Beginners introduction to meditation, WHAT YOU NEED to know

READ THIS BEFORE YOU MEDITATE



Welcome back growth family or welcome to The Growth Family.
Today is an introduction to meditation 

To summarise meditation to a simple sentence I would say that meditation is the practice of thinking deeply or focusing your mind for a set period of time. However, it is used for far more than just that. 
There are so many benefits to meditation, some of which have been scientifically proven such as helping with chronic illnesses like depression, heart disease and chronic pain. However, not everyone who meditates mediates for these benefits specifically. Actually, the most popular use of meditation is for stress management. Other than this other common reasons people meditate for is a clear mind, to improve mental health, work on their chakras and/or identify physical problems with their body.
There are 7 types of meditation:
  1. Mindfulness meditation 
  2. Transcendental 
  3. Guided 
  4. Vipassana Meditation 
  5. Metta (Loving-kindness) meditation 
  6. Chakra meditation 
  7. Yoga meditation 

Mindfulness Meditation 

This is the most popular one and it can be done pretty much anywhere, anytime. As suggested by the word mindfulness, this meditation is about being aware of your thoughts without getting lost in them.


Transcendental Meditation


Transcendental means to transcend spiritually and therefore get closer to the spiritual realm as it is believed to be bliss is the highest vibration we can achieve therefore by repeating something for a period of time to create relaxation and rest we can get closer to the spiritual realm. 


Guided Meditation 

Guided meditation is where you have use imagery or visualisation to meditate with a main area of focus. The most common of this today in the western world is listening to an individual speak telling you what to focus on, there are many resources such as apps and videos on the internet that provide this. it is also possible to have a guided meditation by involving other senses. 


Vipassana Meditation 

Self-transformation through self-observation by paying attention to the physical sensations of the body and then the insight this provides. To do this effectively it requires the individual abstaining from intoxicants, killing, lying, stealing & sexual activities. 


Metta (Loving-kindness) Meditation 

The Theravadin scholar Acharya Buddharakkhita said of Metta, "The Pali word metta is a multi-significant term meaning loving-kindness, friendliness, goodwill, benevolence, fellowship, amity, concord, inoffensiveness and non-violence. The Pali commentators define metta as the strong wish for the welfare and happiness of others (parahita-parasukha-kamana). ... True metta is devoid of self-interest. It evokes within a warm-hearted feeling of fellowship, sympathy and love, which grows boundless with practise and overcomes all social, religious, racial, political and economic barriers. Metta is indeed a universal, unselfish and all-embracing love." (source ThoughtCo). So to conduct a Metta mediation you will meditate as usual and have unconditional loving wishes for everyone. 

Chakra Meditation 

This is all about balancing all off the 7 chakras which are: the Root Chakra, the Sacral Chakra, the Solar Plexus Chakra, the Heart Chakra, the Throat Chakra, the 3rd Eye Chakra & the Crown Chakra. There is so much to talk about when it comes to chakra's so I will have to save it all for another day. 


Yoga Meditation 

Yoga is also very popular in western society. Done properly it can be used as a form of meditation by doing the correct postures with controlled breathing exercises to help relaxation and also flexibility. 



How to mediate:


You need a growth mindset for this, it's like skipping for the first time (in the sense that you're going to keep messing up but just keep on trying and you'll get better, not in the sense that you're jumping up and down LOL).


Most importantly, get comfortable in a position you can stay in for a while. it could be sitting crossed-legged on the floor or straight legs on the bed or on a chair etc, the most important thing is that your back is straight. Keep water nearby & go toilet beforehand so you don't get interrupted with the urge to pee (or worse). 


Feel free to set a timer. I would recommend either 5 or 10 minutes because anything more will probably feel like a decade. 


Now close your eyes 

Breath, I prefer to breathe in through the nose out through the mouth at first then progress just through my nose but do what's most comfortable for you. 


Keep breathing calmly for the remainder of that time. 


That's the foundation for most meditations. 


When doing a mindfulness meditation you'll find that loads of random thoughts pop into your head, depending on your aim and the nature of the thought you can either pop them like a bubble or analyses and think through whatever it is that popped up since those are the things that are running through your mind. These meditations bring our subconscious mind into our consciousness so that's exactly what is happening when you're trying to clear your mind and focus on your breathing but you keep on having all these thoughts. 



Thank you for the read Growth Family, that's it for today!

Remember to follow the blog!






















Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Being Independent in University and life

Image
Being Independent in University and Life Welcome back blog family.  It's your Grandad AO and The Growth Never Stops .  EVERYBODY NEEDS INDEPENDENCE , especially people going to university. University most definitely teaches people independence by throwing them in the deep-end. Forcing us students to cook and learn how to fend for ourselves. Even force ourselves to go into our most hated lectures at 9AM! But with saying that, you can easily be a university student and not be independent.  We all need to understand that IT IS ONLY US ON OUR JOURNEY'S in life. I'm not saying that we are all alone in this walk of lives or that we don't have people there for us such as friends and family. What I am saying is we are the only ones who go through exactly what we go through when we go through it. WE are the only one who decide where we go on this journey with our actions. I don't believe anyone's purpose on this earth is to be a follower, yes some peo
Read more

EFFICIENCY

Image
EFFICIENCY  Im sure we all know what efficiency is. I'm not here to explain the concept of efficiency. I'm here to say that we need to start being much more efficient with our time.  There is nothing wrong with being in the gym or library for 3 hours. But what are we actually doing in those 3 hours. Am I on my phone for most of the time there? If I am then I'm really wasting my time in there.  MAKE SURE YOU ARE BEING AS EFFICIENT AS YOU CAN BE. DOING THIS CAN HELP YOU GET MORE DONE IN THE DAY AND WILL ALLOW YOU TO GET THE BEST RESULTS IN THE SHORTEST AMOUNT OF TIME.  THERE IS NO POINT IN WASTING YOUR TIME WHEN YOU HAVE THINGS TO DO.  For example I don't always need to talk in my YouTube videos and podcast for 10 20 mins just to get a single point across all the time, which is why this video is my shortest one yet.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. The message is the same but the delivery is different... If you would like to liste
Read more

2020 PLAN

Image
PLAN 2020! Not to spread panic or anything but 2020 IS HERE! THE END OF THE DECADE. ( New decade starts 2021)  This upcoming year for me is personally quiet a substantial one as I will have finally have completed education.  There's so much I want to achieve and if your reading this there is a chance you want to achieve lots too. Or even know someone close to your heart who you want to achieve great things.  Let's all be successful this year.  The one thing that I think will help so many of us be successful this year is by having a plan for the year.  NOO we do not need to plan every single little detail or anything close to that. First thing first if we are going to have a plan, that means we are going to need to know what we actually want to have achieved, done, obtained by the end of the year.  If you are anything like me then you are thinking the same as me, but what do I really even want by the end of the year. With me, I know what I want i
Read more