Chapter 3

by EdySutio

The Types Of Meditation

As you will learn the further you look into meditation, there are many different types of meditation.  Some are very ancient methods that have been used for thousands of years by various cultures.  Others are much more modern and, in such, are sometimes more popular.  Yet, learning about these types is something you should invest in.

Finding the right type of meditation for you is key and the process means educating yourself about the various types of meditation that you can select from.

Yet, all of these methods of meditation will fall into one of two different classifications.  If you were to select meditation on any sole factors, it would be based on these two methods available.

Thoroughly exploring both of these methods of meditation can be very important to finding success.  You’ll need to experiment with both types, eventually, to determine the bet route for you to take.

Concentrative Meditation

The first type of meditation is that of concentrative meditation.  In this type of meditation, the focus is on the way that you breathe, on an image, or on a sound.  Sound, or mantra, is often used.  By using these tools, so to speak, you are able to clear the mind and allow for greater awareness as well as clarity. 

To focus on meditation, you’ll use one of these elements to help you to focus.  By focusing on it, like you would a camera lens, you can then effectively reach the state that you are in.

Breathing

One method of concentrative meditation that is commonly used is that of concentrating on your breathing.  It is probably the most simple of methods to use because you can do it any time without much need. 

Breathing is effective because of how it plays a role in your daily life and well being.  Many of hose that practice other alternative medicines, such as yoga, also believe that breathing is essential to maintaining the correct state of mind.  In meditation, it is believed that breathing must be regulated in order to meditate properly.

You can see this clearly in your everyday life without considering meditation at all.  When you are relaxed and comfortable, your breathing is slowly and deeper.  But, when you are worried, stressed or anxious, your breathing speeds up.  If you are distracted, this happens as well.  By regulating your breathing, you can focus your mind and gain control over it more effectively.

But, how does breathing effect meditation?  Have you ever felt overwhelmed and anxious?  Where you afraid or even terrified?  If so, then you may have told yourself to take a deep breath and to calm down.  As you can see, you can control your own breathing.

As a tool in meditation in the concentrative methods, you can gain control over your mind using breathing.  To do this, you must regulate the breathing.  To do this, you’ll need to focus on the rhythm of your breathing.  The rhythm is the movement between inhaling and exhaling.

When you do this, sit and close your eyes.  Focus on your breathing, the movement of air in and out of your body.  You’ll need to concentrate on that breathing and only the breathing you are doing.

Soon, your meditation on breathing will become something that helps to ease your mind.  You’ll see this as your breathing becomes more regular and then deeper and slower. 

When this happens, your mind too is changing.  It becomes quiet, calm and collected.  You’ll feel serenity and peace. You are also more aware of your surroundings and more likely to gain the benefits of meditation.

Breathing is just one example of concentrative meditation.  There are many other forms, some of which we will talk about later in this book.  Yet, remember that there is another type of method of meditation that accompanies concentrative meditation as the two forms that all methods and techniques of meditation fall under.

Mindfulness Meditation

Mindful meditation is quite unlike that of concentrative.  If we use the example of a lens to help show the difference, you can see this.  In concentrative meditation, you are concentrating on one single thing, focusing the lens on that one element, like breathing or something in the room that you are in.

On the other hand is mindfulness meditation.  Here, you are not focusing your lens, but widening it to include more and more information.

You may wonder just how including more of what is happening in any one moment can help you to collect your thoughts and focus your mind.  Yet, the fact is that you can do this because of how you do it.

Using your abilities, you’ll become very much aware of everything around you including all of your feelings, the things that you see, the things you hear, the smells and sounds, the very elements that you may want to filter out of your mind.

From here, though, something is unique.  You’ll notice and be mindful of these things, but you will not react to them.  Instead, you are simply taking in whatever is happening in your mind.  Don’t become overly involved with these elements.  You won’t allow for images, thoughts, or memories to filter into your mind here as they do when you are concentrating.

Because, you are not becoming involved with the images and elements that are filtering through your mind; you actually calm down.  Your mind is now clearer because it has taken in many of the things that are happening around you.  You aren’t focusing in on any one thing.  Instead, you are aware of everything going on, but not participating in it.

Although this method of meditation is one that is less well known and used by beginners because of how challenging it can be, it is still an ideal choice because it allows for a renewed sense of being and wholeness.  By focusing on everything but not on one single thing, you can clear your mind fully.

All types of meditation fall in one of these groups.  You will either use methods that are concentrative, in which you will concentrate on one thing to enter into a meditative state or you will use a mindfulness meditation method to enter this state. 

For those that are looking towards these methods and wondering which to choose, don’t.  You can use both types of meditation to gain benefits and sometimes one method will work better than others will.  With the ability to learn either type, you’ll be that much better at meditation that fits what you are doing and what your body and mind needs at any one time.