The Contemplative Life (WatW)

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A character who undertakes a prolonged meditation exiles himself for weeks or months on end. He seeks a setting where he will not be troubled by the affairs of the world, a place where existence is simple and easily understood. Natives of the city states often isolate themselves in their homes or academies, avoiding all outside contact and adopting a spartan lifestyle of contemplation and discipline. Characters who grew up outside the walls of the cities of Athas often find their best results by journeying into the deserts of the Tablelands.
Students searching for enlightenment believe that meditation consists of several stages. First, the student must test his physical limits through fasting and the acclimatization to physical hardship. The character may subject himself to the full power of Athas's sun or seek to deny himself comfort by resting on stone. There are almost as many ways to discipline the body as there are psionicists beneath the crimson sun.
Second, the student must perform the same kind of deprivation and test of endurance for his intellect. The character seeks to banish unnecessary thoughts, to deny himself the luxuries of conversation or daydreams. Some psionicists use a mantra to focus their minds, while others repeat series of mathematical calculations to bring order and discipline to their minds.
Last. the character must test his spirit. Most students engage in harsh self-examination, questioning their decisions and their morals to prepare themselves for inner study. This can be the most difficult aspect to confront.
When the psionicist is ready, he begins his meditations by withdrawing from the world around him. In an urban setting, he finds a quiet room or garden where he can concentrate, uninterrupted by the bustle of the city around him. Students meditating in the wilderness seek out an inaccessible area where they are unlikely to be intruded on by passers-by or eaten by the desert predators who haunt Athas's wastes.
During the meditations, the psionicist keeps irregular hours, alternating silent contemplation with attention to the needs of human existence. A student involved in serious meditation may spend as much as 20 hours a day in his trance, sleeping for only two or three hours and pausing to eat and
Psionicists who meditate in homes or academies often make sure that friends or hirelings screen visitors to prevent interruptions. Characters seeking enlightenment in the deserts have no such luxury, but are rarely set upon by any of Athas predators the psionicists harmony with his surroundings tends to discourage attacks by dangerous creatures.
Some masters have all but abandoned their outside existences and live in a world of contemplation. They seek to become one with the universe. to abandon the petty cares of humanity for enlightenment. These hermits can be encountered in the deserts, living simply and asking nothing of any person. In some cases, they have achieved a state of harmony resembling a druid's attachment to his guarded lands. Travelers should be careful of disturbing their meditations.