Meditation is a holistic discipline during which time the practitioner trains his or her mind in order to realize some benefit.
Meditation is generally a subjective, personal experience and most often done without any external involvement, except perhaps prayer beads to count prayers. Meditation oftentimes involves invoking and cultivating a feeling or internal state, such as compassion, or attending to some focal point, etc. The term can refer to the process of reaching this state, as well as to the state itself.
There are hundreds of specific types of meditation. The word, 'meditation,' means many things dependent upon the context of its use. People practice meditation for many reasons within the context of their culture. Meditation is a component of many religions, and has been practiced since antiquity, especially by monastics. To date, the exact mechanism at work in meditation remains unclear
The manifold benefit of meditation can be categorized as under:
· improved hearing and mental performance
· improved memory
· improvements in psychosomatic and stress related disorders
· benefits for mother and child during pregnancy and childbirth
· improvement in heart disease
· reversal of tumours
· disorders of the nervous system can be improved
· nose, throat and lung problems can be minimised
· increased muscular tone and flexibility
· Posture gets corrected, allowing deep breathing
· Resetting of the navel point to strengthen the lower triangle
· Strengthening of the nervous system
· Bringing normalcy to the glandular secretions of the endocrine system
· Improving resistance to stress and disease
· Opening of the chakras, rendering you more loving and open to others
· Deep relaxation and spontaneous healing
Meditation is not contemplation. Meditation is not concentration. Meditation is a state of being. It is a state of awareness. Meditation is not about doing something; rather it is about doing nothing. Meditation is a state of awareness. Now awareness is a tricky matter. People think they know what awareness is, but it is something which is not properly known. You may think that all this may be happening – body movements, sensory perceptions, even thinking; yet you can be absolutely unaware of it.
Meditation is not about doing something; rather it is about doing nothing. Meditation is experiencing emptiness and enjoying it – though this enjoying is a mind-oriented experience. Both joy and sorrow are experienced by the mind – and anything that is experienced by the mind does not include meditation. Whatever we do, is done through and by our mind. And releasing ourselves from the clutches of our mind is called meditation.
Then we are with our true self; having been able to control all the activities of our mind, body and senses. Then meditation becomes an antidote or a prescription for the many ailments that our mind and body undergoes in this stressful life. The transformation that comes from the regular practice of meditation is gradual but sure. The benefits, therefore, from meditation are manifold.
Sharpen Your Attention
To meditate we need to understand two factors: evaluate the intricacies of the mind (how the mind works) and become familiar with awareness. Once we know how a thought is formulated, what triggers thoughts, what are the conditions in which mind is prone to generate thoughts, only then can we take a leap beyond the cobweb of thoughts and experience the ever-flowing bliss. To understand all this, we need to cultivate and nurture attentiveness, alertness, vigilance and have a sharp microscopic vision - as the Buddha said, “Sharpen your vision like a bowman sharpens his arrow”.
Mind functions on different levels; thoughts are propelled by mind due to certain conditions. We expect certain responses from people, situations and when they do not happen as we had planned, the mind gets disturbed. The agitations of the mind result in great turmoil and this turmoil, this commotion generates several and varied thoughts. We pay great attention to the minutest activities, like the kind of clothes we wear, the fashion we follow, the place to hang out, membership of a particular club, and so on. But what we don’t pay heed to is an important thing: how does our mind function? How just a thought can bring pain, anguish, jealousy, mistrust, doubt, joy? We are least bothered about our cluttered mind but we ensure that our house is clean. It is futile to clean the outside when your inside is blemished with numerous negativities. So, there is a need to connect to your inner self, which is possible only through meditation.
Don’t React – Act
One who is obsessed with worldly pursuits, one who is body-oriented, cannot really go into this. We need to develop a distance from our mind and not give in to impulsiveness. Those who react are the ones who are living mindlessly. So in a way, we can say that living mindfully is being in meditation.
Meditation is not just about sitting in padmasana (lotus pose) or just doing something or just standing upside down or following just a routine of yogic exercises. Meditation does not involve even various ways of breathing exercises. Meditation includes all of the above and much more. Meditation is transgressing the mind, witnessing the mind in all its subtleties.
