Kinds Of Meditation: Two Main Divisions

By Jane Michael

Meditation enhances creativity, intelligence, and increases memory. It improves the ability to learn. It increases energy and engenders calm. Our body gathers the tension from fears and pain, but meditation helps to alleviate tenseness and to clear the mind, which helps to lessen fear.

There are two basic divisions in meditation as far as technique. One is insight meditation; it teaches you to concentrate on one point as a method for cultivating quietness and peace. The other is concentration meditation. It involves a relaxation response. One form of concentration meditation is transcendental meditation.

There is a difference between meditation as a practice and a meditative state. The meditative practice has methods, ways, and rules and is purposed and is intended. While meditative states occur naturally. Sometimes when someone is very relaxed this will occur without meditative practice. It can occur during meditative practice and also spontaneously.

There are two forms of meditative practice. One form tries to quiet the mind. Some call it the monkey mind because this refers to the hopping from one random thought to another that often happens. The idea is to make the mind be still. The means used to do this are chanting, staring at a candle, and breathing exercises. The other form watches the mind racing along without judgment as to whether the thoughts are good or bad, but they just are; they exist. It is a method of not approving or disapproving, only viewing the action of the mind.

The first type of meditation according some experts should not be practiced without supervision because it can be deceptive and make you feel like you have had an unusual experience when you have not. The reason is that it is a self-induced state of hypnosis and this encourages the ego to get wound up and imagine other things that arent correct. It is best done with supervision because the mind becomes so open.

The second kind of meditation is considered insight meditation. It isnt as strong of a meditation; it emphasizes being calm. It doesnt need a particular sitting position. It can be done anywhere. The concept is to just notice what is happening around you and stay calm or become calm. Once you have learned to do this, you dont need it any longer. Some experts think you should stop once you have learned to be calm. They consider this meditation a type of medicine that should be stopped once the disease of agitation and nervousness or anxiousness has been cured.

It is good advice to seek professional help, knowledge, experience, and insight before you start any serious meditation. After all, this is your mind that you are dealing with and as with any other treatment you want a competent professional to help you. It makes sense to be just as careful about what you do with your mind as it does being careful about what you do with your body. Guided self-help through meditation is your best avenue to fruitful meditation.

About the Author: Jane Michael is the head writer at the Center for Meditation.

Kriya Meditation Technique

is her practice and her passion.

Goals of Kriya Meditation

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