More Meditation Techniques: Descartes and Mindfulness Meditation

Through the centuries, various techniques on meditation have been developed by its practitioners. Some of them branch out from original religious meditative rituals, while some adopt new philosophies as taught by their founders. Here are some variations in the techniques that are used by persons who practice meditation.

Descartes Meditation

            This meditation describes the principles and philosophical thoughts by renowned philosopher and scholar Rene Descartes. Descartes lived in 1596 to 1650, and is considered to be the father of western philosophy. His interests also lie in the field of science and mathematics, with a number of notable contributions to knowledge pool of the world.

Descartes meditation was written around 1647 as an outline of the philosophies he taught. There are six parts to this meditation, each analyzing various aspects of the school of thought by Descartes. At present, these meditations are available in books and audio tapes, as well as podcasts.

          In the first part of this technique, Descartes tries to reanalyze everything that he believed in ever since he was a child to establish truth in science. As a youngster, Descartes was already skeptical about the world around him. In the second part, Descartes’ theory with regards to the real nature of the human mind is expounded, and he introduces a theory called representationalism, which, in simple terms basically means “a person’s consciousness verifies his existence.” Descartes explains that the human mind is more easily understood than the body.

The third part of Descartes meditation states that there are three classifications of thoughts, and they are volitions, affections and judgement. In this third meditation, Descartes also stresses that God exists. In the fourth part of Descartes’ meditation, Descartes basically raises the following questions: If God, who is perfect, is the source of everything that is on earth, then why are there wrongdoings in this world? In the fifth part, Descartes says that all his knowledge of the truth and everything else came from God. And the sixth part of this technique concludes that these three things exist: God, self, and other material things.  According to him, these are what reality is comprised of.

Mindfulness Meditation

            Mindfulness meditation is like an anti-self destruct form of meditation, most especially when one is faced to deal with life’s stressful situations. Negative emotions such as anger, disappointment, frustrations and stress are harmful to us and our health, that’s why this meditation helps us in being healthy. Instead of avoiding those stressful situations, mindfulness meditation allows us to face and accept them and solve them by using a sound mind.

          Mindfulness meditation is done without having to concentrate on one certain thought or object. One simply allows his thoughts to parade through his mind, whether they are positive or not. As the thoughts pass through, the meditation practitioner does not allow himself to react, judge, or analyze what the thoughts mean. This practice should not be confused with concentration meditation, which requires the intent focus on a particular point in order to meditate clearly.