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meditation
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| Introduction |
| The use of
Meditation for healing is not new. Meditative
techniques are the product of diverse culture
and people around the world. It has been rooted
in the traditions of the world's great religions.
In fact, practically all religious groups practice
meditation in one form or another. The value
of meditation to alleviate suffering and promote
healing has been known and practiced for thousand
of years.
Of the religions that use meditation, perhaps
Buddhism, practiced widely in eastern and central
Asia, is the best known. To Buddhists, the practice
of meditation is essential for the cultivation
of wisdom and compassion and for understanding
reality. Buddhists believes that our ordinary
consciousness is both limited and limiting.
Meditation makes it possible to live life to
the full spectrum of our conscious and unconscious
possibilities.
In spite of its rich history and traditions,
it is only in the past three decades that scientific
study has focused on the clinical effects of
meditation on health. During then 1960's, reports
reached the west of yogis and meditation masters
in India who could perform extraordinary feats
of bodily control and altered states of consciousness.
These reports captured the interest of western
researchers studying self-regulation and the
possibility of voluntary control over the autonomic
nervous system. At the same time. new refinements
in scientific instrumentation made it possible
to duplicate and substantiate of these reports
at medical research institutes. Healthcare professionals
who were often dissatisfied with the side effects
of drug treatments for stress-related disorders
embraced meditation as a valuable tool for stress
reduction, and today both patients and physicians
enjoy the health benefits of regular meditation
practice.
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| What is Meditation? |
There are various types
of meditation - prayer is probably the best
known, but there is also TM (Transcendental
Meditation), mindfulness meditation, and from
the Eastern tradition, Zen meditation, Buddhist
meditation, and Taoist meditation. The meditation
encompasses such diverse methods as:
- Formal sitting in which the body is held
immobile and the attention controlled e.g.,
Zazen, Vipassana.
- Expressive practices, in which the body
is let free and anything can happen e.g.,
Siddha Yoga, the Latihan, the chaotic meditation
of Rajneesh.
- The practices of going about one’s daily
round of activities mindfully e.g., Mahamudra,
Shikan Taza, and Gurdjieff’s “self-remembering”.
All these practices have one thing in common -
they all focus on quietening the busy mind. The
intention is not to remove stimulation but rather
to direct your concentration to one healing element
- one sound, one word, one image, or one's breathe.
When the mind is "filled" with the feeling
of calm and peace, it cannot take off on its own
and worry, stress out, or get depressed. |
| Types of Meditation-Classification |
| All the meditation
techniques can be grouped into two basic approaches:
- Concentrative meditation
- Mindfulness meditation
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| Concentrative Meditation |
Concentrative
meditation focuses the attention on the
breath, an image, or a sound (mantra), in
order to still the mind and allow a greater
awareness and clarity to emerge. This is
like a zoom lens in a camera; we narrow
our focus to a selected field.
The simplest form of concentrative meditation
is to sit quietly and focus the attention
on the breath. Yoga and meditation practitioners
believe that there is a direct correlation
between one's breath and one's state of
the mind. For example, when a person is
anxious, frightened, agitated, or distracted,
the breath will tend to be shallow, rapid,
and uneven. On the other hand, when the
mind is calm, focused, and composed, the
breath will tend to be slow, deep, and regular.
Focusing the mind on the continuous rhythm
of inhalation and exhalation provides a
natural object of meditation. As you focus
your awareness on the breath, your mind
becomes absorbed in the rhythm of inhalation
and exhalation. As a result, your breathing
will become slower and deeper, and the mind
becomes more tranquil and aware. |
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| Mindfulness Meditation |
Mindfulness meditation,
involves opening the attention to become aware
of the continuously passing parade of sensations
and feelings, images, thoughts, sounds, smells,
and so forth without becoming involved in thinking
about them. The person sits quietly and simply
witnesses whatever goes through the mind, not
reacting or becoming involved with thoughts,
memories, worries, or images. This helps to
gain a more calm, clear, and non-reactive state
of mind. Mindfulness meditation can be likened
to a wide-angle lens. Instead of narrowing your
sight to a selected field as in concentrative
meditation, here you will be aware of the entire
field. |
| How Meditation Works |
| As you go along with your meditation,
you will feel calm yet aware; a feeling that most
experts say cannot be described by words. Only
experiencing it will give you a clear idea of
how it feels.
As you go along with your meditation, you will
eventually experience a development in your
physical and mental health. According to some
studies, this is manifested by a generalized
reduction in multiple physiological and biochemical
markers, such as decreased heart rate, decreased
pulse rate, decreased respiration rate, decreased
plasma cortisol which is a major stress hormone
and increased EEG (electroencephalogram) alpha
which is a brain wave associated with relaxation.
During meditation, one goes through a state
of deep relaxation, while is mind awareness
level is increased. This results in faster reactions,
greater creativity and broader comprehension.
Other benefits of meditation are:
- Increased lung capacity.
- Improved immune system.
- Recharged nervous system.
- Reduced stress.
- Improved memory.
- Aids in the treatment of some disease like
asthma.
- Open mindness.
- Amplified moral virtues such as patience
and compassion.
- Awareness towards sin, temptation and guilt.
- Increased faith in one’s religion.
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