Meditation and Imaginary Bad Things
“Meditation” is an overloaded word. Colloquially, it means to think deeply about; in pop culture it means various things including to clear your mind of thoughts; in most traditional meditation schools, it refers to mental exercises to train a specific skill, e.g. concentration, empathy. In pop culture, meditation is used as a relaxing, post-activity cooldown or calming ritual. In traditional practices, meditation is (obviously) the primary activity and it’s hard work – the goal is to reprogram your mind to reach nirvana.