About Meditation

Meditation is the art of attaining a deeper state of consciousness, beyond the mundane "thinking" world. It is a component of nearly all world religions but is also practiced outside religious traditions.
Different disciplines of meditation encourage different spiritual goals and techniques with which to achieve them.

History

• The history of meditation can be traced through the ages. It is impossible to know when humans first discovered meditation but we have seen its practice recorded for thousands of years.
  The earliest record of meditation is found in Hindu scriptures, or Tantras, written 5,000 years ago, according to "Hatha Yoga: Its Context, Theory and Practice," by Mikel Burley. Siddhartha Buddha studied meditation with other holy men about 2,000 years ago, spreading its practice across Asia.
  Meditation has since spread across the globe and has become an accepted practice in both Eastern and Western worlds.

Function

• According to Swami Nirliptananda, a Guyanese-born monk, meditation leads us from the world of suffering into a world of joy. It settles the mind and allows us to find peace within ourselves. Meditation may be used to promote healing, to achieve a higher state of consciousness, to reduce stress, to increase focus, for greater self-awareness or for religious and/or ritual observances.

Types

• There are many types of meditation and each of them is effective for stress reduction. Mindfulness meditation encourages the practitioner to maintain an open focus. In concentration meditation the practitioner centers the attention on a specific object and is often used in religious and spiritual practice.

  Within Hinduism, there are several types of meditation is found in Vedanta, Raja Yoga, Surat Shabd Yoga, Japa Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Hatha Yoga. Yoga is more than only meditation but these forms of yoga all include some form of meditation.
  Meditation is also central to Buddhist philosophy. Shamatha and Vipassana are the two types of meditation believed to be necessary for enlightenment.

  In Islam, Tadabbur means reflection on the universe and is an important form of meditation. Sufi meditation is another Islamic school of meditation, although not all groups have accepted it.

  New Age meditation became popular in the 1960s and 1970s through the hippie counter-culture movement. The techniques of clearing the mind and releasing it from consciousness defines this method, which contains Eastern and Western influences. There are also many sub-types of meditation within the New Age system.

Features

• The most important feature of meditation is conscious breathing. Conscious regulation of the breath is a precursor to deep meditative states and a powerful relaxation technique. Meditation has been achieved when the body is completely relaxed and the brain waves reach the theta state, or the state of consciousness between wakefulness and asleep.

Benefits

• Meditation brings peace of mind, happiness and a sense of self-awareness. Regular practitioners may experience diminished health risks for heart disease and stroke. This is because meditation can reduce stress and anxiety. Increased concentration, creativity, inner peace, and improved social relations are all benefits of meditation.