Although meditation has been around for many years, it has become much more popular and widely used today. At one time, when we thought of meditation, we thought of an elderly person sitting in the middle of a room with legs crossed in a deep trance. This may not be exactly what meditation is all about, but it's very similar. The actual word 'meditation' originated from the Latin word 'meditatio' which means contemplation. Meditation is being in a deep state of concentration with our attention on a specific thought or object. In the eastern religions, meditation has been highly recognized and used for over 5,000 years.
There are different types of meditation. Mindful meditation involves the people sitting silently and comfortably while centering their attention on a certain object or process such as a sound or thought. The meditator is encouraged to keep an open focus and not be afraid to shift from one process or object to another. In concentration meditation, the meditator will be focusing on once specific object or thing without switching to something else. Their entire focus should stay on just one thing. A concentration meditation is the form most widely used in spiritual and religious practices. Whereas meditation used to be performed with the meditator sitting down, now many people can perform successful walking meditation.
Meditation is widely used today as a means to relieve stress and tension. Although many people think they are so busy they don't have one minute for them to just think a single thought. However, it's been proven that even ten to fifteen minutes of solid meditation can greatly relieve tension, irritability and stress, thus giving us more time because we are feeling more relaxed and less rushed.
Meditation is something that needs to be learned and practiced, but once mastered, can help almost anyone. You have to be in a comfortable position and, if sitting, must use good posture. Most people actually find that they can meditate better if they are sitting cross-legged. Although this is not a necessity, if it helps you to relax quicker, that's the important thing. It helps us to learn our own mind as well as how we think and why. Once you've learned how to meditate, you'll be able to turn your negative thoughts into positive thoughts very quickly.
Although Hinduism is the oldest forms of religion to practice meditation, many other religions practice different forms of meditation, without realizing or acknowledging it this way. The Catholic religion, for instance, is performing meditation when they are praying the rosary, which is concentrating on one specific object.
There are many books available where you can learn more about meditation as well as seminars throughout the world.
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