Meditation Explained - Learn How To Meditate

If you want to bring about positive changes in your attitude towards life, you must start your journey of the science of meditation right away. Rest assured this journey will be richly rewarded with beneficial physiological effects on body and mind, as per the medical fraternity's growing consensus on the effects of meditation.

But what is meditation? Meditation is a state where you consciously relax your mind and body and focus it on some constructive thought. Experienced practitioners have documented the heightened awareness and better concentration that is the outcome of meditation. This state creates a sense of well-being that makes you develop a positive outlook and ability to handle your problems in life better.

Meditation benefits everybody, be it a monk, spiritual disciple, mystic or a worldly householder. It is a myth that you have to practice austere body-twisting disciplines and go to isolated places of worship to practice meditation. You could even meditate in your own home.

Different schools of thought exist on how to do meditation, but all follow the same fundamentals. Meditation is the removal of the obstructing and wandering negative thoughts and dreams that crowd the ordinary mind and attaining a deep calm state of mind. This mind-cleansing paves the way for higher realms of activity.

When you try to meditate, you will be surprised to note all the myriad thoughts that come to mind. One moment you may hate your noisy neighbors, the next you will be thinking of your bossy colleagues, that recent parking ticket or the abhorred spam. Such negative thoughts crowd the mind, contributing to mental pollution which should be removed to make way for constructive positive state of mind.

Some practice meditation by shutting out all input which is sensory i.e. inputs provided by sight, sound and touch while attempting to rise above the commotion surrounding them. Then they focus on some profound thought supporting their goal. You are so much habituated to the sense of hearing and seeing that you may feel uncomfortable when you try to shut these senses out, but as you persevere, you become much more deeply aware of your surroundings.

There is no need to contort your body into all sorts of impossible postures you see on the television. You may sit cross-legged or take any comfortable position which will enable you to concentrate. The basic requirement is a comfortable position which will help you relax all your bodily tensions and allow you to focus your mind for a start. One precaution is you must keep your back straight but relaxed, so as to avoid slouching and entering the realm of sleep unawares. You should wear comfortable loose clothes as tight clothing adds to your muscular tension.

A soothing atmosphere helps relax the senses. So you may choose such a place for meditation. You may also need an exercise mat in case you think you might need to stretch to perform any particular postures of yoga. The place should be quiet and away from humdrum noises like the washing machine chugging or the telephones ringing, as silence is conducive to relaxation and meditation. Pleasing scents are also great relaxants so you could use aromatic candles too, if you wish.

You may have seen the monks making monotonous repetitions of a particular sound on television. They are performing a short creed or a simple mantra which for them has a mystic value. This is not essential for you. You may wish to focus your attention on any repetitive action such as breathing, humming or simply on a certain thought or object or sight, with eyes open, which will take you to heightened awareness. One wonderful way is to lead your conscious attention through your every body part turn by turn and be aware of the tension there. Then mentally imagine that this tension has been released, leading to total relaxation.

The soothing effects of meditation flood each and every nook and corner of your mind and body. So this risk-free science of meditation is definitely worth incorporating in your daily lifestyle.