Meditation

One of several intentional awareness activities (observing, focusing, releasing, producing, imagining, moving), underpinned and unified by the activity of awareness of awareness. Meditation can be performed either in formal or informal settings, and may result in altered states of consciousness. These altered states may include passing through stages of development, and ultimately endpoints in practices (e.g., “awakening). The states, stages, and experiences of meditation may be motivated by either secular or spiritual frameworks. See also Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness Meditation, and Loving-Kindness Meditation.

Reference:

Sparby, T., & Sacchet, M. D. (2022). Defining meditation: Foundations for an activity-based phenomenological classification system. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 795077. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.795077