More about meditation
The essence of all meditation techniques is
All the great spiritual traditions have recognised and taught techniques that bring we humans into an experience of the Whole.
It is through meditative experience that we create a sense of perspective.
On a mundane level this means that worries and anxieties lessen, and through the practice of meditation we learn to recapture a peaceful state of mind whenever we need to. However ....
Meditation is both a state of mind, as well as a process. The process of meditation can bring up from the subconscious those things that are stopping us from being relaxed and calm. In many traditional writings meditation is described as a purification practice - that is a way of cleansing the mind of its destructive thoughts & emotions. So one should not be discourage if for a short time, meditation makes us more anxious. It will pass.
There are many different meditation techniques, in other words, there are many different ways for a meditator to enter into the experience of meditation. In the beginning we naturally respond to one or other of the categories. The more we practice and give ourselves the experience of meditation, the more we are able to use a variety of techniques
The hundreds of meditation techniques available to us can be divided into 5 categories:
Movement
Movement carried out with 100% focus will take you to another state of consciousness. In the East there is Tai Chi, hatha yoga asanas and traditional Buddhist walking meditation. In traditional cultures there is the dance that accompanies ceremony.
Sound
We can use our own bodies as an instrument - as in singing and chanting. Or it can be listening to the sounds of nature - the bird song, the sound of running water, as well as the sound of an instrument or instruments
Sight
Techniques can involve that concentration on external objects - like a candle, clouds in the sky, running water or a traditional Thanka. Or it can involve inner visualisation. Research in psychology as well as sports performance has shown how effective and powerful visualisation can be.
Breath
Simple focus on our breathing and awareness of the breath as it goes in an out of our body is perhaps the easiest as well as the most powerful of traditional techniques, which includes pranayama and qi gong. Modern Breathwork is both a psychotherapy as well as a spiritual practice.
- focus
- concentration, and
- awareness
All the great spiritual traditions have recognised and taught techniques that bring we humans into an experience of the Whole.
It is through meditative experience that we create a sense of perspective.
On a mundane level this means that worries and anxieties lessen, and through the practice of meditation we learn to recapture a peaceful state of mind whenever we need to. However ....
Meditation is both a state of mind, as well as a process. The process of meditation can bring up from the subconscious those things that are stopping us from being relaxed and calm. In many traditional writings meditation is described as a purification practice - that is a way of cleansing the mind of its destructive thoughts & emotions. So one should not be discourage if for a short time, meditation makes us more anxious. It will pass.
There are many different meditation techniques, in other words, there are many different ways for a meditator to enter into the experience of meditation. In the beginning we naturally respond to one or other of the categories. The more we practice and give ourselves the experience of meditation, the more we are able to use a variety of techniques
The hundreds of meditation techniques available to us can be divided into 5 categories:
- movement
- sound
- sight,
- touch and
- breath
Movement
Movement carried out with 100% focus will take you to another state of consciousness. In the East there is Tai Chi, hatha yoga asanas and traditional Buddhist walking meditation. In traditional cultures there is the dance that accompanies ceremony.
Sound
We can use our own bodies as an instrument - as in singing and chanting. Or it can be listening to the sounds of nature - the bird song, the sound of running water, as well as the sound of an instrument or instruments
Sight
Techniques can involve that concentration on external objects - like a candle, clouds in the sky, running water or a traditional Thanka. Or it can involve inner visualisation. Research in psychology as well as sports performance has shown how effective and powerful visualisation can be.
Breath
Simple focus on our breathing and awareness of the breath as it goes in an out of our body is perhaps the easiest as well as the most powerful of traditional techniques, which includes pranayama and qi gong. Modern Breathwork is both a psychotherapy as well as a spiritual practice.