What are the health benefits of meditation and what specifically do I have to do to attain this?
To attain the health benefits of meditation, you begin by learning to meditate, and then practicing it.
Many people find it easiest to begin meditating by using guided meditation tapes. There are numerous ones available, pick one that appeals to you. The idea of meditation is to focus your conscious mind. Different traditions use different methods for this, such as a focal point (flower, candle etc), a chanted sound, the images from the tape or focusing on the breath. After you have learned what it feels like and how to control your breath, you won’t need the tapes.
I recommend reading Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh, and there are many other books available also. Classes are offered in many areas as well.
If everyone converted to Buddhism would the world be a more peaceful place?
Buddhism teaches self-control, non-violence, and non-attachment to things. Buddhist meditation has been shown to lower cortisol (stress) levels, prevent telomere degradation (slows aging), heightens attention, decreases negativity, and makes permanent changes in the brain that make people consistently happier than non-meditators. In one study, it boosted the antibodies produced by the flu vaccine three times higher than control groups. It even helps patients with OCD, social anxiety disorder, and clinical depression. Since science is beginning to substantiate the many benefits of Buddhist meditation, would the world be better off by subscribing to Buddhism?
http://www.enotalone.com/article/11601.html
Ab-so-freakin’-lutely.
But I think it would be quite sufficient for everyone in the world to live their lives by a code of conduct that is presented by most of the religions of the world, and forego the dogma that goes hand-in-hand with a literal interpretation of any of the so-called “holy books”.
If everyone in the world lived by the Golden Rule, loved everyone equally, and forgave everyone for his or her transgressions, AND didn’t believe that his way was the only way to attain an after-life that most likely doesn’t exist, or the only way to be “good”, or to honor “God”; then you’d have something.
Right Action is one of the major tenets of Buddhism. If all of humanity acted kindly and lovingly toward one another and LEFT IT AT THAT, then we would have what I would call heaven on earth. That’s as good as it gets. No need for competing saviors, divisiveness concerning whose book is the true word of God, no “well that’s all well and good, but you’re going to hell”.
One doesn’t have to consider himself a “Buddhist” to bring about this kind of peace. Labels tend to foster division; and I would think that to be a “real” Buddhist, you would by definition have to subscribe to the idea of reincarnation, another of its major tenets. I do not, so while I embrace wholeheartedly the peaceful message of Buddhism, I will probably never consider myself a Buddhist, nor an adherent to any other religion.
A final shout-out to the vast number of unnamed and far-too-unsung Buddhist monks who have selflessly laid down their lives in the interest of peace.
i cannot sleep. Which is a bad thing seeing as how I work pretty much all day and into the night if I have to. And I have three kids. I have been up for 5 days with 4 hours of VERY broken sleep. No I’m not taking anything or drinking a lot of caffiene. And don’t say tea, or sleeping pills, or reduced sugar, or meditation, or sex, or exercise, or warm milk, I’ve tried all that. he worst part is that i should be exhausted, but i’m not. How do i get to sleep?
And bounxcing my head off the wall doesn’t help either. Hurts like hell, but no sleep. And i have to go to work.
Heres a couple of thoughts/possible solutions besides what you have already done.
1. Don’t watch television or use a computer before going to sleep. Stop a few hours before. The light emitted from the screen/TV actually cause your body to produce “daytime-hormones” normally caused by sunlight, so it disturbs your sense of day/night
2. Let the bedroom be a sanctuary only for sleep. Don’t watch TV in bed, don’t take work to bed. Your mind must have nothing to do.
3. If you feel you can’t tug in, get up. Go to your livingroom and read/relax for a short while until you feel tired again and get back to sleeep.
A meditation technique where one focuses on the field or background and embrace all the perception around that field is called Mindfulness Meditation. It is in contrast to another meditation technique called concentration meditation, where one channels all the energy and focus on one specific object or subject, blocking all distractions around.
In mindfulness meditation, the meditator is trained to have an open focus of all the inter-related senses coming from the immediate environment while concentrating on a unifying object or a foundation from which to channel all the other senses that is being absorbed or experienced.
For instance, a person using mindfulness meditation can focus on his or her breathing, while at the same time incorporating other senses around him or her, like the sound of leaves on swaying tree branches nearby, a faint music playing, or the perception of movements from other people from a distance. The meditator incorporates his or her breathing in harmony with these surrounding senses.
In concentration meditation, the meditator holds attention on a single specific focus of thought, which could be a prayer bead, or a thought-based anchor for concentration like a mantra or repetitive prayer.
There is no argument on which of the techniques is better. Those who have developed a higher level of concentration also shift easily between mindfulness meditation to concentration meditation or vice versa in a single meditative session.
While concentration meditation trains the mind to withdraw all attachment beyond the self to develop full self-awareness, mindfulness meditation encourages the mind to recognize elements beyond the self to be able to know the whole self as a constitution of all the other elements.
Instead of being distracted, the meditator should acknowledge the existence of things beyond the self and incorporate it in harmony with the awareness of existence at that particular time and space to get a holistic perception of self.
Mindfulness meditation has a similar concept in the religion Buddhism, which also gives high importance on the practice of meditation to achieve self awareness and clarity of the mind. This is the Buddhism meditation technique called Vippasana, which advocates for various mind practices for the purpose of developing insights and general wisdom by seeing the true nature of the self along with the true nature of the surrounding realities. This is in contrast to the technique Shamatha, which develops one’s ability to focus the attention on a single point, unobstructed other realities beyond that point. This is the counterpart of concentration meditation.
In the western forms of meditation, there are concentration techniques devoid of any mystical or rigid religious beliefs. Still, mindfulness meditation finds it way in many of the modern schools of meditation, particularly in yoga, which promotes peace of mind by suspending realities filled with worries and fears, cleansing the mental state by invigorating mental relaxations and absorbing fresh perceptions like mind control, free will, and the presence of guidance and protection from a higher source.
Absorbing these positive states of mind requires mindfulness meditation, as it recognizes surrounding elements that are helpful in developing a healthier and renewed perception of the self.
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meditation process help?
hi all can anyone how to do meditation and its process i tried many times but i failed i want to stay calm n cool n difficult situations,i knw there are many meditation techniques but which one i have to follow,i want increase my concentration and avoid unnecessary thoughts.any help thanks.
Meditation tapes which play peaceful music and sound help get you into a calm and cool mood which you can meditate to or to get you into a relaxed state for meditating.
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Meditation Techniques for Concentration, Free Guided Meditation Teaches You How To Meditate
