Meditation is one if the most important aspects of a successful lifestyle. When we consciously adopt this practice, we contemplate and dive into the depths of our existence. We reflect about our being, and try to figure out the very meaning of our lives. Why do we live? Are we brought here simply to fully live our lives, striving to afford all means of a sumptuous lifestyle? And then abandon everything when death draws near? Or there is a lofty and supreme reason behind?
In a world urging everyone to take part in its bustling endless motion, we seem to be very busy people, and our lives are filled with distractions and stressors. Without meditation, we can be carried along by various influences without ever contemplating anything. That is a very dangerous way to live, because then we can easily lose our way in life, going whatever the wind blows us rather than directing our life course towards the ultimate wisdom of us being in this world !
It seems that adults and children alike suffer increasingly from a constant crisis of inattention, lack of focus, inability to maintain progress toward goals. Students claim teachers aren't explaining things well enough, when in reality the students are not engaging their minds enough during the lessons. For people performing prayers, they claim their prayers aren't benefitting them enough, when in reality they lack presence of heart and mind in their worship. They are merely going through motions, without truly being engaged in worship.
Meditation can be described as the development of the presence of body, heart, and mind in contemplation. Actually, it is mostly inspired from religious practices like prayers. Indeed, it is an essential exercise in most of religions around the world, as it engages the worshiper in a spiritual development of their relationship with their creator.
This meditation during these acts opens and strengthens a connection between God and the human being. That connection helps that person to be guided to Truth and maintain internal peace despite all of life’s distractions and challenges. The prayers provide a beginning to the remembrance of God and wakeful meditation and worship throughout the whole day, even while the person is engaged in necessary tasks.
Forms of meditation
Meditation has not only spiritual benefit but worldly benefit, and can be a means for healing and finding creative solutions to difficult problems. One form of meditation is called "reflection". It refers to the act of contemplating upon the universe or pondering the creation of Almighty God. It is a means of intellectual development that awakens and liberates the mind to help it achieve higher levels of growth.
In a more worldly sense, people have used detailed visualization of upcoming stressful events such as giving speeches, running races, or undergoing medical treatments going ideally in order to ease anxiety and contribute to better outcomes of these events.
Sensating is yet another method of meditation, sometimes intermingled with visualization, that is extremely effective. Sensating often needs to be done before contemplation or prayer to help a person be fully present and engaged in what he is doing. Sensating helps a person to focus, eliminate distractions, and release tension and stress.
Checking In is one of the most basic forms of sensating meditation. This is a developmental practice to help eliminate distracting thoughts, lighten anxiety, and stress. It is done by sitting erect with eyes closed at the edge of a seat, feet on the ground, and focusing on just being aware of every sensation: the way each part of the body feels, searching out tension in any body part and relaxing it, noting thoughts that come and go while not following any of them, being aware of sounds, feeling of clothes against the skin, feeling of the rise and fall of breath, feeling of the eyes in their sockets, etc. This is the most common type of meditation, even among people with no religious or spiritual background.
Engaging in these sensating meditative practices for a few minutes can help ready a person to perform with increased concentration and meditation, making it a more spiritually rewarding experience. Adopting meditation as a regular practice can help one extend it to a constant activity rather than a fleeting moment and can help a person achieve power of mind and body, as well as spiritual growth.