Is contemplation a form of meditation?

[Cody_Atzori]

Is it appropiate to categorize contemplation (specifically contemplation with a jounral) as a form of meditation, or would it just be a thinking exercise?

[How to be wise]

@Cody_Atzori Yes.

[Truth Addict]

Contemplation is not a thinking exercise.

Contemplation is looking for actual answers, not just speculating about them. That's the difference between contemplation and thinking.

Is contemplation a form of meditation? I'd say no.

[hamedsf]

Contemplation is not merely a thinking exercise.

Contemplation is inducing the thinking process and observing the entire system like a camera ( non-judgmentally ) then you wind up picking out the intuition or better thought from the rest which are trivial. 

If you're observing then you're meditating! 

Edited June 20, 2019 by hamedsf

[RendHeaven]

Contemplation is different from meditation.

However, everyone else on this thread is correct in saying that thoughts play no part in either.

 

Mediation is more like the practice of calming thoughts. So long as you are focused and not thinking, you are properly meditating.

Contemplation is more like seeing what happens after you've achieved a state of having no thoughts. Now, with your heightened awareness, you can curiously observe in ways you have never done before.

[Truth Addict]

@RendHeaven

I'd say thinking can be a meditation practice. Meditation is about observing rather than getting immersed. So, if you think while being aware that you're thinking, that's meditation.

Meditation is a very broad practice. You can practice meditation 24/7.

Edited June 20, 2019 by Truth Addict

[Aakash]

its actually more simple than you think 

supposed i'm having a bbq at the river. its my first time experiencing a river,  I can only know what its like to be in the river experiencing it when i get in. Similarly, contemplation is not about contemplation outside of the river, you have to contemplate on things inside the river. The river contains your beliefs, identities, past, futures etc .. In other words, its the river of metaknowledge you have picked up from symbols. contemplating this is doing mediative practice because your self analysing your fundamental building blocks. 

Its just another method to bypass the mind 

Also remember: the brain contains consciousness, so the only place to find out where your consciousness is, is to start with the mind, body  

lets all make it our OBJECTIVE to get enlightened! 

[RendHeaven]

9 hours ago, Truth Addict said:

@RendHeaven

I'd say thinking can be a meditation practice. Meditation is about observing rather than getting immersed. So, if you think while being aware that you're thinking, that's meditation.

Meditation is a very broad practice. You can practice meditation 24/7.

Well said, I agree. Ideally, the goal is to reduce the mental chatter though. That's important to acknowledge.

Perhaps your goals may change over time as you begin to embrace awareness, and whether or not you think may become irrelevant...

But, at least initially, reducing the thoughts is something to aim at.

Edited June 20, 2019 by RendHeaven

[Bill W]

So many different answers. I think maybe my take could be a minority view. 

For me contemplation can be a form of meditation. For me contemplation is not looking for answers or trying to solve something. For me contemplation is deeply thinking and reflecting on something you have already answered or have read and agree with.

I use this practice in my meditation. For example I might pick a short verse from the bible that inspires me. I will keep my eyes open if needed to read and re-read the verse. I will try to think of nothing but the verse and what it means to me. What is the essence of it? But I wouldn't say I am trying to answer anything. I am trying to embed a powerful short text. It gives a natural high when I do this. I try to become one with the text.

For me you can't say meditation is not thinking. It's about how you try to deal with the thinking when it happens. 

It really depends on the type of meditation. Most people talk about meditation without clarifying what they mean and then that can lead people to think thay everyone knows what everyone else means when they say "meditation". This thread shows that many people meditate on their own unique way.

[Truth Addict]

@RendHeaven

Meditation is just seeing things as they actually are. That's all there is to it. It doesn't have to necessarily be about reducing the thoughts, although it can be. Thoughts don't cause suffering, it's resistance that does that. Resistance is falsehood, and falsehood is the opposite of meditation, it's looking at something and seeing something else.

Reducing the thoughts can help to a certain extent, since the mind is a falsehood-creating machine. But reducing the thoughts has a limit. After that you will have to let go of it and let the thoughts run their course and do their job, which is helping you survive.

In my experience, suffering almost ended after I let go of trying to fight thoughts. Of course, I still suffer rarely. I'm not in a 100% blissful state, but I'm working towards that.

[Christian Jackson]

Contemplation can be meditative because both are to do with searching for answers.  Meditation is deep - spiritual - contemplation.