Origin of Meditation
Many people advocate meditation as a way to improve a person’s emotional, mental, spiritual and even physical health. Meditation can be used as a way to ease anxiety, work through stress and depression and is often a way for the person to rest their body as well as their mind. Meditation is advocated among people who believe in a holistic approach to healing and mediation has been used to help people stop smoking, quit drinking, shake a drug habit, reduce blood pressure, reduce PMS symptoms and ease the symptoms of menopause.
History
Nobody is sure exactly how meditation began. It is well known that its history dates back hundreds of years, but nobody is sure of the exact origin of meditation. The earliest written record of meditation is found in five thousand year old Hindu scriptures. It occurs right around the first mentions of Buddha and it was not long before it began to be practiced all across Asia. Meditation has been worked into almost every spiritual belief and religious practice in the world, though it takes many forms and is done in a variety of different ways.
While Americans have known about meditation for many decades, it was not until the 1960s and 1970s that the practice found popularity. Meditation’s popularity was spurred on by the many cultural icons who were exploring the Eastern traditions and practices (The Beatles had a very famous stay in India where they studied under a Maharishi). As it became more popular it began to be accepted as a form of holistic medicine and now it is commonly used to aide a person’s healing process or help lower his or her stress levels.
Meditation Techniques
There are two major forms of meditation: concentrative meditation and mindfulness meditation. Concentration meditation focuses on a person’s breathing as well as on a single object-a sound or an image-to encourage the mind to find a greater clarity and awareness. By quietly focusing on the object and the breath, a person will find that his or her mind readily opens up to invite in peace and the body starts to relax. Mindfulness meditation encourages a person to pay attention to all of the feelings and sensations they are feeling, but to feel them remotely. During mindfulness meditation, the person will be conscious of their thought patterns and will observe them objectively without allowing them to be caught up in the thoughts themselves.
Meditation is practiced all over the world and is done through two major methods. While the exact origin of meditation is unknown and the history of meditation is extremely varied, the practice is very popular and has been recognized by people all over the world as a beneficial practice.