Different types of meditation
BUDDHIST MEDITATION
ZAZEN MEDITATION
TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION
VIPASSANA MEDITATION
KABBALAH MEDITATION
MANTRA MEDITATION
SUFI MEDITATION
DZOGHEN MEDITATION
CHAKRA MEDITATION
Buddhist Meditation Or Full Mind Meditation
Buddhist Meditation Or Full Mind Meditation Buddhist meditation, also called complete mind meditation, tries to keep the mind totally focused on the present moment. Not in the past, not in the future, not in mental connotations, right in the present, here and now.
Our mind is one of the best tools that we have but the lack of knowledge of how to use it makes us slaves of our mind. Most people unfortunately do not know how to differentiate themselves from the things of the mind.
Buddha says, our mind is like a chain of reactions and desires and this is because we trap ourselves in this undoing of reactions, ceasing to experience the true meaning of life.
Ex. – When you eat an apple, our mind can say “I would feel better if I eat a banana”, then you change and instead of an apple you like a banana and when you are eating the banana, your mind says “I would feel better if I eat pineapple “because pineapple is supposed to be more expensive, and harder to get. Once you get the pineapple this continues unabated.
Another way to explain this technique of feeling fully in the present time would be when you do an activity such as cooking or driving. Normally the unconscious mind will be elsewhere thinking about the past or the future. Things we should not have said in our last conversation or all the things we have to do once we get the place we have in mind or imagine conversations with which the mind revolves.
For the mind there is no difference between the real and our mental dialogue, both produce feelings, emotions and ultimately actions. Then those actions create reactions also known as the cycle of karma.
“All diseases, all superficial, all pain, all miseries are the result of one thing: keep the negativity inside you” Yogi Bhajan.
Meditating with the whole mind is about keeping the mind in here and now enjoying the present moment with all your attention. The technique is simple just keep your attention on the breath. This is very easy to say but for an untrained mind it can be difficult to maintain a point of attention for more than 3 minutes.
Another common disturbance of the mind is “mental connotations” . In some situations the mind always searches the memory bench for situations where we had the same experience or similar feelings. This happens so quickly that instead of seeing or feeling that particular moment as unique, the mind immediately jumps to what it was like for you in past situations.
Therefore, you are not really seeing what it is because you are connecting with experiences that happened to you in the past.
ZAZEN MEDITATION
Zazen meditation in Zen Buddhism. In Japan it means sitting in Zen or sitting in concentration. It is about the experience of emptiness, of nothingness.
The way to do it is by counting the breaths. For example, one, two …
The focus on breathing is total and if any distraction arises you must start the account again. This is why some beginners are faster than others.
The challenge of keeping the mind totally focused on breathing is to experience the vacuum. The act of expelling any mental disturbance outside prevents you from arriving at the experience of emptiness. Therefore a firm and total determination to be fully present centered on breathing will be necessary before we begin.
TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION
Transcendental meditation got its fame in the 60s and 70s because the Beatles began to meditate with the guidance of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Nowadays the organization has been growing they have 1200 centers in 108 cities.
This technique tries to repeat a sacred mantra. It is recommended to do it twice a day in the morning and in the afternoon, 20 minutes each session.
It is not a religious organization, although they claim that the repetition of the mantra brings you closer to the gods. And it is said that over 5 million people practice this technique today.
VIPASSANA MEDITATION or PENETRATING MEDITATION
Vipassana meditation means seeing things as they really are. It is original from India. It was re-discovered by Gotama Buddha more than 2500 years ago and was used as a remedy for some diseases.
The technique is based on observation. With the observation of the things of the mind the person can take control over the mind. The chain of actions and reactions comes from consciousness and suffering and negativity go out.
Of course this does not happen in one night. A practice is required. There are free help courses, no person receives remuneration. Everything is paid for by donations.
The courses are divided into different steps;
The first step is about “behavior”. The applicant should not be involved with any of the following activities; killing, stealing, having sexual activity, talking falsely or intoxicating. The goal is to calm the mind so much that it can prepare you for observation.
The second step is to maintain concentration in the breathing, in the activity that is in the nostrils. The goal is to develop mastery over the mind while maintaining focus in the present moment.
The third step consists of observing the sensations of the body and not reacting to them. The challenge is to understand the sensations of the body, develop equality and learn not to react to them.
Finally the fourth step tries to emanate love and good everywhere. The goal is to develop purity and love.
MEDITATION KABBALAH
kabbalah meditation began to be taught by Jewish spiritual leaders. They believe that meditation will bring closeness to God. One of these techniques is visualizing the name of God.
There are different meditations. Beginners can start with a so-called Shema meditation. Shema means hearing in Hebrew. The meditation is done by inhaling and exhaling and producing the “sh” sound. Then inhaling and exhaling making the sound “mm” until you feel deepen within the meditative state of the mind.
Another technique of Kabbalah to realize this meditative state in focusing on Shviti before meditation. Shviti is a line in the Psalm 16.
MANTRA MEDITATION
The songs of sacred sounds have always been a pleasant way of focusing the mind. This type of meditation is very powerful and effective because of the vibration effect of its sounds.
The sound is produced when the vibration reaches the eardrum, and brought to the mind. This explains that sound is vibration. Specific vibrations can stimulate the endocrine system, especially the pituitary gland “the master gland” and the pineal gland located in the head.
Singing the mantra keeps the mind busy while you breathe in a specific pattern. It’s like when you sing a song, the pattern of your breathing becomes the same as the singer’s breathing patterns.
Mantras are made of “basic sounds”The mantras are made of “basic sounds”. Vibrating sounds are specific sounds that when triggered produce a frequency. There are 84 meridian points on the palate and when we stimulate them with the “vibrating sound” we produce a specific frequency. This frequency passes from the hypothalamus to the pituitary gland. Then the release of hormones takes place and a change occurs in the mood, in the emotions and healing begins.
Through a PET scanner, used as a mechanism to observe and study the brain, it was possible to study changes in the brain while chanting the SA TA NA MA mantra. After singing the mantra there was a strong displacement in the brain activity of the right frontal and parental regions. These changes indicate an improvement in mood and alertness.
The vibrations of the sounds also stimulate the vagus nerve (this nerve affects the neck, jaw, heart, lungs, intestinal trachea and muscles of the back), the nadis and the chakras.
SUFI MEDITATION
Sufism is the way of the heart. They believe that pure devotion comes from the subjugation of the low self, or ego. Through this love for God comes the union of the lover with the beloved.
Different paths of Sufi use different meditation techniques. The Naqshbandi order uses the energy of love to go beyond the mind. The first step in focusing on the feeling of love, activate the heart chakra. For this purpose you can think of God or a friend or relative, something that is easy for you to start with. They believe that the feeling of love overcomes the process of thinking by leading the person to the empty state of mind.
The meditations are silent. Through meditation they cultivate silence, listen, attention and emptiness.
DZOGHEN MEDITATION
The Dzogchen meditation, pronounced Zog-chen, is known as the natural path in Tibetan Buddhism. This type of meditation is practiced by the Dalai Lama.
Dzogchen meditation does not use any special breathing, mantra or levels of concentration. It is considered the most natural type of concentration.
Sometimes it is practiced with open eyes. This meditation works with the factor that everything you need you have to look for is within you.
The three bases of Dzogchen meditation are “just sitting,” “just breathing,” “just being.”
CHAKRA MEDITATIONCHAKRA MEDITATION
Chakra meditation works with the chakras. The chakras are visualized as spirals of energy vertices.
There are several Chakras in our entire body, but the best known are seven (if we count the solar plexus there would be eight).
Each Chakra is associated with a color and different characteristics. Meditation is guided and is done with the concentration of the mind on these vertex energies and their qualities.
