tsinj wrote:I don't think you can meditate on a particular subject. That's a contradiction of the term meditate. I think a better term form what you were told to do in the monastery is contemplate.
"Meditate" is used to mean something different depending on who uses it. Your interpretation seems more taoist to me. In buddhism, for example, they often mention 'meditating on the buddha' or 'meditating on the bodhisattvas' in which you're expected to literally imagine them and focus on that image until you get zonked out.
I'd say it depends on what you're trying to use meditation to do. If you're using it to relax, then focusing on anything in particular may be a bad idea. If you're using it to achieve enlightenment or something, then focusing on your breath and any emotions that come up might be more helpful.
There are other possible uses for meditation, too. Aldous Huxley had a strange state he could get into where he could collect all his ideas for writing a book. Then later he could write the book and automatically incorporate those ideas without thinking about it.