Meditation 101: Techniques, Benefits & Beginner’s How-to
Why and how to meditate
Meditation is an approach to training the mind, similar to the way that fitness is an approach to training the body. But many meditation techniques exist. So how do you learn how to meditate?
“In Buddhist tradition, the word ‘meditation’ is equivalent to a word like ‘sports’ in the U.S. It’s a family of activity, not a single thing,” University of Wisconsin neuroscience lab director Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D., told The New York Times. And different meditative practices require different mental skills.
It’s extremely difficult for a beginner to sit for hours and think of nothing or have an “empty mind.” But in general, the easiest way to begin meditating is by focusing on the breath — an example of one of the most common approaches to meditation: concentration.
Concentration meditation
A concentrative meditation technique involves focusing on a single point. This could entail watching the breath, repeating a single word or mantra, staring at a candle flame, listening to a repetitive gong or counting beads on a rosary. Since focusing the mind is challenging, a beginner might meditate for only a few minutes and then work up to longer durations.
In this form of meditation, you simply refocus your awareness on the chosen object of attention each time you notice your mind wandering. Rather than pursuing random thoughts, you simply let them go. Through this process, your ability to concentrate improves.
Mindfulness meditation
Mindfulness meditation technique encourages the practitioner to observe wandering thoughts as they drift through the mind. The intention is not to get involved with the thoughts or to judge them, but simply to be aware of each mental note as it arises.
Through mindfulness meditation, you can see how your thoughts and feelings tend to move in particular patterns. Over time, you can become more aware of the human tendency to quickly judge experience as “good” or “bad” (“pleasant” or “unpleasant”). With practice, an inner balance develops.
In some schools of meditation, students practice a combination of concentration and mindfulness. Many disciplines call for stillness — to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the teacher.
Other meditation techniques
There are various other meditation techniques. For example, a daily meditation practice among Buddhist monks focuses directly on the cultivation of compassion. This involves envisioning negative events and recasting them in a positive light by transforming them through compassion. There are also moving meditations techniques, such as tai chi, chi kung and walking meditation.
Benefits of meditation
If relaxation is not the goal of meditation, it is often one result of it. Back in the 1970s, Herbert Benson, MD, a researcher at Harvard University Medical School, coined the term the relaxation response after conducting research on people who practiced transcendental meditation. The relaxation response, in Benson’s words, is “an opposite, involuntary response that causes a reduction in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system.”
Since then, studies on the relaxation response have documented the following short-term benefits to the nervous system:
- lower blood pressure
- improved blood circulation
- lower heart rate
- less perspiration
- slower respiratory rate
- less anxiety
- lower blood cortisol levels
- more feelings of well-being
- less stress
- deeper relaxation
Contemporary researchers are now exploring whether consistent meditation practice yields long-term benefits, and noting positive effects on brain and immune function among meditators. Yet it is worth repeating that the purpose of meditation is not to achieve benefits. To put it as an Eastern philosopher might say, the goal of meditation is no goal. It is simply to be present.
In Buddhist philosophy, the ultimate benefit of meditation is liberation of the mind from attachment to things it cannot control, such as external circumstances or strong internal emotions. The liberated, or “enlightened,” practitioner no longer needlessly follows desires or clings to experiences, but instead maintains a calmness of mind and sense of inner balance.
How to meditate: Simple meditation for beginners
This meditation exercise is an excellent introduction to meditation techniques.
1. Sit or lie comfortably. You may even want to invest in a meditation chair.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Make no effort to control the breath; simply breathe naturally.
4. Focus your attention on the breath and on how the body moves with each inhalation and exhalation. Notice the movement of your body as you breathe. Observe your chest, shoulders, rib cage and belly. Make no effort to control your breath; simply focus your attention. If your mind wanders, simply return your focus back to your breath. Maintain this meditation practice for 2–3 minutes to start, and then try it for longer periods.
4 Ways to Tap Into Your Intuition
It’s almost a cliché: The telephone rings and you intuitively know who it is before answering.
Intuition often shows up this way, as a fleeting insight we'll probably dismiss as coincidence — or write off as “just imagination.”
But as Albert Einstein once said, “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
Experts in intuitive counseling say you can learn to develop your intuition and capture those insights to help you make decisions in your personal life — such as whether to agree to a blind date.
“Everyone has intuition. The more you acknowledge it, the stronger and more accurate it gets,” says professional spiritual and medical intuitive Marla Mitchell.
Professional intuitives use intuition to perceive information about you and provide guidance. A medical intuitive further specializes in perceiving the physical health of the body and internal systems.
A surprising number of business leaders also use intuition to help them make business decisions. In a poll conducted by PRWeek and Burson-Marsteller, the majority of the 252 CEOs surveyed said they were likely to rely on their intuition when making business decisions. It’s something to consider next time you’re debating whether to sign off on a new ad campaign or hire a candidate who sent a bland resume but knocked your socks off in the interview.
“I’ve come to accept that my own intuition is one of many skills I can call upon in my business when needed,” says Christen Resmo, president and CEO of Benchmark Coaching, a Denver-based career coaching firm.
Four ways to strengthen your intuition
“With practice, you start noticing the quiet voice within,” explains David Stevens, professional intuitive and founder of Yoga of the Mind, a meditation and intuition training service. “Some see flashes of pictures. Others have certain feelings. Some just have a pure knowingness.”
Mitchell and Stevens recommend these four techniques to help you tap into and trust your intuition.
1) Meditate
“Meditation helps you to get quiet and be in the present moment,” Mitchell explains. “The key to increasing your intuitive awareness is to stay very present. Intuition lives in the present.”
At the heart of any meditation method is the practice of quieting the mind, which can help you increase your awareness of your intuitive sense.
“Meditation creates the best access to intuition,” says Stevens, a student of meditation for over 35 years.
You can learn meditation skills in a class (Shambhala Sun magazine offers a great directory) or with a meditation instruction DVD or CD. Stevens says meditating for just 15 minutes a day can offer benefits.
2) Do a blind reading
Stevens recommends practicing what he calls “blind readings.” Here’s how they work:
1. Sit down at a writing table with three blank index cards.
2. Think about a decision you are currently grappling with and write three solutions for it, one on each card.
3. Turn the cards blank-side-up, shuffle them and place them face-down on a table.
4. Run your hands over the cards and notice the feeling of each card.
5. Assign a percentage to each card based on how powerfully you’re drawn to it.
6. Turn the cards over and take note of the answer with the highest percentage.
Two years ago, Stevens and his wife used a blind reading to help them decide whether to cancel a big trip they had planned. The vacation was to begin right around the time a work-related project of his wife’s was to be completed. But the project started late, and it looked like the project would reach a critical point during their vacation.
Rather than canceling the vacation, the couple did a blind reading. They labeled the first card “Shorten the trip,” the second card “Do the trip as planned,” and the third card “Cancel the trip.” They each did a separate blind reading; both felt the strongest pull toward the card labeled “Do the trip as planned.”
They kept their vacation plans. As it turned out, the critical aspects of the project were completed a couple of days before the trip. Stevens and his wife enjoyed their vacation without distraction.
3) Play red-light green-light
Fun and spontaneity can help you develop intuition. Mitchell recommends this take on a classic childhood game:
1. Imagine a traffic light. Picturing the red light indicates “no” and the green light indicates “yes.”
2. Ask yourself questions or make statements that have true / false or yes / no answers, and notice, in your mind’s eye, what color the stoplight turns after each statement. Start by simply saying your name (for example, “I am Karen”). Then, call yourself by a different name (for example, “I am Bob”) and watch in your mind’s eye to see if the colors change.
After you get the hang of this game, try it in situations where you don’t know the answer.
“Games like this help increase your trust in your own intuitive abilities,” Mitchell explains.
4) Learn more through readings and classes
Mitchell and Stevens agree that you can develop your intuition by having readings done by professional intuitives, and by taking classes.
Resmo, Benchmark Coaching CEO, says classes that teach how to develop intuition let her practice tapping into her intuitive side in a nonjudgmental environment. “I could simply allow my thoughts and impressions to flow,” she explains. "My guesses and hunches were spot-on accurate about 75 percent of the time.”
http://life.gaiam.com/article/4-ways-tap-your-intuition
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