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What
Is Meditation?
Meditation is
a practice of conscious or mindful focus
upon a sound, an object, the breath, body
movement or thought, in order to increase
awareness of the present moment, reduce
stress, promote relaxation, and enhance
personal and spiritual growth.
Meditation has been mystified by Godmen.
It has been made to sound almost unattainable
to mere mortals. Classic scriptures have
stated that to attain true states of meditation
one must go through several stages of spiritual
evolution. Meditation has been associated
with penance, austerity, physical hardship
and concentrated contemplation to attain
a union with divinity. Meditation basically
means awareness. Whatever you do with awareness
is meditation. Watching your breath mindfully
is meditation. Listening to the birds is
meditation. Swimming, walking or playing
golf with awareness is meditation. The criterion
is that these activities should be free
from any other distraction to the mind.
Published scientific research has included
a lot of activities which relax the mind
and improve health as ways of meditation.
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Types
of Meditation:
There are many
types of meditation one can choose
from. Meditation ranges from quiet
introspection to screaming gibberish.
From breath awareness to Sufi swirling.
From Vipassana to dynamic dancing.
From Yoganidra to hitting golf balls.
You can choose one of the many, a
combination of any or all of them
if you please. The best way to choose
your style is by trying. Meditation
is a “hands on” phenomenon
where no amount of description in
words can convey its essence. You
have to jump in the water to learn
to swim. You have to experience meditation
yourself. |
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Benefits
of Meditation
Meditation alters the stress
response favorably. When you meditate regularly,
you're able to control your body's reaction to
stress instead of it controlling you. The diseases
which are favorably affected by meditation include
hypertension, heart disease, some forms of cancer
and several infectious diseases. Meditation boosts
the immune system. The state of relaxed awareness
brought about by meditation helps our body repair
itself. Meditation improves the overall mental
performance. Intelligence is increased, the reaction
time is shortened and the concentration is enhanced.
The right brain function of creativity, in poetry,
music or any other art form is shown to increase
with meditation. Meditation has shown great improvement
in sporting performance. Increased self awareness,
which is one of the features of meditation, in
turn improves self esteem. The false ego is not
nurtured but a true sense of self worth develops
with meditation. Smoking, alcoholism and even
drug addiction have been “cured” by
the practice of meditation.
For more detailed information on meditation you
could refer to the book “Calm
Sutra, the Art of Relaxation”.
To learn Calm Sutra swar meditation click
here. |
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