Meditation is a very old practice that has been around since.......well.... the dawn of time! It involves focusing your consciousness to accomplish a wide variety of spiritual practices .There are a lot of types of meditation but the most important ones have been the first ones to ever be embraced by the general public.
- Buddhist meditation uses the practice of Tantra to awaken their inner self and reach a state of higher psyche. There are many forms of this ancient type of meditation and some of those are taught in school, thus keeping sure the tradition continues.
- Christian meditation is a very light form of meditation that is closely linked to the act of praying, because true meditation is not permitted in the Christian religion
- Gnostic or modern meditation is a fairly new type of meditation that is adored by millions, especially non-English speaking people. The term “Gnostic” refers to the knowledge people get from this type of meditation, usually about mysteries such as life and death.
- Hinduism meditation- a branched form of meditation with clear subgroups such as the Vedanta which is a form of yoga
- Islam meditation- not a true type of meditation but something practiced by many followers of Islam
- Judaism meditation –it's a self taught meditation that concentrates on the power of the individual to absorb knowledge
- Secular meditation- a very blank type of meditation developed recently that voids the meditation domain of any mystical content and promotes health as a main part of the routines.
Most of the techniques, if not all incorporate the use of mind body and soul into the progress to guarantee results fast and there is often the saying that if meditation does not bring a big change in your lifestyle then it is in vain.
The best purpose one can have for meditation is to stage it as a part of a new refined lifestyle. There is no greater satisfaction than to see that meditation has improved your relationship with others and that you can now feel more alive and ready to interact with others! As a general guideline most forms of meditation discourage the use of drugs, but one of the branches uses hashish to gain a higher spiritual level.
The position that a practicing person must take is a very strict and is common in all forms of meditation: legs crossed, eyes forward and a body perpendicular to the ground. The straight back is supposed to guide the vital energy down through your body whereas the hand gestures you will perform carry a spiritual meaning. Mediation must be done in a quiet room following the strict steps indicated, there must be no deviation from the recipe or the session will have to be restarted. Some people use humming and deep breathing as a substitute for silence and that is permitted too; keeping in mind that the rhythm must not be changed drastically .The duration of each meditation session is determined by the individual and is in no way restricted by any of the methods used