An act of prayer focusing on the loving presence of God within the person.
a form of interior, affective prayer in which one admires or rests in the knowledge and love of God. In the words of St. John of the Cross, "Contemplation is the science of love, which is an infused knowledge of God." In its purest form, contemplation is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Contemplative religious spend a major portion of their day in prayer, separating themselves from the world in order to offer their prayers and sacrifices for the needs of the Church and the world. Contemplative women are called nuns and the men, monks. Prayer is often combined with manual labour of some kind, such as farming or crafts.
Thinking about God, time spent in prayer and meditation.
The opening of the mind, heart, soul and body to a deepening awareness of God's presence and God's love. This opening can occur spontaneously at any moment as a free gift of the Spirit or it can occur as an infused grace through the practice of prayerful attentiveness to God beyond thoughts, words, and feelings--through a "long, loving look at the real." Contemplative prayer thus refers to a particular form of prayer in which we empty ourselves and simply rest in God's presence in solitude, silence, and stillness. To "be still and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10) creates a space within us and around us that frees us for a more active awareness of God's presence at all times. OR: Attending, discerning, and responding to God's presence and power within and around us.
The highest and deepest human awareness is consciousness of God. The act of contemplation, however, is described as a direct knowing as in the act of touch when the subject and the object are united as one.
contemplation: an activity of the soul, detached from the mind, which is held in a state of quiescence; the turning of the soul light upon that which is to be known or investigated
the act or process of holding someone in your thoughts The plaintiffs ought reasonably to have been in the officers' contemplation as they carried out their duties. contemplate (v)
a long and thoughtful observation
A form of quiet mental prayer, very affective in nature in which one rests quietly in the love and presence of God.
A life of prayer and meditation as practised by certain Roman Catholic orders
A deep state of reflection or thought often equated with prayer, but not related to one specific religious tradition.
abstract contemplation. There are four levels through which the mind frees itself from all subjects and objective hindrances and reaches a state of absolute indifference and annihilation of thought, perception, and will. See also Meditation.
Deep thought or reflection as a type of meditation or prayer.
A form of prayer, distinguished from meditation, in which the individual avoids or minimizes the use of words or images in order to experience the presence of God directly.
(bsam pa) In the context of learning, contemplating and meditating, it means reflecting on PART 17: When we remember the relation the five students had long borne him, and that they already believed much of his teachings, it's not difficult to understand that his persuasions were successful. His old disciples were the first to acknowledge him. Some stories say they were all convinced at once. The older Pali records report that their devotion became multiplied and that they vied to serve him. Other records suggest it took several days before his teachings were accepted entirely. Following that he stayed for a long time at the Deer Park near Benares, and his followers multiplied in number. ~~~~~ PART 1 ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PART 18 to follow
Contemplation comes from the latin root templum (from Greek temnein: to cut or divide), and means to separate something from its environment, and to enclose it in a sector. Contemplation is the Latin translation of Greek 'theory' (theoria). In a religious sense it is a type of prayer or meditation.