the tendency, prevalent since the eighteenth century, to use the term 'gnostic' less as its origins implied, but rather as an interpretive category for contemporary philosophical and religious movements. Thus in 1835 New Testamen ...

See also:

Gnosticism, Gnosticism - Overview, Gnosticism - Etymology and philosophical context, Gnosticism - The meaning of 'gnosis', Gnosticism - The Platonist and Aristotelian traditions, Gnosticism - Neoplatonism and Plotinus' 'Address to the Gnostics', Gnosticism - Sources, Gnosticism - Heresiologists and gnostic detractors, Gnosticism - Gnostic texts preserved before 1945, Gnosticism - The Nag Hammadi library, Gnosticism - History, Gnosticism - The development of the Syrian-Egyptian school, Gnosticism - The development of the Persian school, Gnosticism - Nature and Structure of Gnosticism, Gnosticism - A typological model: the main features of gnosticism, Gnosticism - Dualism and monism, Gnosticism - Moral and ritual practise, Gnosticism - Major gnostic schools and their texts, Gnosticism - 'Gnosticism' as a potentially flawed category, Gnosticism - Gnosticism in modern times, Gnosticism - Scholars of gnosticism and those influenced by it, Gnosticism - Modern gnostic 'revivals', Gnosticism - Gnosticism in pop culture, Gnosticism - Literature, Gnosticism - Film and television, Gnosticism - Music, Gnosticism - Art, Gnosticism - Computer console and 'tabletop' games

Read more here: » Gnosticism: Encyclopedia II - Gnosticism - 'Gnosticism' as a potentially flawed category

Gnosticism - Scholars of gnosticism and those influenced by it. There follows a list of those figures who are known to have undertaken a study of gnosticism, and who have occasionally incorporated elements of gnostic systems into their own work, or whose own work subsequently contains recognizably gnostic traits. Carl Jung and his associate G. R. S. Mead worked on trying to understand and explain the Gnostic faith from a psychological standpoint. Jung's "analytical psychology" in many ways schematica ...

See also:

Gnosticism, Gnosticism - Overview, Gnosticism - Etymology and philosophical context, Gnosticism - The meaning of 'gnosis', Gnosticism - The Platonist and Aristotelian traditions, Gnosticism - Neoplatonism and Plotinus' 'Address to the Gnostics', Gnosticism - Sources, Gnosticism - Heresiologists and gnostic detractors, Gnosticism - Gnostic texts preserved before 1945, Gnosticism - The Nag Hammadi library, Gnosticism - History, Gnosticism - The development of the Syrian-Egyptian school, Gnosticism - The development of the Persian school, Gnosticism - Nature and Structure of Gnosticism, Gnosticism - A typological model: the main features of gnosticism, Gnosticism - Dualism and monism, Gnosticism - Moral and ritual practise, Gnosticism - Major gnostic schools and their texts, Gnosticism - 'Gnosticism' as a potentially flawed category, Gnosticism - Gnosticism in modern times, Gnosticism - Scholars of gnosticism and those influenced by it, Gnosticism - Modern gnostic 'revivals', Gnosticism - Gnosticism in pop culture, Gnosticism - Literature, Gnosticism - Film and television, Gnosticism - Music, Gnosticism - Art, Gnosticism - Computer console and 'tabletop' games

Read more here: » Gnosticism: Encyclopedia II - Gnosticism - Gnosticism in modern times

Gnosticism has also seen something of a resurgence in popular culture in recent years. This may be related, certainly, to the sudden availibility of gnostic texts to the reading public, following the emergence of the Nag Hammadi library. Nevertheless, this dissemination of material has not necessarily resulted in a wider understanding of the intricacies of gnosticism; often the influence of gnosticism on modern culture dervies from an understandng of the movement largely subject to the influences of the ancient heresiologists, as being obses ...

See also:

Gnosticism, Gnosticism - Overview, Gnosticism - Etymology and philosophical context, Gnosticism - The meaning of 'gnosis', Gnosticism - The Platonist and Aristotelian traditions, Gnosticism - Neoplatonism and Plotinus' 'Address to the Gnostics', Gnosticism - Sources, Gnosticism - Heresiologists and gnostic detractors, Gnosticism - Gnostic texts preserved before 1945, Gnosticism - The Nag Hammadi library, Gnosticism - History, Gnosticism - The development of the Syrian-Egyptian school, Gnosticism - The development of the Persian school, Gnosticism - Nature and Structure of Gnosticism, Gnosticism - A typological model: the main features of gnosticism, Gnosticism - Dualism and monism, Gnosticism - Moral and ritual practise, Gnosticism - Major gnostic schools and their texts, Gnosticism - 'Gnosticism' as a potentially flawed category, Gnosticism - Gnosticism in modern times, Gnosticism - Scholars of gnosticism and those influenced by it, Gnosticism - Modern gnostic 'revivals', Gnosticism - Gnosticism in pop culture, Gnosticism - Literature, Gnosticism - Film and television, Gnosticism - Music, Gnosticism - Art, Gnosticism - Computer console and 'tabletop' games

Read more here: » Gnosticism: Encyclopedia II - Gnosticism - Gnosticism in pop culture

Directly equivalent concepts in Indian thought are lokas and bhuvanas. In Hindu cosmology, there are traditionally seven lokas or worlds, while Buddhist cosmology has a much larger number of "deva lokas", identified with both traditional cosmology and states of meditation. Planes of existence are sometimes referred to as eggs. For example, the Sanskrit term Brahmanda translates to "the Egg of God". In this context, Brahmanda is thought to encompass the Anda (astral) and Pinda (physical) eggs, in a way metaphorically analogous to a set of Russian dolls — the larger containing the next smaller, ...

See also:

Plane cosmology, Plane cosmology - Origins of the concept, Plane cosmology - History

Read more here: » Plane cosmology: Encyclopedia II - Plane cosmology - History