The Technique -

The place for meditation should not be too hot or too cold and not too bright nor too dark. A cushion is placed on the floor, (it is better if it rests on a thin pad like a carpet or blanket). Cushions specifically made for meditation are easily available for this purpose.
The sitting postures in Zen Meditation are:
1. The Full-lotus posture.
2. The Half-lotus posture.
3. The Quarter-lotus posture.
4. The Burmese posture.
5. The Seiza posture.
6. While sitting in a chair.
With all the above-mentioned postures, it is advised to keep the spine straight, the buttocks are thrust out and the chin is tucked in. The hands are held close to the body, where the left hand rests on top of the right, with palms open and up. The joints of the both the two middle fingers rests on top of the other. Tips of the thumbs touches lightly.
The nose and ears is in line with the naval and shoulders respectively. The belly is relaxed and allowed to “hang out” slightly. The eyes should be half-closed, and the gaze should be at about a 45-degree angle to the body. If agitation begins with the meditation, it might be started with the eyes closed completely for helping the mind get calm. If a person becomes sleepy during meditation, he might open the eyes wide to help himself wake up. The head should be pointed at the ceiling. The knees should rest. Between the sitting surface and the knees, there should be no space.
While sitting in a chair, the body should be positioned on the front edge of the chair with the back erect. The feet should rest while the legs should be held apart slightly.
After achieving thecorrect sitting posture, rock back and forth a few times in orde to establish the balance point and a relaxed stability feel.
A few deep breaths should be taken, it allows the lungs to expand fully, and then exhale.
As the breath settles back to normal, breathe should be taken, with the tongue touching lightly the palate behind the teeth.
If a person has never meditated before, it is advisable that he follows the breaths or count the breaths. Let all thoughts pass. If any kind of thoughts arise, they should bet treated like “clouds passing by.” Rather they should be acknowledged and then passed. The whole attention should be focused on the breath or on the counting. Breathing can be counted from one to ten after exhaling.

The Technique -
1. While taking each deep breath, feel the sensation of air entering and leaving the nose. The air that enters the nose feels cool, and then the air leaving the nose feels warm.
2. The sensation associated with this procedure is felt quite well.
3. The same action is done slowly 21 times, every time focusing on the feeling (and the image of Buddha if chosen). After doing it for 21 times, the process is repeated.
4. The whole cycle should be repeated five times..

The two common Buddhist Meditation Practices  -
1. Anapanasati - The practice of Anapanasati technique varies. Generally it begins by sitting in a position, which is comfortable while the back and neck remain straight. It should be started with breathing naturally, without trying to change the depth or length of the breath.
2. Metta - This technique is considered a good way for calming down the mind for the people who find it hard to manage the anger. Metta is often referred to as an an antidote to insomnia and nightmares. People who practice Mettaa are at ease because they do not see any need to harbor ill will or hostility. Metta signifies a strong wish for others happiness. While practicing Metta meditation, a person recites some words and phrases for evoking the warm-hearted feeling without any bounds. The strength behind this feeling does not limit itself to a family or religion. Metta permits kindness and generosity of an individual to be applied to other human beings and in result, one finds true happiness in others happiness.

Important:
With Buddhist meditation, it is best to start with 1 cycle of 21. After completing the first meditation, the amount of cycles of 21 can be doubled for each sitting (for instance 1, 2, 4, 8, 16) till it reaches 10-15 minutes. After reaching the 15 minutes mark, a person can dwell on the feeling and sit there to enjoy the divine energy flowing through the body as a result.
This meditation can be done for as long as you like. It is better if it s done daily; 5 minutes a day is better than doing it for 10 minutes every 2 days. With this flow, anyone can master the breathing meditation. Patience should be there as it takes years for many people for building the discipline to accomplish twenty minutes of continuous meditation.

It has been established that meditation provides mental health benefits and other advantages. The key to maximizing the benefits of meditation is choosing the right style, especially if you are a beginner and have just decided to try this practice that has just been recently welcomed into the modern age. There are various styles of meditation. Each particular style could affect each person differently depending on the needs of each particular person.

The first type of meditation is centered on improving one’s concentration. Concentration means having full consciousness on a particular thought or activity and getting rid of unnecessary thoughts that may distract the mind causing it to lose focus. Concentration is perceived to be the most difficult and also the most crucial element of meditation. Once a person doing meditation learns to focus, it is easier for that person to delve deeply into a state of contemplation. In Buddhism, a person reaches a state called Samadhi, which means becoming unified with the object of meditation, once the meditating person attains absolute focus or zero mind distraction.

The second type of meditation is called insight meditation. This becomes the next stage of meditation after successfully clearing your mind of any distractions. Insight meditation means becoming fully aware of one’s senses, thoughts and feelings. With insight meditation, the meditating person embraces his thoughts and sensations, and accepting them as they are without any attempt to interpret them as the mind would do under normal circumstances. This is where the self becomes merely an observer and not a performer of the thoughts that come to the mind. As the meditating person lets go of the subjective interpretation of his thoughts and just letting them be, the thoughts and sensations have lesser impact on his actions. The process becomes an observation rather than an experience.

The third kind of meditation is called contemplation and self-assessment. In this type of meditation, the meditating person has a wider perspective and is ready to self-examine himself with no bias and be more contemplative in a positive light. By self-assessment and contemplation, the person doing the meditation acquires a better understanding of how his mind works and a better grasp of the nature of his sufferings. He becomes able to assess how dependent he is on concrete things or how gullible he can be. Insight, in a way, motivates the meditating person to be more reasonable and to start working out his problems.

The fourth type of meditation includes the styles of meditation done in activity or motion, such as Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Chi Neng and Walking Meditations. The focus and attention is centered on the motion being undertaken thereby strengthening his awareness.

The fifth type of meditation is likened to goal setting and motivation. Meditation experts call it goal-oriented meditation, whereby the meditating person instantly works on his goals. One such style is called visualization exercises, which are aimed at healing an illness or achieving psychological goals such as motivating oneself to forgive, to sympathize, or to heighten one’s self-esteem. One who is faced with a dilemma can consult his intuition by meditating. This type of meditation can be applied in every aspect of one’s life to help him achieve whatever his goals at hand. Goal-oriented meditation can become a necessary tool to stabilize one’s mind. Whoever said that what can’t be achieved with one’s physical strength can be achieved with one’s mind, is so true.

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In this day and age, more and more people are becoming acquainted with the theory and practice of meditation. Those who have embraced the practice of meditation may be doing it because it is part of their culture, it’s a religious obligation, or because of psychological or other reasons, but, undeniably, the numerous advantages it gives them is probably the most common reason why people engage themselves into meditation. The benefits of meditation are not just ascertained by a few people who experienced it first hand but they are also evidenced by medical and scientific research. Scientists and medical doctors alike are promoting the practice of meditation for a number of valid reasons, including its physical, emotional and mental advantages.

An obvious and one of the most important advantages of meditation is how it relieves one’s body from stress. Stress is a ubiquitous problem of every human being. Most people, if not everyone, experience stress on a daily basis but only in different ways and levels. Some forms of stress are manageable while others can be too enslaving that they lead to life threatening diseases. This is where meditation comes as a probable resolve. Meditation allows a person to confront a stressful situation that are usually beyond his control and free the person from a permanent state of stress. If practiced regularly, meditation will bring the person to a stable state of relaxation and contemplation. Meditation can liberate a person from a depressed state, stress, pressure or constant worry. Meditation can provide a person with peace of mind, genuine happiness and a stress-free life. Meditation is a probable antidote to stress.

Other advantages of meditation are also related to the reduction of stress. A person with reduced stress can enjoy a healthier life. The link between one’s state of mind and physical health proves the role of meditation in alleviating stress. By giving a person inner peace, meditation can be a tool towards avoiding many stress-related illnesses.

The art of meditation also allows a person to have better control of his mind and thought processes. Having control over one’s mind can give a person direction, and can help him achieve his goals. A controlled mind, which can only be achieved by meditation, gives a person focus and frees oneself from unnecessary distractions.

Meditation also allows a person to achieve his full potential by guaranteeing concentration in every task that a person involves himself with. Concentration is a powerful tool for efficacy and excellence. Aside from concentration, meditation also gives a person spontaneity and creativity. By silencing one’s mind, a person is ushered to a realization of his true capacity. Through meditative absorption, one can achieve greatness as did some of the great scientists and philosophers of our time.

Meditation is also therapeutic and can combat psychological emptiness. Through meditation, one can have a better understanding of oneself thereby giving the person a new perspective of life, untarnished by his own biases and negative tendencies. Meditation is, in a sense, a simple way to attaining self-discovery.

In order to achieve the optimal benefits of meditation, one only needs to persevere. Through constant practice, the advantages that meditation has to offer are endless.

Meditation: Facts at a Glance

Meditation is about having full consciousness of oneself. It means making yourself totally aware of activities like listening to the rain as it falls on the rooftop or paying closer attention to your breathing. When you say full consciousness or total awareness, it means that you are getting rid of any distraction in your mind.

Effective meditation means zero mind distraction and sticking only with that particular activity that you chose to focus on. Hence, a person who meditates is a person who observes with a single focal point. It means that all of your mind activities are reduced to a single activity. Simply put, meditation pertains to a state of consciousness whereby your thought processes come to a halt, free of dispersed thoughts and scattered patterns. Meditation is, in a sense, a way of life.

Etymology of the Word

The word “meditation” came from two Latin words, namely, “meditary” which means to think or to exercise the mind, and “mederi” which means to heal. In Sanskrit, meditation is derived from the word “medha” which means wisdom. The classical concept of yoga is commonly associated with Eastern culture. What is neglected is the fact that meditation is universal in both theory and practice, and cannot be dismissed as either Eastern or Western.

Meditation is originally a traditional practice not meant to be an aspect of the modern age. In recent years however, the practice of meditation has become a magnet to the modern man from different races with varying personal and social backgrounds. The popularity of meditation can be attributed to medical and scientific proofs on the benefits of meditation which have been made publicly available over various forms of media; however, such published evidence still needs to be carefully scrutinized.

Meditation has evolved from how it is understood in the past to how it is perceived in the present. Nowadays, meditation is generally grasped as a form of mystical experience whereby the observer or the person doing meditation rests with a certain seating position, eyes closed and concentrates by emptying his or her mind to delve into deep relaxation, with the hope of achieving inner peace and sometimes an encounter with the Supreme Being. At other times, people associate meditation with their past times or forms of relaxation like music, dance, arts, or even their ordinary hobbies, which notions are rather confusing because if that’s the case, meditation is merely taken as a technique to get one’s mind off things.

The Practice of Meditation

Traditional writings on meditation provide that the true essence of meditation is achieved by going through various stages. The initial stage is preparation of oneself. To be prepared means to be relaxed and in control of one’s breathing. One must also be prepared in terms of certain personal and social codes and even physical positioning. After the preparatory stage come the more complex stages of focus and attentiveness, reflection, and finally, absorption. In some instances, however, like the integral meditation method, these meditation stages are simultaneously applied. This means that one need not refine each stage before shoving on to the next stage.

Presently, the practice of meditation is being investigated for its optimal advantage based on the scientific claim that the energy of the mind and body can break free and that the characteristic of consciousness can be expanded through constant practice of choice meditation techniques. Scientists are now looking for empirical facts to establish this hypothesis.