Saturday, December 19, 2009

Information On Meditation Methods Used Around The World

By Trevor Johnson

If you are trying to reduce the amount of stress in your life, experts often recommend using meditation methods to relax and calm your mind. By meditating on a regular basis, practitioners have often found that they sleep better, can respond well in difficult situations and even suffer less from high blood pressure and other stress-related physical ailments.

If you are interested in starting a meditation practice, you may want to look at some of the different methods that have been used around the world. You will find that you may progress from an easier method through to more advanced and challenging methods as you become more experienced. By starting with some of the more basic methods it builds your confidence in yourself.

One thing which you will hear about when setting up a meditation practice is the need for a quiet room or area that is free of distractions. You want to make sure that nothing prevents you from being able to shut out the world around you and concentrate. Often, it is recommended that you always use the same area in your home to meditate and serious practitioners swear by this.

If you have already heard of meditation techniques, there are a few that you may have found are referred to again and again. Three of these include Buddhist meditation, Zen meditation and transcendental meditation. In fact, Buddhist and Zen meditations are often tied together and referred to as Zen Buddhist meditation.

With Buddhist and Zen meditation, it is the breath that is the primary focus. The feel of your breath entering and leaving your body and the way it feels when it fills your lungs. You do not let your mind drift. It remains on the thoughts and sensations of your breath and ties you to your body. With Zen meditation however you also introduce a specific thought that you concentrate on as well. It may be something as profound as "what is the sound of one hand clapping". In Zen meditation, this thought is called a koan. Transcendental meditation uses a sound or word such as "ohm" or "ahh" in order to provide a mental focus. Breathing is important but concentration is focused on the sound you are making.

If you are interested in learning more about meditation methods there are a number of excellent websites which can give you information and resources. These can help you expand and enrich your meditative practice. You may be amazed at how profoundly a good meditation practice can improve your life. - 14130

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