Premanand Maharaj Ji

How is meditation different from falling asleep or daydreaming?

Meditation is awake, not sleep

Dhyan is the mind and intellect becoming absorbed in God while you stay awake. In sleep there is ignorance, while dhyan is awake and full of knowing.

But in dhyan, one is awake and full of knowing, yet outer awareness fades, and mind and intellect rest in the Supreme. This is called dhyan.