In a fast and competitive world people live a hectic and harried life that exposes them to mental ailments like stress, tension, anxiety and needless fear. Though science and technology has advanced more than expectation a question arises, “is mankind more happy and relaxed compared to a hundred years ago?” The answer would be a definite “NO”. The reason is very simple but complex when tried to explain. We mindlessly run the materialistic rat race every day under the influence of immense pressure and do not allot enough time to relax and develop our mind. This daily life style that weakens mental and physical health is where the role of meditation becomes significant. Research has proved the immense psychological benefits of practicing meditation techniques in daily life. Meditation helps to overcome stress and lead a happy and fulfilling life with a healthy body and mind.
If we look in an answer for what is meditation, it can be explained in simple words as” an experience in which our mind gets calm and reaches a state of bliss”. Making it still simpler, listening to a melodious song that will soothe our mind can be also called a meditative experience. Meditation is practiced in two very popular ways, concentrative meditation and awareness meditation.
Concentrative meditation has its roots in Hinduism; it is chanting a “mantra” or a verse within our mind. The purpose of this chanting is to calm the disturbed mind and slowly lead it inward. The surface of our mind can be compared like a disturbed sea as the mind is constantly disturbed by the waves of thoughts. But, forgetting the surface, when we dive deep we find it calm. Practicing concentrative meditation for about 30 minutes in the morning and evening is a dive to your own mind and knowing yourself and feeling it calm.
Awareness Meditation has its roots in Buddhism; it does not involve chanting any mantra. Rather, we sit in a comfortable posture and detached thoughts passing through our mind. The tricks lies in not getting attached to the thoughts, rather watch them dispassionately. Practicing and when we expertise, we realize that our mind is nothing but a bundle of unconnected thought flow. All our emotions that disturb our mental harmony arise because we find a connection between independent and unconnected thoughts. Awareness meditation makes us detached from our thoughts to overcome negative energy and negative emotions like fear, jealousy, discontentment, lust and worry lying within our disturbed mind.
Benefits of Meditation
In both form of meditation to get a result one has to be sincere to oneself, discipline and regular to practice is required at a fixed time. Being optimistic and to understand the fact that Inner bliss is not reserved for enlightened masters is required. Try to enjoy meditation and be playful rather than being too serious and tight about it. Try to enjoy silence and solitude. Soon we tend to understand ourselves and can enjoy the happiness within us. We realize that this life is a gift of god and what ever happening is his divine play, will shed your ego and create a love for everyone and everything we see around.
Meditation for Beginners:
Beginnings are very difficult and distractive but one should not lose focus and we gradually realize the change in us and heaven within us though the results are not immediate. Patience and focus is the basic mantra.