and deliberately reflect upon the revelations of god. in the roman empire, by 20 bce philo of alexandria had written on some form of "spiritual exercises" involving attention (prosoche) and concentration and by the 3rd century plotinus had developed meditative techniques. the word meditation comes from the latin word meditatum, which means to "concentrate" or "to ponder". monk guigo ii introduced this terminology for the first time in the 12th century ad. christian meditation is the process of deliberately focusing on specific thoughts (e.g. a biblical scene involving jesus and the virgin mary) and reflecting on their meaning in the context of the love of god. christian meditation is sometimes taken to mean the middle level in a broad three-stage characterization of prayer: it then involves more reflection than first level vocal prayer, but is more structured than the multiple layers of contemplation in christianity. between the 10th and 14th centuries, hesychasm was developed, particularly on mount athos in greece, and involves the repetition of the jesus prayer. interactions with indians or the sufis may have influenced the eastern christian meditation approach to hesychasm, but this is unproven. western christian meditation contrasts with most other approaches in that it does not involve the repetition of any phrase or action and requires no specific posture. western christian meditation progressed from the 6th century practice of bible reading among benedictine monks called lectio divina, i.e. divine reading. its four formal steps as a "ladder" were defined by the monk guigo ii in the 12th century with the latin terms lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio (i.e. read, ponder, pray, contemplate). western christian meditation was further developed by saints such as ignatius of loyola and teresa of avila in the 16th century. on april 28, 2021, pope francis, in an address to the general audience, said that meditation is a need for everyone. he noted that the term "meditation" has had many meanings throughout history, and that "the ancients used to say that the organ of prayer is the heart." in catholic christianity, the rosary is a devotion for the meditation of the mysteries of jesus and mary. “the gentle repetition of its prayers makes it an excellent means to moving into deeper meditation. it gives us an opportunity to open ourselves to god’s word, to refine our interior gaze by turning our minds to the life of christ. the first principle is that meditation is learned through practice. many people who practice rosary meditation begin very simply and gradually develop a more sophisticated meditation. the meditator learns to hear an interior voice, the voice of god. similarly, the chotki of the eastern orthodox denomination, the wreath of christ of the lutheran faith, and the anglican prayer beads of the episcopalian tradition are used for christian prayer and meditation. according to edmund p. clowney, christian meditation contrasts with eastern forms of meditation as radically as the portrayal of god the father in the bible contrasts with depictions of krishna or brahman in indian teachings. unlike some eastern styles, most styles of christian meditation do not rely on the repeated use of mantras, and yet are also intended to stimulate thought and deepen meaning. christian meditation aims to heighten the personal relationship based on the love of god that marks christian communion. in aspects of christian meditation, the catholic church warned of potential incompatibilities in mixing christian and eastern styles of meditation. in 2003, in a christian reflection on the new age the vatican announced that the "church avoids any concept that is close to those of the new age". islam whirling dervishes dhikr is a type of meditation within islam, meaning remembering and mentioning god, which involves the repetition of the 99 names of god since the 8th or 9th century. it is interpreted in different meditative techniques in sufism or islamic mysticism. this became one of the essential elements of sufism as it was systematized traditionally. it is juxtaposed with fikr (thinking) which leads to knowledge. by the 12th century, the practice of sufism included specific meditative techniques, and its followers practiced breathing controls and the repetition of holy words. sufism uses a meditative procedure like buddhist concentration, involving high-intensity and sharply focused introspection. in the oveyssi-shahmaghsoudi sufi order, for example, muraqabah takes the form of tamarkoz, "concentration" in persian. tafakkur or tadabbur in sufism literally means reflection upon the universe: this is considered to permit access to a form of cognitive and emotional development that can emanate only from the higher level, i.e. from god. the sensation of receiving divine inspiration awakens and liberates both heart and intellect, permitting such inner growth that the apparently mundane actually takes on the quality of the infinite. muslim teachings embrace life as a test of one's submission to god. dervishes of certain sufi orders practice whirling, a form of physically active meditation. baháʼí faith in the teachings of the baháʼí faith, meditation is a primary tool for spiritual development, involving reflection on the words of god. while prayer and meditation are linked, where meditation happens generally in a prayerful attitude, prayer is seen specifically as turning toward god, and meditation is seen as a communion with one's self where one focuses on the divine. in baháʼí teachings the purpose of meditation is to strengthen one's understanding of the words of god, and to make one's soul more susceptible to their potentially transformative power, more receptive to the need for both prayer and meditation to bring about and maintain a spiritual communion with god. bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, never specified any particular form of meditation, and thus each person is free to choose their own form. however, he did state that baháʼís should read a passage of the baháʼí writings twice a day, once in the morning, and once in the evening, and meditate on it. he also encouraged people to reflect on one's actions and worth at the end of each day. during the nineteen day fast, a period of the year during which baháʼís adhere to a sunrise-to-sunset fast, they meditate and pray to reinvigorate their spiritual forces. modern spirituality meditation. alexej von jawlensky, 1918 modern dissemination in the west meditation has spread in the west since the late 19th century, accompanying increased travel and communication among cultures worldwide. most prominent has been the transmission of asian-derived practices to the west. in addition, interest in some western-based meditative practices has been revived, and these have been disseminated to a limited extent to asian countries. ideas about eastern meditation had begun "seeping into american popular culture even before the american revolution through the various sects of european occult christianity",: 3 and such ideas "came pouring in during the era of the transcendentalists, especially between the 1840s and the 1880s.": 3 the following decades saw further spread of these ideas to america: the world parliament of religions, held in chicago in 1893, was the landmark event that increased western awareness of meditation. this was the first time that western audiences on american soil received asian spiritual teachings from asians themselves. thereafter, swami vivekananda... various vedanta ashrams... anagarika dharmapala lectured at harvard on theravada buddhist meditation in 1904; abdul baha ... the us teaching the principles of bahai , and soyen shaku toured in 1907 teaching zen...: 4 meditating in madison square park, new york city more recently, in the 1960s, another surge in western interest in meditative practices began. the rise of communist political power in asia led to many asian spiritual teachers taking refuge in western countries, oftentimes as refugees.: 7 in addition to spiritual forms of meditation, secular forms of meditation have taken root. rather than focusing on spiritual growth, secular meditation emphasizes stress reduction, relaxation and self-improvement. the 2012 us national health interview survey (nhis) (34,525 subjects) found 8% of us adults used meditation, with lifetime and 12-month prevalence of meditation use of 5.2% and 4.1% respectively. in the 2017 nhis survey, meditation use among workers was 10% (up from 8% in 2002). mantra meditation, with the use of a japa mala and especially with focus on the hare krishna maha-mantra, is a central practice of the gaudiya vaishnava faith tradition and the international society for krishna consciousness (iskcon), also known as the hare krishna movement. other popular new religious movements include the ramakrishna mission, vedanta society, divine light mission, chinmaya mission, osho, sahaja yoga, transcendental meditation, oneness university, brahma kumaris, vihangam yoga and heartfulness meditation (sahaj marg). new age new age meditations are often influenced by eastern philosophy, mysticism, yoga, hinduism and buddhism, yet may contain some degree of western influence. in the west, meditation found its mainstream roots through the social revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, when many of the youth of the day rebelled against traditional religion as a reaction against what some perceived as the failure of christianity to provide spiritual and ethical guidance. new age meditation as practised by the early hippies is regarded for its techniques of blanking out the mind and releasing oneself from conscious thinking. this is often aided by repetitive chanting of a mantra, or focusing on an object. new age meditation evolved into a range of purposes and practices, from serenity and balance to access to other realms of consciousness to the concentration of energy in group meditation to the supreme goal of samadhi, as in the ancient yogic practice of meditation. guided meditation guided meditation is a form of meditation which uses a number of different techniques to achieve or enhance the meditative state. it may simply be meditation done under the guidance of a trained practitioner or teacher, or it may be through the use of imagery, music, and other techniques. the session can be either in person, via media comprising music or verbal instruction, or a combination of both. the most common form is a combination of meditation music and receptive music therapy, guided imagery, relaxation, mindfulness, and journaling. because of the different combinations used under the one term, it can be difficult to attribute positive or negative outcomes to any of the various techniques. furthermore, the term is frequently used interchangeably with "guided imagery" and sometimes with "creative visualization" in popular psychology and self-help literature. it is less commonly used in scholarly and scientific publications. consequently, guided meditation cannot be understood as a single technique but rather multiple techniques that are integral to its practice. guided meditation as an aggregate or synthesis of techniques includes meditation music, receptive music therapy, guided imagery, relaxation, meditative praxis, and self-reflective diary-keeping or journaling. all of which have been shown to have therapeutic benefits when employed as an adjunct to primary strategies. benefits include lower levels of stress, reducing asthmatic episodes, physical pain, insomnia, episodic anger, negative or irrational thinking, and anxiety, as well as improving coping skills, focus, and a general feeling of well-being. secular applications psychotherapy