The Benefits and Basics of Meditation

Amid the noise and stresses of everyday life, take time to meditate daily. Here is a review of the advantages of meditation, plus simple techniques to get you started. By Anshiko.

Meditation has been acclaimed as the antidote to most of life’s daily stresses. Sure enough, you’ve heard about practicing individuals’ positive reactions as to its benefits. Its benefits do not only concentrate on the health of the mind and psyche, but extends to one’s physiological improvement: preventing illnesses and developing one’s inner potential.

For instance, aside from its proven effect to lower blood pressure, it makes it easier for people to focus on a weight-loss regimen, or stick to an exercise program. Focus is the keyword here, and those who meditate report an increased capacity to concentrate, improved short-term and long-term memory, faster comprehension, a more peaceful/serene disposition and heightened control on one’s mind and body connection.

Meditation is not just for the stressed – it has been used as an alternative adjunct treatment for drug rehabilitation, headaches, depression, anxiety, hot flashes, heart disease, and can be sometimes used as a multi-purpose pain reliever. Taking into account that nowadays, medicine sees a connection between the ailments of the body and the condition of the mind, learning how to meditate will surely help bring about the positive results one needs the most.

So how do we go about it? It’s beneficial to know that meditation takes up many kinds; even activities that bring about an inner sense of serenity can be called meditation, as long as it works for you. But there are a couple of well-known and tested methods to try when one is still learning the basics. One popular form is the transcendental meditation, which focuses on the repetition of a sound or word, called the mantra (sounds familiar?). What’s interesting with this kind of meditation is that anyone can easily do this anywhere or anytime one chooses to.

You can even begin meditating while you’re in an agitated state – for this technique serves as a way to quiet the mind by bringing it from an active and thoughtful state to its most silent and restful. To achieve this, sit in a comfortable position, with closed eyes. Concentrate on your breathing, as you slowly inhale and exhale (make your breathing last for 5 seconds as you inhale, similarly as you exhale). On each exhalation, continually repeat mentally or aloud, your chosen mantra (can be any word chosen for personal significance or simply by its sound). If you want, you can skip the mantra chanting, and basically focus on your breathing. If thoughts threaten to disrupt you, gently push them away and refocus on your breathing or your mantra. You will know if you’re successful if you’ve achieved a more relaxed and “thoughtless” state. As an exercise, do this for 20 minutes, once or twice daily.

Another form of meditation is called visualization or guided imagery, where you bring to mind a peaceful scene, real or imaginary and concentrate on the sights, sounds, and smells of it. It can be included in transcendental meditation, as a substitute for the mantra.

Whatever technique is used, meditation serves as a door to a world of unaffected respite, providing detachment from everyday things that causes stress. If you are interested in exploring and applying this to your busy schedule, try contacting relaxation centers which offer meditation programs, or purchase for yourself a how-to meditation book which provides detailed instruction to a more peaceful state of mind.

Suggested Groups/Individuals Offering Meditation Courses:

Institute For Inner Studies, Inc.
Tel Nos: (02) 819-1874, 812-2326, 813-2562
E-mails: iis@pacific.net.ph, innerstudies@pacific.net.ph

LightNet
Contact Nos: (02) 829-1580, (0919) 429-4386
E-mail: info@lightnetonline.org
Website: http://www.lightnetonline.org/

Nouel Resella
Contact Nos: 0927-3492998
E-mail: noel.resella@gmail.com
Website: http://nouelresella.20m.com/

Peacemakers’ Circle Foundation, Inc.
Contact Nos: (02) 920-7622, (0918) 782-2805
E-mail: peacemakerscircle_uri@yahoo.com


About the Author: ANSHIKO is a graduate of Business Administration in UP Diliman. Her affinity to the occult started in high school, due to Anne Rice’s influence. She learned more about Wicca and its misrepresentations by the Catholics while preparing for an information speech on the subject in college. She got attracted to the Path’s teachings, finding a kinship to it.

© 2006 Manggagaway E-magazine. Articles may be distributed freely on the condition that all accreditation is acknowledged, no part is altered and this notice is attached and the website: http://manggagaway-central.blogspot.com/ is included. ~ Thank you