Is Meditation Spiritual Or Mental?

Meditation has been around for centuries and is practiced by people of many different religions.

Some people see it as a way to connect with a higher power, while others see it as a way to relax and focus the mind.

But if we take a look at the facts, is meditation actually spiritual or mental?

Let’s have a look!

Table of Contents

What is spirituality?

Awakening consciousness

As a wide notion, spirituality allows for a variety of viewpoints.

It often entails a quest for purpose in life and, in general, involves a feeling of connection to something greater than ourselves.

As a result, it is a shared human experience that affects everyone.

A spiritual experience may be described as sacred, sublime, or simply as a profound sense of aliveness and connectivity.

Some people could discover that their affiliation with a church, temple, mosque, or synagogue is closely related to their spiritual life.

Others could turn to prayer or find solace in a close personal connection with God or a higher power.

Others look for significance in their relationships with nature or the arts.

Your individual experiences and interpersonal relationships may cause your concept of spirituality to evolve over the course of your life, similar to how your sense of purpose does.

Spirituality as defined by professionals

 
 

The George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health’s director, Christina Puchalski, M.D., claims that “spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred.” 

In The Spiritual Brain, researchers Mario Beauregard and Denyse O’Leary write that “spirituality means any experience that is supposed to bring the experiencer into contact with the divine (in other words, not just any experience that feels meaningful).”

Nurses When a person experiences emotional hardship, physical illness, or death, Ruth Beckmann Murray and Judith Proctor Zenter argue that “the spiritual dimension attempts to be in harmony with the cosmos, looks for answers concerning the infinite, and comes into focus.”

What is mental activity?

brain

According to IGI Global, mental activity is the activity of the mind resulting in a collection of thoughts.

So what about mental exercise?

Mental exercise is a way to improve your brain’s power, ability, and ability to focus by doing specific tasks that challenge your brain. This doesn’t have to be done in a formal way. 

This doesn’t have to be done in a formal way.  Some people play computer or video games that are meant to challenge and exercise the brain. 

Studies have shown that this kind of brain exercise can help keep your memory sharp, improve your ability to focus, and may even help you solve hard problems at work better. 

Is meditation spiritual or mental

woman meditating - accomplished pose

As we now know the definitions of spiritual and mental, we can say that meditation is leaning more toward the spiritual instead of mental.

In fact, meditation (in the traditional sense) is the opposite of mental. As we explored in the previous chapter, mental activity results in a collection of thoughts while the goal of traditional meditation is to draw attention away from thoughts.

Although many people would probably not consider meditation to be spiritual (i.e. those who just use it to calm and reduce stress) it can in fact be a great tool to connect to something bigger than ourselves (which is the definition of spirituality as discussed in chapter 1).

Online spirituality and meditation courses

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Conclusion

There you have it! 

The answer to the question “is meditation spiritual or mental” is leaning more towards “spiritual”.

Although it doesn’t necessarily need to be a spiritual practice (since many practitioners don’t use it to grow spiritually), it definitely has to potential to be a spiritual tool.

References

  • What Is Spirituality? (n.d.). Taking Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing. Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/what-spirituality
  • What Is Mental Exercise? (2022, September 11). Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.wise-geek.com/what-is-mental-exercise.htm

  • What is Mental Activity | IGI Global. (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/mental-activity-and-the-act-of-learning-in-the-digital-age/50644

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Hi, my name is Mike Wilhelm and I run the confidence HQ!

Looking back at my journey through life, I can say without a doubt, that anyone is capable of reaching a state of true inner confidence.

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