From “What Makes You Come Alive: A Spiritual Walk with Howard Thurman” by Lerita Coleman Brown
What contemplative prayer and different forms of meditation – including insight, mindfulness, transcendental, and vipassana meditation – have in common is an attempt to reduce the inner chatter. When the mind is quieted and the heart stilled, we often discover physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual healing. When we rest the mind, we can access other forms of consciousness. What distinguishes religious or Christian meditation from other forms though, is its focus on God, paired with the desire for a deep, ongoing, intimate relationship with the Creator.