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Silent? Sitting? Walking? Visualizing? Chanting?
Various forms of meditation have been practiced for thousands of years around the world, many originating in Eastern religious practices. These days meditation is often practiced outside of their original religious and cultural contexts. And in the West, though meditation may be spiritual for some, the practice is often not religious in nature.
There are many types of meditation – each one engages or focuses our attention in different ways. You’ve probably heard of these: visualization, contemplation, walking, chanting, watching your breath, silent mantra meditation, TM, Relaxation Response, mindfulness. There are many others. Each of these techniques is or was appropriate for someone, somewhere in time.
Some meditations use the power of sound, others physical sensations or movement. All have a common aim: to focus the active mind on a single point, eventually enhancing self-awareness. Meditation generally does not involve hypnosis, suggestion, auto-suggestion, or trance. Objects of meditation can include your breathing, an image you visualize in your mind or a real image you look at, such as a candle flame or sacred icon. This helps you focus your attention.
You can learn how to do a silent meditation practice at any of our one day meditation programs. In the Everyday Meditation class or the Primordial Sound Meditation course, you'll find out about the various practices that people choose, and you'll learn a silent mantra meditation practice that you can do easily every day that will give you the benefits that you've been hearing about.
Or, attend an introductory program in Phoenix or Sedona on meditation such as: Mind Body Health and Meditation or Meditation and Intuition, or Meditation and Discovering What You Really Want. Check the schedule and find out when you can get started on your meditation practice.
Meditation is generally practiced in a quiet environment and in a comfortable position. Sessions vary in length and in number of times practiced daily. It is often recommended to meditate at the same time(s) each day and without forcing your mind in any way. Simply pay attention to the focus of your meditation.
The How & The What
There are two elements to any meditation technique: how you pay attention, and what you pay attention to. The how is usually gentle focus, a restful, steady attention. It's not a harsh or militant concentration. And the what is usually something simple - like the sensation of your breath or a thought or sound.
Quieting the mind, or meditation in general, can seem impossible to do especially for a beginner who is just told to sit there and stop thinking. The mind is used to wandering and having one thought after another. They say almost 60,000 thoughts a day. So it makes sense that it might be hard to settle down at first. Especially if you haven't had instruction.
That's why people need a specific focus in meditation. This helps to interrupt the constant flow of thoughts. This helps the mind to settle down and go to subtler and subtler levels of thinking, until it sometimes seems like there's a powerful, nourishing silence. And that feels good. But you can't think your way there or try to get there. It is natural occurrence that gets easier with a daily practice of meditation, the nervous system grows used to turning inward.
Here are just a few of the many different forms of meditation and their focuses.
Counting or following the breath (Mindfulness or Zazen or Vipassana)
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Repeating a mantra or word out loud or silently (Transcendental, Relaxation Response, Japa)
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Gazing at a candle flame (Trataka)
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Gazing at a mandala or picture of a spiritual teacher or saint (Contemplation
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Feeling Compassion meditation (Tonglen, Metta, Loving Kindness)
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Contemplative prayer (Christian, Judaic)
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Becoming aware of the Energy centers (Chakras)
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Gratitude meditations
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Mediations on various scenes or scenarios in your mind (Guided, Visualizations)
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Meditation in motion (Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Walking, Kinhin, Sufi Dancing)
Whichever type of meditation you choose, done correctly, it will allow your body to reach a naturally-occurring rest state; and according to research, this state is different from sleep, the rest is much deeper, and at the same time, you are more alert. It is sometimes called the state of restful alertness. There are so many, and each will give you a unique experience. The most important thing is to find one you like, and just do it. Knowing about meditation will not give you the benefits. Doing it will.
Trying It a Few Different Ways
Mindfulness Meditation:
Mindfulness is one of the most commonly practiced techniques. It can be a way of life for many and is the subject of a lot of research these days. The idea is to bring your attention to the present moment, whether you are sitting meditating, walking, or brushing your teeth. Your focus can be on physical sensations such as your breath or movement, or it can involve a "body scan," focusing on your body from head to toes, and/or concentrating on areas of pain or illness. It can sometimes involve "naming" which consists of giving a name to physical sensations associated with particular emotions, or naming thoughts that distract the mind.
When thoughts about the future or past distract you away from the focus, the instruction is to simply return to the focus. This practice of mindfulness eventually creates a sensation of being a witness to your thoughts and emotions and physical sensations, rather than being controlled by them. The practice is done to increase self-awareness.
The more formal sitting practice, mindfulness meditation, helps one's awareness to settle down, and eventually the practitioner experiences what I like to call a silent backdrop behind the mind or the body's activity. And this can occur in and out of the meditation itself with regular practice of the formal meditation.
Try this: Mindfulness through Breath Awareness: If you're a beginner, consider starting with this technique. Breathing is a natural function that you won't have to learn. Begin to notice the way the breath is flowing into and out of your body. Simply pay attention to your breathing - how it feels when air enters or leaves your nostrils. Follow it down to your lungs. Feel your belly expand. When you feel your attention wander, gently return your focus to your breathing. Don’t force your mind in any way. Simply pay attention. When thoughts about the future or past distract you away from the focus, the instruction is to simply return to the focus. There are many little things to notice about the way breath feels, and if you start paying attention to it, eventually you'll settle into meditation.
Meditation using the Sense of Sight:
Visual meditations can use a focus on an image "out there" or one you visualize in your mind. The focus of a visual meditation can be mental - like visualizing a bright sun, light or star, a crescent, a cross, symbol of Om, a lotus flower, a saint, your personal deity etc. Or you could have a physical point of focus such as the tip of your nose, a candle flame, or a photo or symbol of someone or something that evokes a sense of the divine. Some people use a yantra (yantras are geometrical diagrams, like mandalas, that serve to focus the mind) and some practitioners of yoga focus on the space between their eyebrows or the tip of the nose – finding that it strengthens eye muscles and the optic nerve.
How to do it: Trataka is a simple meditation practice involving alternately gazing at an object or point without blinking, then closing your eyes and visualizing it in your mind's eye. This practice is commonly performed with a candle flame in a dimmed room. Or at night, you could gaze at the moon or a bright star. Or in the daylight, a flower or tree can be your focus. Choose one point and stick with it for the practice. You can start with gazing, softly looking with relaxed eyes, for one minute, gradually building it up to 10 minutes. However, if your eyes feel sore or tired, close them at once. When you notice your attention is no longer focused on the object of your meditation, simply return your attention back to the point of focus. Don't be hard on yourself. It is called a practice.
Meditation involving Movement:
Moving meditations may be particularly helpful to those who find it hard to sit still and can be spontaneous, free-form movement, or highly structured, choreographed, repetitive patterns. Some methods include:
Yoga. In the Western world, yoga involves a series of postures, during which you pay special attention to your breathing — exhaling during certain movements and inhaling with others. You can approach yoga as a way to promote physical flexibility, strength and endurance, relaxation, or as a way to enhance your spirituality.
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Tai chi. Tai chi involves gentle, deliberate circular movements combined with deep breathing. As you concentrate on the motions of your body, you develop a feeling of peace and tranquility.
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Qi gong. This technique arises from ancient China. Similar to yoga and tai chi, it integrates physical postures, breathing techniques and focused attention.
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Sufi walking or dancing: This form of moving meditation was developed in medieval Islam, where practitioners walk or dance in a rhythmic fashion while chanting. The intent of the chant is to focus the mind on a specific quality of the divine. You can whirl too for a time, as some whirling dervishes do, and notice how the stillness can be found within activity.
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Walking meditation. Called kinhin in Zen Buddhism, this form of movement meditation focuses the attention on the feeling of the earth beneath the feet. You can use this technique anywhere — in a tranquil forest, on a city sidewalk or even inside a building where you work.
How to do a Walking Meditation: Slow the pace of walking way down so that you can focus on each movement of your legs or feet. Don't focus on a particular destination. Pay attention to the movement and lifting of your legs and feet, and shifting of your balance. You can repeat action words such as "lifting," "moving" and "placing" as you lift each foot, move your leg forward and place your foot on the ground. You can substitute other words if you like. Some people prefer to signal the beginning and end of a walking meditation with a ritual, such as the ringing of a bell, a ceremonial bow, a silent prayer or spoken words of thankfulness. Others like to imagine lotus blossoms springing up after each step. I paying attention to the actual movement. Find out what you like.
Meditation on the Sensation of Feeling or Touch:
The most common meditation is a breath meditation which involves focusing on the process of inhaling and exhaling and feeling what that feels like.. Counting while breathing can also provide a meditative focus.
Some meditations can also focus on how your whole body 'feels': a gradual body relaxation or scanning, or focusing on body pain, tension, warmth or relaxation in different areas. Some practices combine body scanning with breathing exercises, or imagining the breath reaching different parts of the body.
Some techniques involved feeling or counting the beads of a mala or a Rosary or prayer beads. Typically you'd measure one by one with your fingers while repeating your mantra or prayer either silently or out loud while sitting.
Meditation using the Sense of Sound:
A "mantra" is a sound, word, or phrase that is gently repeated to oneself over and over, either aloud, as a chant, or silently. Mantras used in meditation are found in every culture and religion. The sounds is a point on which to focus your mind, and the sounds eventually interrupt the constant flow of thoughts (which we hear internally). Over time, this practice trains the mind to settle down to deeper and deeper levels of thought, until the thinker of the thoughts is experienced, the real you.
Religious mantras include the Lord’s Prayer in the Christian tradition, the holy name of God in Judaism or the Muslim religion, or the “Om Mane Padme Hum” mantra of Tibetan Buddhism. Some meditations include repeating the name of a deity, saint, a quality to enliven in life, or a sacred phrase, while sitting, lying down or doing just about anything. Examples are, “thy will be done,” or “peace”, or “all is well.”
Some mantra meditations use a Sanskrit syllable, words or phrases which, when repeated, will help to focus the mind. These syllables are sometimes called bija sounds. The most common one is “Om,” or “Hum” which are said to be sounds or energies that have no particular meaning, that reflect the sounds of nature, and have always existed in the universe and can neither be created nor destroyed. Some people create their own mantra. You can learn a silent mantra meditation technique in the Everyday Meditation Course. Find out more here.
The Primordial Sound Meditation technique, recommended by Deepak Chopra, is a silent mantra meditation that uses ancient sounds that were present at the time or place of your birth.
Some Meditations are More Reflective
Taking the time to sing, pray, read and reflect on the meaning and purpose of life, or what we really want to include in our lives is always a nourishing.
The best known and most widely practiced example of meditation is prayer. Spoken and written prayers are found in most religious traditions. You can pray using your own words or read prayers written by others. Contemplative Prayer is practice used by some as a form of meditation.
Another method of reflection is to focus on gratitude or love. Some practices involve reading poems, spiritual works, or sacred texts silently or aloud and quietly reflect on the meaning that the words bring to mind. Listening to sacred music, spoken words or any music you find relaxing or inspiring is also a way to reflect. It's recommended to use a reflective practice as an adjunct to a silent meditation period.
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