What Mystics Mean by the Word "Meditation" - Meditation vs. Meditation

Meditation vs. Meditation 

There is always value in pondering the wisdom of various sages. “Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death.” (Gospel of Thomas, saying one) In the case of Thomas, the goal of the pondering is discovering an existence beyond the body, beyond this world, and so one leaves behind -- transcends -- doctrine, information, theology and mind itself as one enters into the spiritual domain, becoming a gnostic, a mystic, a knower of that experience for one's self.  

I always avoid using the word meditation in connection with contemplating the meaning of verses as evangelical Christianity uses that word to mean that, and at the same time is utterly opposed to the mystical definition of meditation, which is direct experience of the spiritual dimension. When I use the word meditation, it's about this: 

"Give ear; withdraw your souls from all that appears but is not truly real; close these eyes if yours, close your ears, withdraw from actions that are outwardly seen; and you shall know the reality of Christ and the whole secret of your salvation." (Acts of Peter)

"Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10) 

Evagrius of Egypt wrote: “The offspring of pure prayer is swallowed up by the Spirit. From this point on, the mind is beyond prayer, and prayer has ceased from it now that it has found something even more excellent. No longer does the mind actually pray, but there is a gaze of wonder at the Inaccessible Things which do not belong to the world of mortal beings.”

“When I have gone to the Light, preach to all the world and say to them: ‘Do not cease seeking day or night and do not let yourselves relax until you find the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Light, which will purify you and make you into pure Light and lead you into the Kingdom of Light.’ (Pistis Sophia)

"I am inviting you into the exalted, perfect Light. Moreover as for this Light, when you enter it you will be glorified ... you will become ... the way you first were when you were Light." (Trimorphic Protennoia, Nag Hammadi Library)

“Thus as a result of recollecting all these things the impulses of the mind are extended from the sphere of material things towards those impulses which are without limit, that is to say, wonder at the New World, and the faculty of vision which belongs to contemplation [of God]. For when the vision of the mind is mingled with the Light…., all its impulses become infinite. For none of the Visionaries or ‘Gnostics’ is able to distinguish the identity of the mind as a result of the vision of that glorious Light that is seen ….. for all the innermost chambers of the heart are filled by that blessed Light….”. (Joseph the Visionary)

"The stage when the mind is silenced and swallowed up in the light of the vision of lofty and sublime contemplation; the mind is mingled with the divine visitation." (paper on, Joseph Hazzaya [the Visionary] and the Spiritual Itinerary) 

“Blessed are those who have approached the divine Light, who have entered it and been absorbed by it, mingled in its brightness.” (Saint Symeon)

A parallel of the initiation saying in Thomas [saying 17] in the Mandaean scriptures: “Thou hast showed us that which the eye has not seen, and caused us to hear that which the human ear has not heard. Thou has freed us from death and united us with Life, released us from darkness, and united us with Light…. Thou hast shown us that which the eye has not seen, and caused us to hear that which the human ear has not heard.” (“Canonical Prayer Book of the Mandaeans”, E.S. Drower)

“We speak without tongue,

we see without eyes,

we hear without ears,

we walk without feet, and

we work without hands.”

(Guru Nanak)