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Jill Cooledge
Meditation definition Meditation is a mental and physical course of action that a person uses to separate themselves from their thoughts and feelings in order to become fully aware.
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It plays a part in virtually all religions although some don’t use the word ‘meditation’ to describe their particular meditative or contemplative practice.
"Promoting good health and boosting the immune system" Meditation does not always have a religious element. It is a natural part of the human experience and is increasingly used as a therapy for promoting good health and boosting the immune system. Anyone who has looked at a sunset or a beautiful painting and felt calm and inner joy, while their mind becomes clear and their perception sharpens, has had a taste of the realm of meditation.
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Successful meditation means simply being - not judging, not thinking, just being aware, at peace and living each moment as it unfolds.
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Types of meditation The four types of meditation A useful way of understanding the diversity of meditation practices is to think of the different types of meditation. These practices are known as:
Concentrative Generative Receptive Reflective
www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/customs/meditation_1. shtml
Jill Cooledge
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This isn’t a traditional list - it comes from modern meditation teachers who draw on more than one Asian Buddhist tradition. Neither are there hard and fast distinctions.
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Jill Cooledge
A particular meditation practice usually includes elements of all four approaches but with the emphasis on one particular aspect.
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Brief 7
Jill Cooledge
1. Concetrative meditation This the most common and basic object of concentrative meditation is to focus on the naturally calming physical process of the breath.
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Jill Cooledge
2. Generative meditation An example of a ‘generative’ practice is the ‘development of loving kindness’ meditation (metta bhavana). This helps the person meditating to develop an attitude of loving kindness using memory, imagination and awareness of bodily sensations.
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Brief 7
Jill Cooledge
3. Receptive meditation The mindfulness of breathing or the metta bhavana meditation practice, a balance needs to be struck between consciously guiding attention and being receptive to whatever experience is arising.
www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/customs/meditation_1. shtml
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Brief 7
Jill Cooledge
3. Receptive meditation Sometimes such practices are simply concerned with being mindful. In zazen or ‘just sitting’ practice from the Japanese Zen tradition, one sits calmly, aware of what is happening in one’s experience without judging, fantasising or trying to change things.
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Brief 7
Jill Cooledge
3. Receptive meditation Zazen and dzogchen practices gain depth from the underlying belief in the significance of being in the present moment.
www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/customs/meditation_1. shtml
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Brief 7
Jill Cooledge
4. Reflective meditation Reflective meditation involves repeatedly turning your attention to a theme but being open to whatever arises from the experience.
www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/customs/meditation_1. shtml
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Brief 7
Jill Cooledge
4. Reflective meditation Reflective practices in Buddhism include meditations on impermanence and interconnectedness as well as faith enhancing practices such as meditation on the qualities of the Buddha.
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Meditation Posture Positions & Preparation
Jill Cooledge
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The classical meditation position is ‘the lotus position’. This involves sitting cross-legged with the left foot on top of the right thigh and the right foot on top of the left thigh. If you can’t manage that it is still good to sit on the floor either kneeling or cross-legged with enough support to have both knees on the ground and the back erect without having to strain.
"A chair is perfectly acceptable" It is possible to meditate in any stable posture that keeps the spine straight. Sitting quietly in a chair is perfectly acceptable.
Brief 7
Jill Cooledge
Meditation Research Claims Scientists have discovered that regular meditation appears to actually increase the size of the brain.
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In the latest research scans revealed significantly larger amounts of grey matter in people who had been mediating long term. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed their hippocampus – a key area of the brain associated with memory and learning – was bigger.
"Emotion also larger"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/5325373/Meditation-makes-people-more-intelligent-by-growing-the-brain.html
Other parts linked to emotion were also larger than in people who did not practise the ancient technique. The finding was made by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, who published the results in the journal NeuroImage.
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Jill Cooledge
The MRI scans showed "significantly larger cerebral measurements in meditators".
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Jill Cooledge
These areas of the brain are closely linked to emotion, Ms Luders said, "these might be the neuronal underpinnings that give meditators’ the outstanding ability to regulate their emotions and allow for well-adjusted responses to whatever life throws their way".
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