Meditation

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Benefits of Meditation

The diagnosis and prescription of meditative practices for the prevention/cure of ailments (both physiological as well as psychological) is something, which has received far less attention than it deserves. The benefits, which vary according to individuals, since the very act of meditation is such an intensely personal experience, are usually realized slowly but surely. On the whole, the effects of meditation are wholly dependent on a person's mental makeup-on the extent to which one is at ease with oneself.

Benefits are cumulative with regular practice. More can be accomplished with less effort.

Physiological Benefits

Drug Addiction

The Transcendental Meditation technique has proven to be a successful coping strategy in helping to deal with drug addiction," a useful tool in psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) by helping to control the immune system, and an effective manager of stress and pain.

Prolonging Life Expectancy

A strong link has also been established between the practice of Transcendental Meditation and longevity. Only two factors have been scientifically determined to actually extend life: caloric restriction and lowering of the body's core temperature. Meditation has been shown to lower core body temperature.

Stress Control

Most of the people who get on meditation do so because of its beneficial effects on stress. Stress refers to any or all the various pressures experienced in life. These can stem from work, family, illness, or environment and can contribute to such conditions as anxiety, hypertension, and heart disease. How an individual sees things and how he or she handles them makes a big difference in terms of how much stress he or she experiences.

Research has shown that hormones and other biochemical compounds in the blood indicative of stress tend to decrease during TM practice. These changes also stabilize over time, so that a person is actually less stressed biochemically during daily activity.

This reduction of stress translates directly into a reduction of anxiety and tension. Literally dozens of studies have shown this.

Pain Management

Chronic pain can systematically erode the quality of life. Although great strides are being made in traditional medicine to treat recurring pain, treatment is rarely as simple as prescribing medication or surgery.

Anxiety decreases the threshold for pain and pain causes anxiety. The result is a vicious cycle. Compared with people who feel relaxed, those under stress experience pain more intensely and become even more stressed, which aggravates their pain. Meditation breaks this cycle.

Childbirth preparation classes routinely teach pregnant women deep breathing exercises to minimize the pain and anxiety of labor. Few call it breath meditation, but that's what it is.

Meditative techniques are also a key element in the curing arthritis. Meditation may not eliminate pain, but it helps people cope more effectively.

Cancer and Other Chronic Illness

Meditation and other approaches to deep relaxation help center people so they can figure out how they'd like to handle the illness and proceed with life. An Australian psychiatrist who uses meditation with cancer patients, studied seventy-three patients who had attended at least twenty sessions of intensive meditation, and wrote: "Nearly all such patients can expect significant reduction of anxiety and depression, together with much less discomfort and pain. There is reason to expect a 10 percent chance of quite remarkable slowing of the rate of growth of the tumor, and a 50 percent chance of greatly improved quality of life.

Heart Disease and High Blood Pressure

Meditation is a key component of Ornish therapy, the only treatment scientifically proven to reverse heart disease, besides research has also proven TM to be very successful in treating various heart ailments and high blood pressure.

Respiratory Problems

Asthma, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) all restrict breathing and raise fears of suffocation, which in turn makes breathing even more difficult. Studies show that when people with these respiratory conditions learn breath meditation, they have fewer respiratory crises.

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)

Meditation can ease physical complaints such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), tension headaches and other common health problems.

Meditation gives people a psychological buffer so that life's hectic pace doesn't knock them out. Practicing meditation is like taking a vacation once or twice a day. When you nurture yourself, you accrue tremendous spin-off benefits.

For example, when you are under high stress, it can worsen symptoms of PMS because stress can cause the muscle tension associated with PMS complaints such as fatigue, soreness and aching. On the other hand, when you meditate regularly, you dramatically reduce your body's response to stress, and that can ease the discomfort associated with PMS. The results may not be apparent for several months. You will probably need to meditate regularly for several months before your body responds positively.

Psychological Benfits

Meditation can help most people feel less anxious and more in control. The awareness that meditation brings can also be a source of personal insight and self-understanding.

Handling Repressed Memories

Meditation may lead to a breakdown of screen memories so that early childhood abuse episodes and other traumas suddenly flood the mind, making the patient temporarily more anxious until these traumas are healed. Many so-called meditation exercises are actually forms of imagery and visualization that are extraordinarily useful in healing old traumas, confronting death anxieties, finishing 'old business', learning to forgive, and enhancing self-esteem.

Meditation frees persons from tenacious preoccupation with the past and future and allows them to fully experience life's precious moments. Many men and women tend to live in a state of perpetual motion and expectation that prevents them from appreciating the gifts that each moment gives us.

Meditation is a process that returns us to the present moment of our lives and allows us to wake up and reevaluate the way that we live our lives.

Depression

Feelings of helplessness, hopelessness and isolation are hallmarks of depression-the age's most prevalent mental health problem. Meditation increases self-confidence and feelings of connection to others. Many studies have shown that depressed people feel much better after eliciting the relaxation response.

Panic Attacks

Sometimes anxiety becomes paralyzing and people feel (wrongly) that they are about to suffer some horrible fate. Panic attacks are often treated with drugs, but studies show that if people who are prone to panic attacks begin focused, meditative breathing the instant they feel the first signs of an episode, they are less likely to have a full-blown panic attack.

Spiritual Benefits

The longer an individual practices meditation, the greater the likelihood that his or her goals and efforts will shift toward personal and spiritual growth. Many individuals who initially learn meditation for its self-regulatory aspects find that as their practice deepens they are drawn more and more into the realm of the "spiritual."

People in the West are more familiar with prayer than meditation. Prayer is a general term and many types of it exist, but the term usually refers to an active form of meditation in which we project an intention-calling on God to help us or our loved ones in some way. Both ayurveda and yoga use prayer (prarthana) along with mantra and meditation. Generally mantra is energized prayer, a prayer or yogic wish directed by special sound patterns or vibrations of the cosmic Word. Meditation is a silent or contemplative form of prayer in which there may not be any movement of thought or intention.

Devotional meditation is an intensely personal matter and is usually conditioned by one's religious background. Other than worshipping personal gods and deities who appeal to a particular person's consciousness, another important form of devotional worship is-the worship of planetary deities and cosmic powers behind the forces of time and karma.

Affirmation, and Visualization

The use of affirmations goes along with prayer and meditation. Affirmations can be employed to emphasize our relationship with the divine or our own inner healing powers. People suffering from negative thoughts about themselves, are often trapped in self-doubt. Affirmations can be very strengthening in such conditions.

Yet affirmations should lead to action and not substitute for it. To do anything in life requires a belief that one can do it and a positive intention to make the effort. In such cases one cannot use the affirmation as an excuse for inaction.

Visualization goes along with prayer and meditation. One may visualize healed and improved conditions that one wishes to achieve. One can also direct healing energy to those who are sicker or to the parts of ones own body that need improvement. Such visualizations usually employ certain colors and mantras to be directed along with the breath. Visualizations can also be of deities or beautiful natural scenes to clear the mental field.

Mind and Body

There's more to meditation than just closing ones eyes and an understanding of this technique demands an understanding of our mental realm. The subtle state of mind, which is the ultimate stage of meditation, requires a tremendous amount of energy to reach. An absolute harmony between our gross physical realm, sensual realm and our life energy is the prerequisite of a meditative state of mind.

Preparing the Mind
Meditation, especially passive meditation, brings us face to face with our subconscious. Not unlike opening up a Pandora's box full of mischief, if we are not ready to encounter our inner selves, it could end up being a disastrous experience instead of an enlightening one! And the most vulnerable seem to be-people with overwhelming anxiety, who are emotionally or psychologically disturbed, those who have problems accepting reality, people who suffer from acute paranoia and even those who develop delusions of grandeur from the altered states of consciousness that meditation tends to produce.

To avoid such psychosis or simply getting lost in our thoughts and ending up confused and disturbed, it is necessary to begin meditation sessions with formal practice. Different schools of thought prescribe different methods of such preparation, but they all agree on the absolute necessity of concentration exercises preceding meditation. These preparation techniques are as varied as praying, chanting mantras, performing pranayama or even visualizing. Once the mind becomes trained for concentration, actual formless or mindfulness meditation can proceed, such as sitting in silence, practicing self-inquiry or performing devotional meditation.

While Hinduism-based schools of thought insist on a proper sattvic (pure or ascetic) lifestyle as a primary condition to true meditation, Buddhist mindfulness meditation prescribes contemplation on the 'Four Protections' and the 'Nine Attributes' of the Buddha.

A helpful tip to keep in mind would be that ultimately meditation is all about being at peace with oneself. It cannot perform miracles out of thin air. It does not solve problems magically. It's simply a technique, which acquaints you with the person you really are. And having gained that timeless knowledge, it is you who will take that first step towards self-transformation. Remember always that the technique of meditation is nothing more than a tool in your hands!

Various Techniques of Meditation

There are many meditation techniques. Some of the techniques are quite simple and can be picked up with a little practice. Others require training by an experienced instructor. It is important to note that because of the effects of meditation on repressed memories and the resulting psychological impact, a first time meditator may go through some discomfort initially; hence it is always a good idea to be under the care of a qualified practitioner as one starts to meditate.

In Christian spiritual training, meditation means thinking with concentration about some topic. In the Eastern sense, meditation may be viewed as the opposite of thinking about a topic. Here the objective is to become detached from thoughts and images and opening up silent gaps between them. The result is a quietening of our mind and is sometimes called relaxation response. In Christian mystical practice, this practice is called 'contemplation'.

But whatever the technique of meditation, the following aspects are generally common to all of them:

Atmosphere

The best environment for the practice of meditation is a quiet place with minimum distractions. It sometimes helps to set up a meditating room with special pictures, icons, holy books or even burning incense sticks and soothing music in order to infuse the atmosphere with spiritual energy. It is best to sit in a well ventilated room, which receives natural light.

Attitude

The best attitude to follow while practicing meditation is that of a receptive observer. Try to observe either the mind or the immediate physical environment, without thinking anything in particular. Watch the mind slowly empty itself out.

Posture

Assuming a certain posture has been central to many meditation techniques. Classic postures, integral to Hatha Yoga, are given in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which codify ancient yogic healing practices. Other postures appear in the Kum Nye holistic healing system of Tibet, in Islamic prayer, and in Gurdjieff movements. Posture is considered very important in Zen Buddhist practice as well.

A major characteristic of prescribed meditation postures in many traditions is that the spine is kept straight. This is true in Hindu and Buddhist yogas, in the Christian attitude of kneeling prayer, in the Egyptian sitting position, and in the Taoist standing meditation of "embracing the pillar." People with misalignments may feel uncomfortable in the beginning when assuming these postures. The spine is put back into a structurally sound line, and the weight of the body distributed around it in a balanced pattern in which gravity, not muscular tension, is the primary influence. It is possible, although it has not been conclusively proven that this postural realignment affects the state of mind.

In the East, the cross-legged postures, with head and back in vertical line, are considered ideal for meditation. In the classic the Lotus posture, when the legs are crossed with the feet on the thighs, right feeling of poised sitting for meditation is imparted. These postures are difficult and even painful at first for those who are not familiar with them. For such inexperienced individuals, two other traditional Eastern postures-half lotus posture and the Burmese posture-are usually much easier to follow. For those who prefer to meditate while sitting on a chair, there is the Egyptian posture.

HEARTBEAT MEDITATION

This is a very simple meditation that can be a building block for many future meditations as well as magical workings. It is a useful tool for focus and concentration. To begin, find a place where you will be undisturbed. This should be a place that is peaceful to you. It can be either indoors or outdoors. It is preferable that you begin attempting this with as little noise and other distractions as possible as you get more adept at this one may use meditative music. Get into a comfortable position, close your eyes if desired, and breathe deeply for a few moments. Clear your mind as much as possible and relax. Concentrate on feeling your heart beat. Feel it beat and pulse within your body. Concentrate until you can feel each distinctive beat. If you succeed in this, try to feel your pulse in other areas of your body, such as your arms, legs, hand, feet, midsection, neck, or head. How does the sensation of the pulse in these areas differ from the beat of your heart? How is it the same?

If you are having difficulty feeling your heartbeat, stop, take a break, and come back to it later. It may take a few sessions of practice before you are able to feel it with certainty. Above all, don't become frustrated, as this could block further attempts to feel the beat. Once you are able to feel your heartbeat, and the pulse in different areas of the body, you can move on to more difficult things. Try decreasing the time it takes to feel the beat. Ideally, as soon as you think of it you should be able to feel the pulse wherever in your body you wish. Upon succeeding in this, try feeling your heartbeat in more difficult circumstances; while outside walking, while at work or in school, while talking to others. You should desire to reach the point where you can feel the beat as soon as you think to try in any situation without interrupting other activities. As stated, this exercise aids in focus and concentration, but it can also help you use your inner power more effectively, since the pulse of your heart is intimately tied to the flow of your life energy.

ELEMENTAL MEDITATION

This meditation serves multiple purposes. It clears your mind so that you are better able to focus. It also gives you a more visceral understanding of the natures of each element. It can be a grounding tool to ground excess energy if done correctly. And finally, it is fun! This is a movement-based meditation, so it is best to find a place where you will not be disturbed, since if others are around you might experience self-consciousness or embarrassment, neither of which is helpful. This place should be quiet and free of outside distractions, and it should also allow for a relatively free range of movement.

Sit on the floor in a comfortable position and spend a few moments feeling your heartbeat and clearing your mind. (You can also choose to stand, but most people do not find this as comfortable.) Then, begin to meditate upon the element Earth. Feel what it are like to be Earth, the sensations, and the emotions, all that encompasses Earth. Allow the expression of these feelings to join your mind and body as one, so that all of you experience these sensations. Most likely during this part your body will remain still, embodying the patience that is Earth, but if the desire to move takes you, go ahead, since Earth can move, whether slowly (as in tectonic plate shifting) or quickly and violently (as in earthquakes).

When the moment feels right, shift your consciousness from Earth into Water. Let this be a smooth transition, as this meditation should flow easily from one element to the next. Call up all the sensations, thoughts, emotions, and movement that is Water. Again let this awareness infuse your body and mind. At this point, it is likely that your body will begin to move, whether in small movements while you remain seated, or in larger movements that require you to stand. This should be near instinctive; do not worry whether the movement is appropriate or "right". "Go with the flow", let your body move as it will to show its connection with the elements. Water movement will most likely be smooth, flowing, graceful movements that are full of emotion. (Keep in mind however, that Water, like all the elements, has a wide range of movements, so something different than the "standards" that are listed here is not wrong.) When appropriate, shift your awareness gradually from Water into Air. Let the concept of Air resonate throughout your mind and body. At this point, you will most likely begin to move more energetically and erratically about the space. You may try to express specific concepts through your movements. You are also encouraged to make this a vocal as well as a kinetic meditation if that feels right.

Again when you are ready, shift once more from Air into Fire. At this point, as you resonate the concept of Fire, your movements will most likely be extremely energetic and random. You may find yourself bumping into walls or other objects. You might pause for a moment in an odd position, only to careen off again the next moment with the dancing energy that is Fire.

Depending on your purpose in this meditation, you can choose to end it one of two ways. If your intent is to clear your mind and provide energy for focus, then when the moment is right, stop your emulation of Fire and return to a seated position, breathing deeply and fully aware of your body, mind, and the elements all around (and within) you. If instead you are more concerned with understanding the elements or with using this meditation as a technique for grounding, then from Fire, reverse your movements, going back through Air and Water (spending as much time as needed on each) until you are back at Earth. End the meditation in a restful position, whether sitting or lying down, allowing your excess energy to flow smoothly into the Earth. And remember, no matter which purpose you use this meditation for, it is supposed to be fun, so relax and enjoy yourself!