17 Meditation Terms to Unlock Your Inner Wisdom

Meditation can be a bit of a labyrinth. With all its meditation terms and mystical lingo, it can be challenging for a beginner to fully understand the practice. 

However, having a clear understanding of meditation words is crucial to getting the most out of this powerful spiritual tool. Here are the most commonly used terms to help you learn this foreign language:

1. Meditation
2. Guided Meditations
3. Mindfulness
4. Breathwork
5. Visualization
6. Creative Visualization
7. Mental Screen
8. Center
9. Heart Space
10. Third Eye
11. Alpha State
12. Theta State
13. Gamma State
14. Mantra
15. Affirmation
16. Grounding
17. Source

Although meditation isn’t an intellectual practice, understanding the meditation language and concepts can help you stay focused on your practice and gain deeper insights into your mind and body.

1. Meditation

Meditation is the process of focusing your mind on the present moment and relaxing your body, which leads to inner peace. According to Emily Fletcher, meditation teacher and trainer of Mindvalley’s The M Word Quest, it’s a mental workout that helps reduce stress, increase focus, and boost overall well-being.

There are many different techniques for meditation, including mindfulness practices, breathing exercises, visualization, and guided meditations.

2. Guided Meditations

Guided meditations are meditations led by a voice or a series of instructions that help you focus your mind and bring you into a deep state. They are a powerful way to connect with your higher self or manifest your desires, as they often focus on a specific goal or outcome. 

3. Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the state of being present and aware of your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings without judgment. When you practice mindfulness, you pay attention to your breath, sensations, and emotions without labeling them in any way. 

4. Breathwork

Breathwork is an umbrella term for breathing techniques based on altering your breathing patterns to increase the supply of oxygen to the body, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve overall physical and mental well-being.

They range from simple techniques such as slow, deep breaths to more complex techniques like alternate nostril breathing, pranayama, or SOMA Breath®. 

5. Visualization

Visualization is the practice of creating a mental image of a desired outcome. Often, it’s said that you use your imagination in this process. But according to José Silva, creator of the Silva Ultramind, they are two different processes.

Vishen, founder of Mindvalley and trainer of The Silva Ultramind System Quest, explains that visualization is an inward process of perception, like using ears to hear words, and imagination is directed outwardly, like using a mouth to speak out words.

6. Creative Visualization

Creative visualization is the practice of using imagination and visualization to bring about desired outcomes, such as healing your body, finding a solution, or manifesting dreams.

Essentially, there are no strict guidelines on how you can create mental images. The key is to make them vivid and sensory-rich. 

7. Mental Screen

A mental screen is a screen you imagine in front of you on which you project any image (idea, outcome) you desire during creative visualization or meditation. The mental screen allows you to focus your attention on your visualization and bring it to life.

In the Silva Ultramind system, the Mental Screen is used as a separate technique, where you imagine a giant mental screen, elevated 20 degrees above the horizon, on which you project your goal. This specific condition allows your eye gaze to shift in a way to enhance your relaxation and gets you to the alpha state faster. 

Learn more: How to Use Your Mental Screen to Accelerate Toward Your Goals

8. Center

The center often refers to a state of inner balance, sovereignty, and peace. In the Silva Ultramind system, the term “center” refers to a state of deep relaxation and intense concentration attained through visualization and meditation. When you are at your center, you can access your inner wisdom and intuition and receive direction and guidance beyond your physical self.

9. Heart Space

Heart space is the energy center located in the heart area—the focal point of love, compassion, and connection to others. Connecting to your heart space during meditation is a powerful way to tap into a deeper, more intuitive, and more connected aspect of yourself. 

According to Sonia Choquette, intuition expert and trainer of Mindvalley’s Sixth Sense Superpower Quest, it’s the source of your inner wisdom and intuition, connecting you with the collective consciousness and providing you with greater clarity and guidance. 

10. Third Eye

The term “third eye” is a spiritual term for the pineal gland, linked to extrasensory perception, spiritual awareness, and intuition.

As Niraj Naik, SOMA Breath® creator and trainer of Mindvalley’s Breathwork for Life Quest, points out, it’s a crucial element in meditation and breathwork techniques. You can stimulate the pineal gland and activate your third eye by breathing in and concentrating your breath on that area. 

11. Alpha State

The alpha state is a brainwave state of relaxation and calmness that can be achieved through meditation. When you are in the alpha state, your body is relaxed but your mind is alert, so it’s an ideal state for problem-solving, creativity, and deep relaxation.

12. Theta State

The theta state is a brainwave state characterized by low-frequency brainwaves and connected to profound meditation, trance, and dreaming. It’s a state of high receptivity and heightened intuition.

13. Gamma State

The gamma state is a high-frequency brainwave state associated with heightened states of awareness, perception, and cognitive processing. According to this research, we experience a sense of unity and connectedness, transcending boundaries between the self and the environment, in the gamma state.

14. Mantra

A mantra is a sound, word, or phrase that is repeated as a form of meditation. It means “mind tool” in Sanskrit and can be used to focus your attention and protect your mind from negative thoughts and emotions. 

Mantras can be used in combination with other meditation practices, such as mindfulness, breathing exercises, creative visualization, and mantra meditation.

Learn more: Mantra Meditation: The Beginner’s List of Mantras for Meditation

15. Affirmation

An affirmation is a positive statement that you repeat to yourself during meditation or creative visualization. Affirmations help reinforce positive beliefs or the new self-identity.

José Silva found out that there are specific statements you can use to activate your mind and body. He called them “beneficial statements.” When repeated in the alpha state, they work as hypnotic commands, activating your intuition and improving your mindset and mental faculties.

16. Grounding

Grounding, also known as “earthing,” is the practice of connecting with the earth’s natural energy and becoming more present in the moment. During meditation, grounding is a technique of connecting with the core of the Earth energetically through your root chakra. 

This practice is an essential part of one’s daily energy cleansing to keep your multidimensional bodies clear.

17. Source

Source refers to the ultimate source of all that exists, universal wisdom, unconditional love, and the one and only Creator and Creatrix. It’s also seen as an ultimate reality, a transcendent being, or the ground of all being.

In other spiritual traditions, Source is seen as a state of pure consciousness you can access through spiritual practice and self-transcendence. Connecting to the Source during meditation can be a source of your higher guidance, inspiration, and divine insight. 

Ultimately, it’s where your complete creative potential, which exists outside of human experience, originates.

Taking Your Meditation Practice to the Next Level

Meditation is one of the most powerful ways to enhance your well-being on multiple levels. When you quiet your mind and connect to the subconscious, you can tap into your inner wisdom and unlock unprecedented levels of mental clarity, intuition, and inner peace. This is why meditation is the key to unlocking your fullest potential.

If you aspire to take your daily meditation practice, healing, and manifesting to the next level, join The Silva Ultramind System Quest, based on the breakthroughs of mind science engineer José Silva and trained by Vishen. 

You will learn how to use altered states of consciousness to access previously uncharted areas of your mind for a deeper connection with your higher self and the world around you.

Welcome in.