THE ART OF MEDITATION
“Empty your mind; be formless, shapeless – like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes a cup, you put water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend” – Bruce Lee.
Meditation is a method of concentration that focuses on a sound, object, visualization, breathing, motion, or increasing attention on the awareness of a certain state for the reduction of stress, promotion of relaxation and the enhancement of personal and spiritual growth. It has been around and practiced for millennia. Its main purpose was originally intended to develop understanding of the spiritual aspect, recognition, and outward experience of ultimate reality. A variety of rich meditative practices have arisen by the many different religious traditions in the world. Included in the origins of meditation are the contemplative practices of Christian religious orders, the Buddhist practice of sitting meditation and the circulating movements of the Sufi dervishes. Meditation can be practiced by anyone regardless of their religious and cultural backgrounds for the relief of stress and pain although it is actually an important spiritual practice in many religious and spiritual traditions.
Interest to the use of meditation in medicine has vastly increased as Western practitioners began to understand the role of the mind in a state of health and disease. These meditative practices are now being offered in hospitals and medical clinics as the main tool for improving health and the quality of life. In the treatment of many diseases, meditation has been recognized as the primary therapy for healing, as well as an additional therapy to a comprehensive treatment plan and improving the way and quality of living of people with debilitating, chronic or terminal conditions.
Meditation generally done in an upright seated position either on a chair or cross-legged on a cushioned floor is called sitting meditation. The body should be on a relaxed position with the spine straight. Eyes are preferably closed but if opened, it should be gazing through a distant location softly or at an object. Concentration should be focused either on the movement or counting of breathing, repeating a certain sound silently, chanting, image visualization, using the center of the body as a focal point, freeing the body to all sensory experiences with the inclusion of thoughts, or outright performing of ritual movements in a certain fashion with the use of the hands.
For people who have difficulty in remaining still, movement meditation is helpful. It involves spontaneous, freeform movements or can also be highly structured, graceful and expressive patterns. Mindfulness meditation and concentration meditation are generally the two main types of meditation. When a person focuses on a single object, it is called concentration meditation. If a person practices becoming aware of the entire field of attention, it is mindfulness meditation. Each type of meditation has its own purpose. If a person’s purpose of meditation is to develop concentration or learning to focus one’s attention on a certain matter, then concentration meditation is the correct type of meditation to use. But when a person is in search of becoming aware of all thoughts and feelings, perceptions and sensations as they arise in their own time, then the types of meditation is mindfulness meditation.