While there are many different types of meditation within two general classifications: Concentrative and Mindfulness. Among these classifications there are various types of meditation; including Zen meditation, Buddhist meditation, Vipassana meditation, and Transcendental meditation. In concentrative meditation, you focus on clearing your mind to provide you with greater concentration, awareness and clarity. In mindfulness meditation, you open your mind to become more aware of the things around you, such as scents, sounds and thoughts.
The easiest way to engage in concentrative meditation is to sit quietly and focus on your breathing. Relax and count your breaths as you breathe through your nose. Take deep breaths, hold them and let them out slowly. This helps you to get oxygen into the lowest portions of your lungs. There are times when you mind may wander, but you refocus on your breathing to get rid of your thoughts. You can also focus on an object when meditating or you may want to repeat a phrase or a word.
This is called mantra meditation in which you can choose to repeat the word or phrase aloud or silently in your head. If you are agitated or worried about something, your breathing will be short and fast when you first start this type of meditation. As you start to relax, your breathing will slow down and become regulated. As you focus on your breathing or on an object, your mind will become absorbed with the regulation of your breathing and all other thoughts will vanish from your mind.
Zen meditation is one type of concentrative meditation in which you concentrate on the functioning of the heart. There are three main aims in this form:
- to develop the power of concentration
- to awaken your inner sense of wisdom
- to recognize the action of the Supreme Being on your inner self
The idea is that once you are able to rid yourself of the thoughts of everyday life, you can reach that inner sense of peace that exists in everyone. It helps to calm the mind and body to give you insight into the nature of your existence. You must be patient and persistent in meditating in order for your mind to become clear. Mindfulness meditation involves a passing parade of thoughts, emotions and images through your mind. You sit in a meditating position and instead of trying to banish the thoughts from your mind, you allow them to enter.
You do acknowledge that they are present but you don’t concentrate on them. This allows you to develop a calm approach to your problems so that you don’t react quickly. Instead of focusing on one individual thought or scene, you allow each though to become part of the bigger picture. It trains your mind to meditate on things in your life over which you have no control so that you have a heightened sense of inner peace that will enable you to go on with your life in spite of extreme difficulties.
When you practice Buddhist meditation, you engage in a variety of meditative techniques that will help you develop greater powers of concentration, insight, mindfulness and inner peace. These techniques are based on the writings and practices of Buddha as part of the part to Enlightenment and Nirvana. It is not only practitioners of Buddhism that engage in this and other types of meditation. They are very useful for physical and mental health in addition to the spiritual health of the body.
Transcendental meditation is one of the relatively new types of meditation in comparison with Yoga and Buddhist meditation. It was developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1957 as a way of developing the mind so that a person can rise above, or "transcend," beyond the noise and stress of daily life. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was a student of the famous Hindu Guru, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati. From 1958 onwards, he travelled the world teaching his spiritual regeneration and enlightenment.
Vipassana meditation differs from the modern Buddhist traditions and in some non-sectarian forms in that it includes any meditation technique that cultivates insight including analytic meditation, contemplation, observations, and introspection about types of meditation and experience. Therefore, it can include a wide range of types of meditation techniques across lineages. One of the most widely practiced forms of Vipassana meditation is a freely taught, non-sectarian form of teaching that has been integrated into the educational system in India, as well as in prisons across the world.