What is meditation, where did it begin, and how can I use it?

Welcome back, everyone. This week’s newsletter will be on the topic of meditation. This week, I would like to take the topic of meditation and dive deep into a complete understanding of where it began and how to use it.

If you have been on a self-development journey for any length of time, then you may have heard of meditation.  Meditation is widely discussed by health professionals and everyday people who have experienced its effects.

Suppose you have yet to experiment or use meditation. Then allow me to give you reasons to jump In and try it. So, if you are ready to take this next step with me toward becoming positively improved, then let’s jump on in.

Part 1 – What is meditation?

Let’s start by asking and then answering what meditation is. Meditation is the act or practice of focus or mental exercise of concentration or chanting of affirmations to calm the mind and raise your spiritual maturity, enlightenment, or heightened awareness. 

Part 2 – Where did it begin?

Mediation is believed to have started in India around 500 BCE. The terminology used today to “meditate” was not introduced until the 12th century AD, coming from the Latin word meditatum.

The first recorded meditation use would be in India around 1500 BCE. However, meditation is widely believed to have been used long before this time, possibly as early as 3000 BCE.

Then, around the 8th century, or more precisely in 653 AD, a traveler named Dosho introduced it into Chinese culture.

By 700 AD, meditation I had been introduced to Buddhist, Jewish, and Christian beliefs and practices.

In the 18th century, the ancient teachings of meditation began to become more popular among the population of Western cultures.

In 1927, the book “Tibetan Book of the Dead” was published, which attracted significant attention from Westerners and excited interest in the practice. 

Over the years, meditation has expanded from simply working to focus or concentrate into affirmations, mantras, insight meditation, mindfulness practices, yoga practices, and so on. With each new technique added to the overall arching idea of meditation, it becomes more popular and well-known.

In today’s age, thousands of people meditate daily in one or more forms of this practice. 

Part 3 – How can I use it?

If you are new to this whole meditation scene, then it would be best to research and seek out guided meditation practices.

If, however, you are just looking to improve your use of meditation but need to know how here are some tips you can use. 

• Start every practice by getting yourself into a comfortable position. Some will say to close your eyes, but in truth, whether you close your eyes or keep them open has little to do with any of the benefits you will gain from your practice. 
• You should then prepare yourself by scanning your body and seeing if everything feels good, and if not, this would be the time to make needed adjustments to your position, even if this means you have to try a completely different position. 
• Once you are sure all is well, and you know you are truly ready to dive into your practice, then take a deep breath in with a count of three or four, pause at the top for a count of three or four, and then out with yes, you guessed it a count of three or four. You can do this as often as you feel it is needed; just be sure not to hyperventilate.
• Once you feel that total peace and quieting of the mind sets in, you will be ready to begin the heart of the practice. Whether your practice is qi gong, diplomatic breathing, affirmations, mantras, mindfulness, insight, or enlightenment, continue your practice until you get the desired effects.
• Once you are ready to bring your practice to a close, do everything in reverse. Breathe in, pause at the top, and breathe out with a count of three or four.
• Rescan your body and make sure all.is still well. When done, open your eyes slowly before going about your day.

Final Thoughts

Now that I am bringing this to a close, I need to point out that this is a subject I talk about periodically throughout the year. I am a firm believer and advocate of meditation and its tremendous benefits. 

If you are unaware of the benefits of meditation, allow me to share a few, such as the ability to focus or concentrate with greater ease or the fact that it relieves all negative or overwhelming emotions and does wonders with stress relief. It has been proven to slow aging, improve your ability to sleep, and even be more energetic and prepared for your day, and these are but a few. If you are interested in seeing a more expensive list of benefits, please read this article.

And with that, if you know someone who could use this information, please feel free to share it with them. If you want to add anything to this topic, please share your thoughts below in the comment section.

I hope you got something out of this week’s newsletter and that if you do not already use meditation at least once or twice a week, you try it. As always, thank you for taking this step with me toward becoming positively improved. Until next week, namaste.