meditations
Focused inner contemplation
Meditations are periods of focused contemplation or reflection, often as a spiritual or mental exercise: morning meditations, guided meditations.
The word also refers to written or spoken thoughts on a subject, typically reflective rather than argumentative: meditations on mortality, the emperor's private meditations.
Marcus Aurelius's *Meditations* established the form as a literary genre.
Examining one's own mind
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- self-examinationScrutiny of one's thoughts
- soul-searchingProbing one's innermost feelings
- self-awarenessInsight into one's psyche
self-inquiry · self-discovery · self-scrutiny · self-observation · self-questioning · self-analysis · rumination · pondering
Uncomplaining acceptance of difficulty
- SenecaStoic moralist of Rome
- ethicsStudy of right conduct
- virtueMoral goodness or merit
- wisdomGood judgment from experience
reason · contemplation · reflection · Descartes · Pascal · aphorisms · maxims · discourses
Profound spiritual awakening
- mantraRepeated focus phrase
- dharmaCosmic moral order
- satoriSudden spiritual awakening
- nirvanaRelease from cyclical existence
transcendence · prayer · devotion · sacred · divine · mystical · contemplative · monastic
State of being somewhere
- awarenessState of perceiving reality
- attentionFocused mental awareness
- focusConcentrated attention point
- observationAttentive watching or remark
nonjudgmental · acceptance · anchoring · clarity · insight · sitting · lovingkindness · concentration
Undisturbed mental quietude
- tranquilityUndisturbed peacefulness
- peaceFreedom from disturbance
- relaxationState of being unwound
- stillnessComplete lack of motion
quietude · restfulness · repose · composure · equanimity · centering · grounding · breathing
Short nonfiction prose pieces
- reflectionsReturned light or thought
- writingsComposed textual works
- journalRecord of daily events
- notebookBlank pages for jottings
aphorisms · musings · prose · observations · memoir · Thoreau · Emerson · discourses
self-reflection
Examining one's own mind
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- self-examinationScrutiny of one's thoughts
- soul-searchingProbing one's innermost feelings
self-awareness · self-inquiry · self-discovery · self-scrutiny · self-observation · self-questioning · self-analysis · rumination · pondering · musings
stoicism
Uncomplaining acceptance of difficulty
wisdom · reason · contemplation · reflection · Descartes · Pascal · aphorisms · maxims · discourses · treatise
enlightenment
Profound spiritual awakening
nirvana · transcendence · prayer · devotion · sacred · divine · mystical · contemplative · monastic · retreat
presence
State of being somewhere
- awarenessState of perceiving reality
- attentionFocused mental awareness
- focusConcentrated attention point
observation · nonjudgmental · acceptance · anchoring · clarity · insight · sitting · lovingkindness · concentration · wakefulness
serenity
Undisturbed mental quietude
- tranquilityUndisturbed peacefulness
- peaceFreedom from disturbance
- relaxationState of being unwound
stillness · quietude · restfulness · repose · composure · equanimity · centering · grounding · breathing · soothing
essays
Short nonfiction prose pieces
- reflectionsReturned light or thought
- writingsComposed textual works
- journalRecord of daily events
notebook · aphorisms · musings · prose · observations · memoir · Thoreau · Emerson · discourses · chapters
- Puritan writingsjeremiads, jeremiad, funeral sermon, catechisms, primers
- French DevotionalsPascal, devotionals, prayer books
- writingsessay, essays, article, articles, stories
- inner lifeidentity, feelings, memory, thoughts, self-discovery
- inspirationinspiration, muse, affirmations, motivational quotes, inspirational quotes
- personal writingsdiaries, journals, memoirs, love letters, autobiographies
- guided meditationNarrated mental relaxation exercise
- deep meditation
- meditation classesTaught sessions for mental stillness
- meditation practiceRoutine cultivation of awareness
- meditation centerFacility for mindfulness practice
- meditation retreatOrganized withdrawal for mindfulness