What is meditation and how do I meditate?


Meditation is a group of mental training techniques. You can use meditation to improve mental health and capacities and also to help improve physical health. Some of these techniques are very simple, so you can learn them from a book or an article; others require guidance from a qualified meditation teacher.


WHAT IS MEDITATION

Most techniques called meditation include these components:

  1. You sit or lie in a relaxed position.
  2. You breathe regularly. You breathe in deep enough to get enough oxygen. When you breathe out, you relax your muscles, so your lungs are well emptied but without straining.
  3. You stop thinking about everyday problems and matters.
  4. You concentrate on some sounds, words you repeat, images, abstract concepts, or feelings. Your whole attention should be pointed at the object you have chosen to concentrate on.
  5. If some foreign thoughts creep in, you stop this foreign thought and go back to the object of meditation.

The meditation techniques differ according to the degree of concentration and how foreign thoughts are handled. By some methods, the objective is to concentrate so intensely that no foreign thoughts occur. 

In other techniques, the concentration is more relaxed so that foreign thoughts easily pop up. When these foreign thoughts are discovered, one stops them and goes back to pure meditation in a peaceful manner. Thoughts coming up will often be about things you have forgotten or suppressed and allow you to rediscover hidden memory material. This rediscovery will have a psychotherapeutic effect.


THE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION

Meditation has the following effects:

  1. Meditation will give you rest and recreation.
  2. You learn to relax.
  3. You learn to concentrate better on problem-solving.
  4. Meditation often has a good effect on blood pressure.
  5. Meditation benefits inner body processes, like circulation, respiration, and digestion.
  6. Regular meditation will have a psychotherapeutic effect.
  7. Regular meditation will facilitate the immune system.
  8. Meditation is usually pleasant.


THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HYPNOSIS AND MEDITATION

Hypnosis may have some of the same relaxing and psychotherapeutic effects as meditation. However, when you meditate, you control yourself; by hypnosis, you let some other person or mechanical device control you. Also, hypnosis will not have a training effect on the ability to concentrate.


A SIMPLE FORM OF MEDITATION

Here is a simple form of meditation:

  1. Sit in a good chair in a comfortable position.
  2. Relax all your muscles as well as you can.
  3. Stop thinking about anything, or try not to think about anything.
  4. Breath out, relaxing all the muscles in your breathing apparatus.
  5. Repeat the following in 10 - 20 minutes:

  •      Breath in so deep that you feel you get enough oxygen. 
  •      Breath out, relaxing your chest and diaphragm completely.
  •      Every time you breathe out, think of the word "one" or another simple word inside yourself. You should think about the word in a prolonged manner so that you hear it inside you, but you should try to avoid using your mouth or voice. 

     6. If foreign thoughts come in, stop these thoughts in a relaxed manner and keep on concentrating on breathing and the word you repeat. 

As you proceed through this meditation, you should feel steadily more relaxed in your mind and body, feel that you breathe steadily more effectively and that the blood circulation throughout your body gets more efficient. You may also feel an increasing mental pleasure throughout the meditation.


THE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION ON DISEASES

As with any training, meditation may be exaggerated so that you get tired and worn out. Therefore you should refrain from meditating for so long or concentrating that you feel tired or mentally emptied. 

Meditation may sometimes cause problems for people suffering from mental diseases, epilepsy, serious heart problems, or neurological diseases. On the other hand, meditation may be of help in the treatment of these and other conditions. 

People suffering from such conditions should check out what effects the different kinds of meditation have on their health problems before practicing meditation and be cautious if they choose to meditate. It may be wise to learn meditation from an experienced teacher, psychologist, or health worker that uses meditation as a treatment module for the actual disease.

The Shaolin Warrior

Location: 7440 W Cactus Rd Suite A-9, Peoria, AZ 85381, USA

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