What Is Meditation? — Your Guide To Great Meditation
Meditation… This topic always seems to pop up when talking about productivity, self-help, and getting a better quality of life.
Here are some of the questions that plagued my mind in my quest for more productivity, and I am sure I am not alone in it.
- But after all, what the heck is meditation?
- Is it a one-ticket ride to a happier and successful life?
- Is it just a bunch of major B.S. being pushed by people to sell courses and whatnot?
- Does meditation need to be spiritual?
- Does it require me to believe in a higher entity, a god?
- Will it make me rich in the long run?
- How hard is it to begin meditating?
- When can I expect results from my meditation sessions?
For that reason, I made this easy-to-read guide to get you started.
It will cut a lot of the procrastination, confusion, and misinformation surrounding meditation.
FACTS ABOUT MEDITATION
Before we begin, let’s establish some facts about meditation:
- It has existed for a long time; we can see the first recordings of a society that meditated, dating back 15000 years. And we can date back the Indian practices 5000 years.
- There are a lot of aspects of meditation that we either don’t know, don’t understand, or can’t find information on.
- Studies are still underway to determine the full spectrum of what benefits meditation causes to the body.
- It’s generally a safe practice for people of all ages. If you have movement restrictions, it’s recommended that you consult your doctor before meditating.
- While we have accounts of meditation helping with depression and anxiety, there are rare cases in which the opposite happens. So, consult your mental healthcare professional before moving on with meditation if you have had those issues in the past.
MEDITATION BENEFITS
Okay, now that we have some basic facts, let’s establish some of the benefits that meditation can bring to your life.
- Development of spirituality, which leads to better mental health and quality of life.
- Studies found evidence that Transcendental Meditation helps regulate blood pressure in patients with high blood pressure.
- Meditation may help people who are trying to quit smoking to have fewer cravings and a lesser chance of relapsing.
- Many studies associate meditative practices with health improvement in anxiety, depression, stress, and anger management. And about insomnia, it produced mixed results.
- Some studies also showed that people undergoing cancer treatment can use meditation to raise self-esteem, control mood and stress, and improve their quality of life.
- There are a lot of reports from people recognizing mindfulness meditation as one of the major factors in improving productivity and focus.
MYTHS ABOUT MEDITATION
While meditation is an all-around great activity, many myths are floating around it. Let’s address some of them.
- It helps with ADHD: The studies on this particular area are still small in number to draw this conclusion. As always, consult your healthcare professional if you have a preexisting condition.
- Meditation is effortless: While it does seem that way due to the lack of physical prowess, meditating is a skill you need to master, like any other.
- If I meditate, I’ll become super productive: That’s too general of a statement since lack of productivity can be associated with psychological disorders and habits that meditation alone can’t help with.
- “I don’t need a psychologist or psychiatrist; I can just meditate. Everything will be fine.” : No, just no… If you are having trouble with mental health issues, consult your doctors. Meditation is not a holy grail that will save you from everything.
- “Anyone can teach meditation.”: Even though anyone can pick a skill, guiding another person through a meditative state is challenging. Always check for the credentials and experience of your meditation instructor since a bad one can do more harm than good.
- “Meditation takes too much time; I don’t have the time.”: That is a common misconception, but you can meditate in sessions ranging from 5 minutes to a couple of hours. It depends on the type of meditation you are aiming for.
WHAT IS MEDITATION, AGAIN?
Now that we have taken the benefits, myths, and history out of the way, we can finally dive into the “good stuff”:
- What is meditation?;
- Types of meditation;
- How to choose which meditation process to start with;
- And resources for your meditative journey.
We can define meditation as a focused activity to achieve a state of complete self-awareness and understanding through the use of extreme concentration.
But what does that mean, exactly?
It boils down to getting full awareness of your feelings, connections with others, what is important to you, and achieving a general sense of inner peace.
Almost every meditation style has a similar process: finding a quiet place, staying in a comfortable position, and using a subject of focus, be it auditory or tactile.
The intended effect of entering this state is to be aware of your negative and positive feelings as an inevitability, not to judge them.
Some meditative styles usually suggest actions after becoming aware of such feelings; others only ask that you have an awareness of them.
The suggested actions can be as simple as forgetting about bad feelings or as complicated as visualizing scenarios, reflecting, and taking a specific action such as forgiveness or repeating a mantra (a particular phrase or word selected with purpose).
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF MEDITATION?
When we are talking about meditation, we have a lot of types and processes for it, mainly because it’s a very ancient activity, distributed in many cultures and religions through time.
Some of the most prominent types of meditation are:
- Zen: The oldest meditation style still in mainstream practice. It can be used in conjunction with yoga and other activities and as a singular activity.
- Mindfulness: The most secular style of meditation, commonly used in studies to measure the benefits of meditation. It is very welcoming to skeptics and beginners due to its streamlined process.
- Metta: Also known as loving-kindness, it uses visualizations and mantras. It can be an excellent way to deal with personal issues and become more positive.
- Mantra Meditation: Mantra Meditation can be done in many ways. It uses mantras, usually designed for improving emotional health, connections with people, concentration, or even connection with deities. The most popular form of mantra meditation practiced today is transcendental meditation.
- Contemplative Prayer: A practice used primarily in religious culture. It usually uses a passage of scripture as a repeated mantra, trying to get to the passage’s deeper meaning instead of using active interpretation. It can be coupled with fasting or not. Father Thomas Keating has adapted this into a process called Centering Prayer, made with the changes in people’s lifestyle after the mid-20th century in mind.
In my experience, meditation can have two significant connotations: religious and spiritual.
They are not exclusive, and you can have both simultaneously. The difference comes with the focus that each process has.
For instance, Mantra Meditation and Mindfulness Meditation are spiritual. And Mantra Meditation may or may not have a religious undertone.
Mantra Meditation often focuses on connections through the use of mantras. Meanwhile, mindfulness meditation usually focuses on being aware of your feelings.
That doesn’t mean that you won’t feel connected using Mindfulness Meditation. Or you won’t be able to control your feelings better with Transcendental or Mantra Meditation.
Mindfulness Meditation is what most recent studies focus on due to the secular nature of it and the very consistent process it uses.
That’s not to say that Mindfulness is better than any other; it’s just easier to use as a study tool.
Mindfulness Meditation also asks very little of the person doing it, which is a factor for beginners and skeptics.
The toe-to-toe comparison of the results is not the point; the process to achieve them is. So choose the one you are most comfortable with.
Before picking your meditation style, ask yourself: “What is my goal?”. And the answer to what type of meditation you seek will become clear.
On a final note on this part of the subject, don’t be afraid to try other styles until you find the one that fits you best.
HOW LONG DOES A MEDITATION SESSION TAKE?
A meditation session can take from minutes to hours. There is no set rule on how long your sessions should be.
Talk to your meditation instructor and ask them for how long you need to meditate.
On a different note, you can also use an online guided meditation course, video, or audio — more on this in the RESOURCES section of this post.
CHOOSING A MEDITATION PROCESS
To choose a meditation process, you need to have some self-knowledge. It’s weird to need self-awareness to do an activity to develop self-awareness and self-knowledge.
The meditation process I recommend is Mindfulness. It’s somewhat easy to get into for beginners, and it’s flexible on the time it requires per session.
Besides that, the process does not use big abstract concepts, which makes it very welcoming to people who have never meditated before.
But I made a list of questions to help guide you if you want to make up your mind. Answer them, and you will have a direction on where to go.
It follows:
- Do I like sports?
- Do I want to be more fit physically?
- Do I have a physical disability?
- Do I want to feel connected to the world?
- Do I want to have better emotional control?
- Do I want to sleep better and be happier?
- Do I want to be productive?
- Do I believe in a higher power?
- Do I believe in God?
- Am I religious?
- Am I superstitious?
- Do I believe in a connection to other beings through energy?
- Do I believe in chakras and energy flow?
- Am I skeptical of most things?
The first three questions are made to open and close possibilities; for instance, if you answered yes to the first two, you can look into some forms of Yoga that mix meditation within it or even some styles of oriental martial arts.
If you answered yes to the third one, consult a doctor before choosing a meditation process.
The following two questions relate to your goals; connecting to the world will usually align with processes such as mantra, zen, and metta meditation, while better emotional control will usually align with mindfulness.
If you answered yes to the following two questions, I suggest you consult a psychologist or psychiatrist first. You will need a system; more than meditation alone may be required and can cause some frustration.
If you already have a sound system or routine and want to enhance productivity and quality of life, look into Guided Mindfulness Meditation in the Resources section.
The other questions will help you determine if you are OK with a meditation process that invokes abstract concepts such as energy, connections, and a higher power.
Some people even relate having similar feelings that meditation gives through prayer, but there is no hard evidence to support this statement, as studies on this are scarce.
After answering all these questions, you can be closer to finding the best meditation process for you.
So, choose one and try it. Don’t be too concerned if you don’t get it right on the first try.
WHEN CAN I EXPECT RESULTS FROM MY MEDITATION SESSIONS?
It depends… Let me elaborate on that.
First of all, I assume you’ve found a meditation process that you are comfortable doing daily or, at the very least, consistently.
If so, the amount of time you put into meditation before seeing results will vary from person to person. Good meditation is a skill that you need to achieve.
Most people report early signs of positive results from the 5th to the 10th session.
For others, it may come earlier or later, as the number of hours spent can also be a factor.
Many of the results presented in studies come after eight weeks or more of daily meditation.
Some studies use hours or less time, but eight weeks is a standard metric.
From my experience with meditation, I’ve begun feeling positive results after three guided meditation sessions using Sam Harris’ Waking Up course.
More information will be in the RESOURCES section at the end of this post.
MEDITATION IS NOT A WASTE OF TIME
Now, after all this, we can agree that meditation is not some fantasy that can’t bring positive results to your life.
If you are human, you have a brain and, thus, positive and negative thoughts. So, any step toward better understanding or control of those thoughts is a step toward a better life.
Meditation can help you achieve that goal; don’t think of it as a solution to every problem or a way to get rich.
Meditation is merely a tool, a mighty one at that, to help you get a better quality of life.
To conclude this section, I’ll quote a popular saying: it helps us understand one of the benefits of meditation.
You can’t control having feelings; you can only control your response to them.
In the next section, I will leave a lot of resources about meditation: books, videos, and courses, some free and some paid.
Hopefully, this article helped you understand meditation better.
I look forward to hearing from you about your own experiences with meditation.
If you have any questions or suggestions, leave them in the comments.
I will list the resources and my recommendations below. That’s all.
Catch You Later.
FREE RESOURCES
This is the section for completely free resources you can use on your journey.
MINDFULNESS GUIDED MEDITATION
This is a guided meditation from Sam Harris, one of the leading voices in spreading mindfulness meditation worldwide. It is only a 9-minute session.
GUIDED ZEN MEDITATION
This is a guided Zen Meditation by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. It uses Buddhist mantras and sounds. While that’s not a rule, showing you a different viewpoint is proper.
GUIDED METTA (LOVING-KINDNESS) MEDITATION
This is a guided loving-kindness meditation, written and read by Kathleen Grace-Bishop with Music Performed by Cynthia Chatis. It is on the University of Hampshire YouTube channel and was meant to help students.
I think it covers all the bases, and it’s an excellent introduction to this style of meditation.
GUIDED MANTRA MEDITATION
This is a guided meditation based on the transcendental meditation guidelines. Since TM has become a trademark, in other words, it can only be taught by certified instructors, finding a good and accessible resource for it is a challenge.
You may find other examples of mantra and TM-inspired guided meditation in the works of Deepak Chopra. He knew the originator of TM (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi) personally.
GUIDED CENTERING PRAYER
This is a 30 min. Video of Fr. Thomas Keating explaining the process and purpose of Centering Prayer for the first ten minutes.
I deemed it necessary to weed out people’s misconceptions about Centering Prayer. In the next 20 minutes of the video, Fr. Thomas Keating guides you through the process.
WAKING UP WITH SAM HARRIS — APP
I know… I know… The Waking Up app asks for a US$ 99,00 annual subscription for continued access. But you can request a free account if you don’t have or can’t give this amount.
Don’t believe me? Here is the free account request page with a video of Sam Harris explaining the process to you.
GENERAL INFO ON MEDITATION
You can learn more about meditation at the following links:
- Meditation: In-Depth | NCCIH: In this link, you will find information on studies about meditation.
- r/meditation: This is a meditation subreddit with some excellent information on meditation; some are not 100% accurate, but the community is very accepting and requests help on anything it’s unsure of.
- How To Meditate | Sam Harris: This is a blog post by Sam Harris, where he talks about how to meditate and some of the benefits of meditation.
- Transcendental Meditation® Technique — Official Website: The Official Website for Transcendental Meditation.
PAID RESOURCES — BOOKS
Now, I will list some of the best books I found on meditation. I will briefly introduce each and the Amazon links to buy them.
These Amazon links are from an affiliate program, but you don’t need to use them if you don’t want to.
These books have some of the best information to get you started on meditation. And my choosing them has nothing to do with the program.
Enjoy them. I know I did.
#1 Meditation for Dummies
Meditation for Dummies was not my introduction to meditation, but I wish it were. And it’s my top recommendation for anyone interested in meditation.
It gives you an ample view of everything meditation provides, nutmegs of information on history and studies, and even more resources for you to get later on.
You can buy it on Amazon at the following links:
#2 Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-to Book
This book is a fantastic resource for people who want a more straight-to-the-point approach to meditation.
It gives you a general idea of the benefits of using meditation, and every chapter addresses your concerns about meditation.
I want to highlight the third chapter of this book: “I don’t have time for this,” as it gives you ways to use meditative tools daily during showers, elevator rides, walking, etc.
It is a must-have book on meditation, without a doubt. Most people don’t meditate due to skepticism and misconceptions about the process.
And this book handles these aspects beautifully.
You can buy it on Amazon at the following links:
- Paperback Version (Affiliate Link)
- Hardcover Version (Affiliate Link)
- Kindle Version (Not An Affiliate Link)
- Audiobook Version (Affiliate Link)
#3 Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
This book is a fantastic resource for people who want a more straight-to-the-point approach to meditation.
It gives you a general idea of the benefits of using meditation, and every chapter addresses your concerns about meditation.
I want to highlight the third chapter of this book: “I don’t have time for this,” as it gives you ways to use meditative tools daily during showers, elevator rides, walking, etc.
It is a must-have book on meditation, without a doubt. Most people don’t meditate due to skepticism and misconceptions about the process.
And this book handles these aspects beautifully.
You can buy it on Amazon at the following links:
If you are anxious before giving a speech, become willing to feel the anxiety fully, so that it becomes a meaningless pattern of energy in your mind and body. — Sam Harris, Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion, 2014
You can buy the book on Amazon at the following links:
