“Select a clean spot, neither too high nor too low, and seat your- self firmly on a cloth, a deerskin, or kusha grass. Then, once seated, strive to still your thoughts. Make your mind one-pointed in meditation and your heart will be purified…………………………..”

These words originate from the Bhagavad Gita, one of the best known and most influential of the Hindu scriptures. This book provides an entire section on the practice of meditation which is central to the Hindu way of life. It is also an important part of other eastern religions, Buddhism and Zen but it also has its place in Christianity and Judaism. However meditation does not require adherence to any of the faiths and religions that advocate it.

The benefits to be gained from meditation are many. Those people who meditate regularly believe that it leads to a significant lowering of tension and negative emotions. At the same time meditation can increase efficiency at work and deepen the sense of inner calm.

This feeling of well-being will bring a number of physical benefits. Regular meditation will eliminate or reduce stress, ease migration and tension headaches, reduce blood pressure, benefit the the heart and reduce the pain of menstrual cramps.

What we seek to achieve through meditation is a state of passive alertness that transcends the day to day level of thought and distraction. This ‘higher level’ of consciousness can be achieved by every person and does not require a knowledge of religious or spiritual teaching. Meditation is a straightforward way of freeing the mind, forgetting about everyday stresses and focusing upon mental relaxation.

In its simplest form meditation is nothing more than allowing the mind to concentrate upon a simple repetitive sensation such as the running of a fountain or repeating a word over and over again. Any of these and more can be used as something onto which the mind concentrates so strongly that problems and anxieties disappear. When described in its more refined and mystical guise, it is a means to a state of self fulfilment, being completely at one with the universe.

Meditation is not a time consuming process nor is it a form of self-hypnosis. If done correctly it is a life saving experience during which any preconceived opinions and ideas fade, the intellect and senses are refined and the ability to concentrate is improved.

Meditation has existed for several thousands of years but it was only in the 1960’s that it became popular in western culture and today many thousands of people benefit greatly from its effects. Meditation slows down the heart rate and reduces oxygen and carbon dioxide production. It also raises levels of skin resistance to pain or to an electrical current, which tends to be lower when we are stressed and anxious. This indicates an increase of muscle relaxation and can be explained for phenomena such as lying on a bed of nails or walking through fire.

During meditation there is also a reduction of activity in the nervous system and an increase in blood circulation. This slows down the metabolism resulting in the body achieving a hypometabolic state. This is a different state than what the body experiences during sleep or while under hypnosis and is best described as deep and prolonged relaxation.

Meditation has also be shown to have a major effect on the way that the brain works. During meditation the brain produces a balanced pattern of both alpha and theta brave wave rhythms. This may indicate that while in a state of deep relaxation the brain is better able to find a balance between its logical and rational and creative and imaginative sides. This results in more healthier, productive and fulfilled individuals. If it is practised regularly meditation will help to fight depression, reduce hypertension, and relieve anxiety, migraine and psychosomatic illness. Concentration, memory and creativity are also improved through regular practice of meditation.

Regular practice of meditation is also of benefit to people who have difficulty in sleeping and suffer from low energy levels. The quality of sleep will improve when meditation is practised regularly and most meditators testify to feeling less tired during the day, needing less sleep at night and waking up feeling more refreshed.

When starting to meditate it is important to find a quiet, peaceful place and to use this place regularly. Soft background music, incense or low lights are helpful in creating a conducive atmosphere. There are two stages involved in the process of meditation. Firstly comes physical relaxation, where the focus of attention is on the body and tension build up is tackled and when the body is relaxed the clarifying and emptying of the mind can begin.

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The History of Meditation

Tibetan Buddhist meditation has a long history, but not as long as the history of meditation itself. Buddhism was a branch of Hinduism and so meditation was practiced in Hinduism before it was practiced in Buddhism. Buddhist thought is that there are three things one must accomplish before enlightenment. Virtue, Wisdom, and Meditation. Meditation is practiced in many of the eastern religions, and even in western religions. But I will focus this article on Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism meditation practices.

Hinduism is the oldest living religion that practiced meditation. Meditation in Hinduism is thought to have developed out of man’s need to find Brahman (God’s) true nature. Hindu practitioners would sit and think about who God really was, and by sitting for hours like this they began to have moments of clarity. These moments of clarity are what many practitioners even today are trying to achieve through meditation.

The difference in meditation in Buddhism and in Hinduism is that Buddhist practitioners did not believe that meditation is a means by which to be closer with God, but that it is instead a way for those meditating to become closer with everything on earth. It is said that Buddha (Siddhartha) found enlightenment by meditation underneath a Bodhi tree.

Meditation in yoga

In yoga, meditation is practiced after breathing exercises, or pranayama. The original philosphy of yoga was that is was important to meditate after practicing asanas, or the physical aspect of yoga, because the body would be prepared to relax and loose enough that sitting on the floor would be comfortable. Breathing before any type of meditation is a good practice, because slow breathing slows down your heart rate and calms the mind so that the body is able to move into a tranquil place.

Meditation in Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism was formed out of the principles of yoga and of Buddhism, which arrived in Tibet from India beginning in the eighth century. Meditation in Tibetan Buddhism is focused on tantric principles, and another name for Tibetan Buddhism is Tantrayana Buddhism. One purpose of tantra is to help turn the base human desires such as greed and envy into something good, like love and compassion. There are many steps in tantric Buddhism, these include lamrim (things that should be reflected on and meditative activities), preliminary practices, contemplation, Dzogchen (an advanced step which is the last step on the Tantrayana Buddhist practitioner’s path).

Ways to Meditate

In Tibetan Buddhism many forms of meditation are comprised of thinking about certain things in order to clear your mind and help make the path to enlightenment open. Some topics to meditate on include being charitable to others, seeing yourself and those around you as equal, and developing compassion.

In yoga and Hinduism, meditation is the path and the goal. There are many different forms that yogic meditation can take. Because meditation in yoga often starts with pranayama, or breathing exercises, meditation can also start with the breath. There are also forms of meditation where you meditate on a mantra, or prayer. There is meditation through kirtan, singing. There is also meditation on sound that can occur with music or in a kirtan session. And in both Hinduism and in Tibetan Buddhism there is meditation on an object, such as a Buddhist statue or a Buddhist thangka or a dorje or other symbol.

There are many different forms of meditation in both Hindusim (yoga) and Tibetan Buddhism. Whichever path one chooses in meditation, it is important to first find a spiritual guide. A spiritual guide can help you understand how to meditate and help guide your meditation path in ways that we cannot do on our own. Remember, even your spiritual guide started with a spiritual guide of their own at some point.

The History of Meditation

Tibetan Buddhist meditation has a long history, but not as long as the history of meditation itself. Buddhism was a branch of Hinduism and so meditation was practiced in Hinduism before it was practiced in Buddhism. Buddhist thought is that there are three things one must accomplish before enlightenment. Virtue, Wisdom, and Meditation. Meditation is practiced in many of the eastern religions, and even in western religions. But I will focus this article on Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism meditation practices.

Hinduism is the oldest living religion that practiced meditation. Meditation in Hinduism is thought to have developed out of man’s need to find Brahman (God’s) true nature. Hindu practitioners would sit and think about who God really was, and by sitting for hours like this they began to have moments of clarity. These moments of clarity are what many practitioners even today are trying to achieve through meditation.

The difference in meditation in Buddhism and in Hinduism is that Buddhist practitioners did not believe that meditation is a means by which to be closer with God, but that it is instead a way for those meditating to become closer with everything on earth. It is said that Buddha (Siddhartha) found enlightenment by meditation underneath a Bodhi tree.

Meditation in yoga

In yoga, meditation is practiced after breathing exercises, or pranayama. The original philosphy of yoga was that is was important to meditate after practicing asanas, or the physical aspect of yoga, because the body would be prepared to relax and loose enough that sitting on the floor would be comfortable. Breathing before any type of meditation is a good practice, because slow breathing slows down your heart rate and calms the mind so that the body is able to move into a tranquil place.

Meditation in Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism was formed out of the principles of yoga and of Buddhism, which arrived in Tibet from India beginning in the eighth century. Meditation in Tibetan Buddhism is focused on tantric principles, and another name for Tibetan Buddhism is Tantrayana Buddhism. One purpose of tantra is to help turn the base human desires such as greed and envy into something good, like love and compassion. There are many steps in tantric Buddhism, these include lamrim (things that should be reflected on and meditative activities), preliminary practices, contemplation, Dzogchen (an advanced step which is the last step on the Tantrayana Buddhist practitioner’s path).

Ways to Meditate

In Tibetan Buddhism many forms of meditation are comprised of thinking about certain things in order to clear your mind and help make the path to enlightenment open. Some topics to meditate on include being charitable to others, seeing yourself and those around you as equal, and developing compassion.

In yoga and Hinduism, meditation is the path and the goal. There are many different forms that yogic meditation can take. Because meditation in yoga often starts with pranayama, or breathing exercises, meditation can also start with the breath. There are also forms of meditation where you meditate on a mantra, or prayer. There is meditation through kirtan, singing. There is also meditation on sound that can occur with music or in a kirtan session. And in both Hinduism and in Tibetan Buddhism there is meditation on an object, such as a Buddhist statue or a Buddhist thangka or a dorje or other symbol.

There are many different forms of meditation in both Hindusim (yoga) and Tibetan Buddhism. Whichever path one chooses in meditation, it is important to first find a spiritual guide. A spiritual guide can help you understand how to meditate and help guide your meditation path in ways that we cannot do on our own. Remember, even your spiritual guide started with a spiritual guide of their own at some point.

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Sylvia Smelcer is the owner of Hinky Imports, The Singing Bowl Shop, Om Tibetan Jewelry, and Bodhi Seed Prayer Beads.

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Meditation thoughts are a bit of an oxymoron. Meditation is actually about getting beyond thoughts, depending on the tradition.

The strongest meditation traditions are from the East, India, China, and Japan, for example, and are associated with Eastern religions.

I have been a student of the 11th step in AA, Transcendental Meditation, and Chi Gong.

I do not know anything about Buddhist or Hindu or Zen meditation thoughts.

My first experience with meditation thoughts was in Transcendental Meditation, which became popular in the West during the 1960’s when the Beatles studied with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India.

I was struggling a bit then, so I read a book, and since it did not appear too hard, I was initiated in that tradition and given a mantra.

The mantra, or meditation thought for this tradition, was a nonsense syllable which I was to repeat in my twice daily practices.

I really enjoyed the meditation process, but at that time I was living with a number of Viet Nam veterans and we partied heavily, and whenever they thought I was indulging in my meditative discipline, they would pelt me with beer cans.

I gave the practice up over time, but the thought or mantra was designed to occupy what I now know to be my beta brain wave or working brain so that other parts of my experience could take over.

The 11th step of AA calls for daily prayer and meditation to know your higher power’s will for you today.

It involves seeking an answer, and being attentive to hearing the still small voice on which the answer will come.

For those reading this who are new to AA or meditation, you can be listening all the time.

I like to call it swithching the figure and the ground. The necker cube graphic at the top of this page is an example. If I look at that for a moment or two, I will appear to see two different boxes, and if I focus on one, then the other seems to disappear, but actually it has simply moved to my perceptual background.

Meditation thoughts function very similarly, when I concentrate on a mantra or a thought, other thoughts recede to the background until I remove my focus from my seed thought or mantra. Then they come back.

Chi Gong has been a different kind of discipline with different kinds of meditative thoughts mixed with physical movements, still designed to keep my focus inward to achieve a long and healthy life.

Like all meditative practices, it is a practice which demands a commitment, and regular long term practices.

Now there are some technological tools which can inform your meditative thoughts.

EEG biofeedback and heart rate variability biofeedback and mind fullness practices using Open Focus language are tools I have used personally and professionally.

The two most pleasant feeling experiences result from using Open Focus, which stipulates that my meditative thought be about space, like the space inside my hand, and the HeartMath tools ask me to focus my thoughts on the area around my heart.

HeartMath is a computerized program and I can see how fast I switch from calm to excited when I switch my meditative thoughts away from my heart.

When I keep my thoughts focused on the space inside my chest and around my heart I feel calm and content, and with a bit of practice I can repeat that feeling on demand. My heart has learned how to do it.

Want to try?

Meditation thoughts are a bit of an oxymoron. Meditation is actually about getting beyond thoughts, depending on the tradition.

The strongest meditation traditions are from the East, India, China, and Japan, for example, and are associated with Eastern religions.

I have been a student of the 11th step in AA, Transcendental Meditation, and Chi Gong.

I do not know anything about Buddhist or Hindu or Zen meditation thoughts.

My first experience with meditation thoughts was in Transcendental Meditation, which became popular in the West during the 1960’s when the Beatles studied with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India.

I was struggling a bit then, so I read a book, and since it did not appear too hard, I was initiated in that tradition and given a mantra.

The mantra, or meditation thought for this tradition, was a nonsense syllable which I was to repeat in my twice daily practices.

I really enjoyed the meditation process, but at that time I was living with a number of Viet Nam veterans and we partied heavily, and whenever they thought I was indulging in my meditative discipline, they would pelt me with beer cans.

I gave the practice up over time, but the thought or mantra was designed to occupy what I now know to be my beta brain wave or working brain so that other parts of my experience could take over.

The 11th step of AA calls for daily prayer and meditation to know your higher power’s will for you today.

It involves seeking an answer, and being attentive to hearing the still small voice on which the answer will come.

For those reading this who are new to AA or meditation, you can be listening all the time.

I like to call it swithching the figure and the ground. The necker cube graphic at the top of this page is an example. If I look at that for a moment or two, I will appear to see two different boxes, and if I focus on one, then the other seems to disappear, but actually it has simply moved to my perceptual background.

Meditation thoughts function very similarly, when I concentrate on a mantra or a thought, other thoughts recede to the background until I remove my focus from my seed thought or mantra. Then they come back.

Chi Gong has been a different kind of discipline with different kinds of meditative thoughts mixed with physical movements, still designed to keep my focus inward to achieve a long and healthy life.

Like all meditative practices, it is a practice which demands a commitment, and regular long term practices.

Now there are some technological tools which can inform your meditative thoughts.

EEG biofeedback and heart rate variability biofeedback and mind fullness practices using Open Focus language are tools I have used personally and professionally.

The two most pleasant feeling experiences result from using Open Focus, which stipulates that my meditative thought be about space, like the space inside my hand, and the HeartMath tools ask me to focus my thoughts on the area around my heart.

HeartMath is a computerized program and I can see how fast I switch from calm to excited when I switch my meditative thoughts away from my heart.

When I keep my thoughts focused on the space inside my chest and around my heart I feel calm and content, and with a bit of practice I can repeat that feeling on demand. My heart has learned how to do it.

Want to try?

Article Source: http://www.articlewarehouse.com

Michael S. Logan is a brain fitness expert, a counselor, a student of Chi Gong, and licensed one on one HeartMath provider. I enjoy the spiritual, the mythological, and psychological, and I am a late life father to Shane, 10, and Hannah Marie, 4, whose brains are so amazing. www.askmikethecounselor2.com

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