Meditation
Is meditation beneficial for the soul? Meditation is the practice in which a human being trains the mind or induces a mode of consciousness, either to realize some benefit or as an end in itself. Many people ponder upon this practice, therefore are passive and do not take neither the time nor effort into the practice of meditation because of the thought inside saying “is it worth it?” To answer this: yes, meditating does take time, but the benefits that are acquired throughout the practice exceed all the negative contemplations that go through the mind before beginning. Meditating takes time, but takes little to no effort. Meditation is the process in which one relieves the day to day “clutter” in their minds to find themselves in more serene vicinity.
What is meditation? In the practice of meditating we seek to free ourselves and instead seek connection to a deeper level of our being. Meditation is a process by which we seek to re-condition our conscious awareness, so that we release our attachment to the surface level of reality and instead allow the awareness to gravitate towards a state of pure awareness, pure consciousness. As we meditate in the proper manner, the experience of pure awareness itself moves more to the forefront. (Barrett 2) Though, there are a few obstacles one faces throughout the process of meditation. With personal experience I have had trouble with patience, meditation takes time but if one practices enough, it will be a part of the daily schedule, just as one brushes their teeth. Patience is one of the biggest obstacle people face with meditation, many people say “I don’t have time to meditate, I am already under so much stress” but the point of meditating is to relieve all the “clutter” th...
... middle of paper ...
... balance, lowered blood pressure, and calmness. A study at the Ohio State University found that when practicing mediation, just a month exercises, boosted natural killer cells in the elderly, giving them a greater resistance to tumors and viruses (Stephens). As ones consciousness is cleansed of emotionally soaked memories, not only does great freedom flourish, but also great balance. A study at Harvard medical school found that meditation lowered blood pressure by making the body less responsive to stress hormones.
Meditating is the process in which a human being finds themselves, through stillness and ease. The human body itself is under stress no matter the age, it is important to include meditation in the everyday schedule. The benefit of meditating goes above all the thoughts that occur in the mind such as: procrastination, impatience, and negative thoughts.
However, meditation is not as common within Buddhism as most believe. There is a large assumption “that Buddhism and meditation go hand in hand”, but the majority of Buddhists have focused on “cultivating moral behavior, preserving the Buddha’s teachings (dharma), and acquiring good karma”(Braun 2014, p.1). Meditation and Buddhism are often assumed to be one and same, but this is also not true. As Buddhism has gained popularity among lay people it’s practices have changed Buddha’s teaching of the middle path has adapted to meditation being “possible in the city” rather than with monks in jungles and caves (p.4). As seen in Burma, in less than 75 years Buddhism and meditation were able to grow “from a pursuit of the barest sliver of the population to a duty of the ideal citizen” (p.5). While meditation is not the core of Buddhism it has encouraged the growth of Buddhism as it’s practice of mindfulness has been inspiring an approachable model (p.6). Meditation and mindfulness are easily manipulated to secularization, but still have significance in Buddhism and following the patterns of your
Mindfulness is a skill that takes time to develop. It requires a certain level of effort, time, patience, and ongoing practice like any other skill. Mindfulness is taught in a number of ways. Meditation is one of the key techniques used in
For thousands of years people have practiced mediation for spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. Albeit there are many mediation types, in this paper I will be discussing and focusing on mindfulness mediation. Before further exploring mindfulness mediation, it is crucial to define mediation as a whole. Tang, Holzel, & Posner, 2016 state “Meditation can be defined as a form of mental training that aims to improve an individual’s core psychological capacities, such as attentional and emotional capacities” (p.213). Having that in mind, we can dive into mindfulness mediation. Mindfulness meditation is defined as “nonjudgmental attention to present-moment experiences (Tang, Holzel, & Posner, 2016).” A useful analogy to consider is going to the gym, going to the gym allows one to enhance the body, well similarly, practicing mindfulness is akin to taking the mind to the psychic gym, it enhances it. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on your breathing and then bringing your mind’s attention to the present all while dismissing discursive thoughts and maintaining a special focus on breathing.
Today, meditation is used as a way to improve healthy living, reduce stress and relax. While it is primarily meant to focus the mind and bring you to enlightenment, these other goals are perfectly fine ones as well.
The studies showed that while meditated, the subjects showed signs of thought processes slowing down and changes occurring in the brain. The purpose of meditation, and mindfulness meditation as mentioned in this course, is to increase awareness while calming the normal thought processes that often overcrowd the mind with ideas that are deemed not-true by Buddhism. These brain scans clearly show that the purpose of meditation is achieved in doing so.
OK. So you’ve heard, that meditation is beneficial for you, maybe you’ve read lists about the advantages of meditation. A ton of different kind of meditations are on-line, and you found several resources, articles, blog posts about the theme to select from. These articles state, that the meditation has countless benefits, which are also proven by scientific research. You can believe them, since eminent scientists carried out extensive research on this subject. And they suggest, you should try them, and of course you should practice it each day. Every day - or you won’t have those benefits.
From personal experience, mindfulness meditation gives me a feeling of obtaining a healthy mind and body from the attention and peace I obtained. Such feelings resulting from proper practice of mindfulness meditation is not limited to my own testimony though. According to the Satipatthana Sutra, those who practice such in-and-out breathing become “ardent, aware, and mindful” (“Satipatthana Sutra,” Accessed on 2010). However, it is unclear whether such reported experience is genuine or has effect, or if such mindfulness meditation is similar to a placebo effect.
Meditation is an age-old practice that has renewed itself in many different cultures and times. Despite its age, however, there remains a mystery and some ambiguity as to what it is, or even how one performs it. The practice and tradition of meditation dates back thousands of years having appeared in many eastern traditions. Meditation’s ancient roots cloud its origins from being attributed to a sole inventor or religion, though Bon, Hindu, Shinto, Dao, and later, Buddhism are responsible for its development. Its practice has permeated almost all major world religions, but under different names. It has become a practice without borders, influencing millions with its tranquil and healing effects.
Meditation is a way to open up all areas of the body and release anything that may be toxic to the spirit. Channeling the spirit through meditation is another familiar practice due to the fact that is believed that the spirit is never dead, only the shell. Through meditation, people believe that they are able to channel their minds so that they might have a more intimate experience with God. People who practice the religion believe that there are more ways to reach God than through Jesus alone. Yes, Jesus is the central avenue but when a soul sees God in all things then they are able to experience the euphoria that comes with being one with
Understanding the brain and the different signs will help acknowledge the issues within a person to help them cope with the issue. It is important for one to be aware of their selves and their reactions/behaviors. On the other hand, the studies address the different types of mediation and possible consequences. When introducing a specific technique, there are always pros and cons, and people that are for or against the matter. Meditation is known as healing of the body and/or mind and can be religious. Those different types were address and justified for the understanding of the use for the
Well, that can be a good issue for debate, but then what about Buddhism? And other disciplines which also talk about the importance of meditation. Work Citation 1) Bhagvad Gita as it is. Bangalore: ISCKON, 2001.
Hence, what is mindfulness meditation? Mindfulness refers to the state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present with no judgment. Whereby, meditation is a spiritual and introspective practice involving components of both analysis and concentration as a part of a process of becoming aware of the present surroundings and the mind (Gordon et al., 2013). Meditation can also be defined as the practice of revolving your attention to a single phenomenon, which include focusing on the breathing,
Meditation is not a time devoted to thinking or reflecting about oneself, but a time to redirect one’s thoughts and emotions away from the outside world and onto something simple, such as the wind or one’s own breathe. By learning how to meditate, an individual can learn how to react appropriately to “the circumstances one finds oneself in, i...
It is well known and proven that over time the benefits of meditating on a regular basis promotes the development of inner calmness, connectedness, focus, flow, a clear clarity of mind, a focused and more stable grounded concentration, along with coherency of thought, increased creativity, being more open and receptive to receive insights, solutions to problems and new ideas, a balanced and harmonious centred inner equilibrium, a relaxed happy body, mind and spirit, which in turn assists as a preventative tool that creates and maintains positive overall vibrant health and wellbeing.
Meditating on a daily basis is crucial to our overall health and well-being. The World Health Organization defines health as, “The absence of illness or maladies but also as a psycho-dynamic state consisting of people 's physical, mental, social and spiritual aspects.” Oshita, D., Hattori, K., & Iwakuma, M. (2013) Studies have shown that regular mediation sessions reduce high blood pressure and stress. Another wonderful side effect of meditating is feeling an overwhelming sense of peace and happiness. Everyone should meditate!