Meditation

Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness. It often involves turning attention to a single point of reference.  It is a state of experiencing a state of consciousness that has the qualities of enlightenment.  By meditating you are learning how to be free of thought, feeling, emotion, and time. 

Meditation originated from Vedic Hinduism which is the oldest religion that professes meditation as a spiritual and religious practice.  Evidence of the origins of meditation extends back to a time before recorded history. Archaeologists tell us the practice may have existed among the first Indian civilizations. Indian scriptures dating back 5000 years describe meditation techniques. From its ancient beginnings and over thousands of years, meditation has developed into a structured practice used today by millions of people worldwide of differing nationalities and religious beliefs. 

Meditation is also practiced outside religious traditions. Different meditative disciplines encompass a wide range of spiritual and/or psychophysical practices which may emphasize different goals -- from achievement of a higher state of consciousness, to greater focus, creativity or self-awareness, or simply a more relaxed and peaceful frame of mind.

Yoga is one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy, focusing on meditation. In India, Yoga is seen as a means to both physiological and spiritual mastery.

The Bhagavad Gita stresses the importance of meditation as follows "Make a habit of practising meditation and do not let your mind be distracted. In this way you will come finally to the Lord who is the light-giver, the highest of the high.”

Meditation has always been central to Buddhism and considered a key tool in spiritual development. The historical Buddha himself, Buddha Shakyamuni, was said to have achieved enlightenment while meditating under the Bodhi tree.

Technique of Meditation

The simple techique of meditation involves three basic steps and they are learning to be still, be at ease, and learning to concentrate.  The need to remain still while meditating is primarily to establish a relationship that is true to life itself.  You are trying to tell yourself that no matter how difficult it is you will not move. 

First you try and gain control over your physical body and five senses this will be followed by instilling the same discipline with your mind.  Else the body will be taken over by the five senses and the mind will be wandering into the blue yonder and scattering all your energy.  Once the body is controlled, the mind will soon follow, therefore in effect you are taming your body and mind from desires, fear, greed, and almost all the seven deadly sins. 

The next step is be at ease.  Once you remain still you will not be distracted by any external disturbances and hence it becomes now easier to tackle the mind.  You must now let go of all thoughts and feelings. Once you do this you will experience and discover an unconditional sense of freedom, which you would’ve been closely associated with as a child.  Once you begin to think and believe that nothing is fundamentally wrong you will enjoy the peace you experience. This is because your body and mind are in complete harmony with each other and all internal and external factors synchronize with each other.

The third and final step is to learn to concentrate.  Once your body and mind are in a relaxed and calm state, you need to channelize your thinking or learn to concentrate.  This concentration on a particular area within yourself or an image etc., will translate to experiencing a profound state of self standing which is free from the mind.  The compulsive habit of thinking in a box and personalization of events will disappear.  Your awareness will become so huge that it will embrace all things while simultaneously with the experience of freedom. 

For those who practice meditation with a strong conviction, the benefits of meditation are far greater than being able to sleep fast. Basically, meditation has been designed to help people free their mind from life’s constant conflicts. It promises to give people a deeper sense of relaxation and a higher control of themselves. The benefits of meditation even include understanding ones self as it is viewed to be a process that will lead people to self-awareness.

The health benefits of meditation include lower blood pressure, relief from insomnia, decreased serum cholesterol, better immune system, reduced anxiety, fewer infections, and normalization of body weight.  Other benefits experienced by people who practice meditation include improved academic performance, increased intelligence and creativity, increased cognitive development, improved perception and memory, improved ability to focus and improved moral development.

Excerpts taken from this article are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. They use material from Wikipedia topics "Lucid Dream" and/or "Sleep".