meditation types
Last Updated on Thursday, 23 July 2009 20:01 Written by jeff Thursday, 23 April 2009 14:53
Meditation
What is meditation?
Below are some ideas on what constitutes meditation. Not everyone agrees with everyone else on what meditation is. All the below can improve awareness even if not in your strict definition of meditation.
a. Meditation or contemplation involves focusing the mind upon a sound, phrase, prayer, object, visualized image, the breath, ritualized movements, or consciousness in order to increase awareness of the present moment, promote relaxation, reduce stress, and enhance personal or spiritual growth.
b. Meditation is closely associated with concentration. Exercises such as yoga, tai‑chi, breathing exercises, visualization are considered by many to be forms of concentration while others include them as meditative practices. Many consider Meditation a practice, aiming to prevent thoughts in a natural way, by deeply relaxing the physical body and then trying to keep the mind completely "blank" with no thoughts whatsoever.
c. Meditation is a practice of gaining awareness of the body, mind, and spirit by observing natural processes and thoughts. The goal is not to become involved with any certain thought or process but rather observe and stay in the present.
What are the basic types of meditation.
Open focus meditation
This type of meditation uses no guided imagery, or intention. It promotes increased awareness through stillness and observation. Many consider this the only true meditation since is still both the body and the mind. In beginning stages teachers may ask their students to focus on observing the breath to block out other thoughts and prepare the mind for the total absence of thought. Open focus meditation is used in many spiritual practices. Many consider this the hardest type of meditation since not focusing on something allows other noises and distractions to draw the mind into thinking about them.
Closed Focus meditation
1. Guided imagery - uses imagination to guide chi
2. Focusing vision on candle or objects
3. Making sounds or mantras
4. Using body positions or hand gestures
What are basic meditation positions?
a. lying - hardest to maintain awareness since may go to sleep
b. sitting - used by many disciplines including spiritual enhancement, yoga.
c. standing - many internal arts including QiQong, Tai Chi, Hsing Yi, and YiQuan
d. moving ? - such as certain types of QiQong, Yoga ,Tai Chi, and walking