Curious Christian

Can anyone suggest a good definition of meditation?

I’ve been looking around at Definitions of meditation on the Web and here’s a select few:

Meditation usually refers to a state in which the body is consciously relaxed and the mind is allowed to become calm and focused. Several major religions include ritual meditation; however, meditation itself need not be a religious or spiritual activity. Most of the more popular systems of meditation are of Eastern origin, though there exists also various forms of Christian, Jewish and Muslim meditation. en.wikipedia.org

A state of focused attention through which one emerges into an ever-increasing clear awareness of reality. www.destinationspa.com

A practice of deep concentration of the mind. www.whitneystewart.com

To contemplate or reflect in a state of relaxed focus. oregonstate.edu

I am not sure which I prefer and am still thinking, hmmm. I am looking for one that is relatively tradition neutral yet descriptive for someone who has no idea what it entails. Here’s a few I thought were too biased one way or another:

Meditation is a spiritual discipline that encourages the participant to go more deeply into their relationship with God through a variety of exercises and prayer techniques. www.theredeemer.ca

The practices of mindfulness and awareness that form the core of spiritual development. www.bodhipath-west.org

A means of focusing the mind to reduce or eliminate conscious thought, to bring the mind to stillness or rest www.womensheartfoundation.org

Any thoughts? What needs to be mentioned? What does not? I think it is necessary to mention concentration of the mind but not so sure about relaxation of the body if it’s to be tradtion neutral. Can you suggest others?