What is Meditation?
Simply put, meditation is when you deliberately change your state of consciousness using only your mind, body, or breath.
We are all familiar with the three main states of consciousness: The waking state (which we are in now), the dreaming state, and the sleeping state. Believe it or not, this is just the tip of the iceberg. While there are different ways people can experience altered states of consciousness, such as the reaction of a psychoactive drug, meditation is the safest and most consistent way to systematically invoke these changes in consciousness at will. These changes can be as simple as experiencing a heightened sense of perception or awareness, and as profound as experiencing a sense of communion with the universe. You can achieve this using only what you were born with: your mind, body, or breath.
Read more about the four basic categories of Meditation below.
Present Moment Awareness
Also known as Mindfulness, Present Moment Awareness techniques are all about using an anchor, such as your breath, to continually bring your attention to whatever is happening here and now. These techniques strengthen your capacity to remain focused and attentive in the present moment, as well as gaining the ability to remain at peace in the face of discomfort. If you practice this skill regularly it will eventually become integrated into your waking life and you will become mindful in every moment, even when you’re under pressure. All your experiences become very vivid as though your senses have switched to a high-definition mode. Anxieties and traumas from the past begin to fade as you become more involved in the present and less fixated on the story of how you got here.
Calm Focus
These techniques are a bit more intentional and are practiced using visualizations, chanting, music, a persons voice, or prayer as our object of attention, rather than something like the breath. This state is very similar to a trance and is extremely useful for achieving specific goals like overcoming fears, becoming more productive, or letting go of dependencies. Many athletes and business-people practice this form of meditation without even realizing that they’re meditating. It can also be of great benefit for spiritual growth, such as gaining greater compassion, acceptance and universal love.
Energized Body & Mind
In this form of meditation we are actually energizing the body and mind rather than relaxing it. When people say exercising is my mediation, this is sort of what they mean. The runners high is a common example of when inner calm is combined with maximum physical performance. These techniques are all centered around breath control and different breathing patterns. The nervous system is also stimulated and balanced leading to a feeling of flow and blissful movement. You feel tapped into a deeper source of energy and feel truly awake and aware of your body. You’ll be less prone to injuries when you run and you’ll be able to move deeper into your yoga poses. You’ll ultimately feel more attentive and awake after consistent practice.
Transcendence / Self Discovery
In these forms of meditation the ideal outcome is to transcend the ego and intellect and directly experience a deeper, unbounded aspect of the self which feels like it is beyond time, space, memory and thought. The more superficial aspects of identity fade away and we are left with a quiet and expansive state of consciousness that would best be described as “I am.” Most of the techniques for attaining this state use mantras (simple repetitive sounds) that are chosen for their calming effect. Unlike the mindfulness techniques though, you are not supposed to keep your mind fixated on the mantra, but rather, go through a cycle of repeating it and letting it go; allowing the mind to follow the mantra into quieter states of consciousness.
