About Meditation

In its broadest and most universal definition, meditation is a mental discipline which involves attention regulation (or attention training). The varieties of meditation practices can be further defined according to the many objects of meditation (such as breath, mantra, body, stillness etc) and the objective of the practice (peace, stress reduction, enlightenment, insight, changes in thought patterns etc).

Originally meditation practices were largely aimed at spiritual enlightenment, a central part of which was the alleviation of suffering. Since then the practice of meditation has traversed virtually every culture and religion although a rise in materialism and a loss of interest in spiritual practices due to the Industrial Revolution of the 18th C caused a lapse of meditation significance in the Western world. In the West the renewal of interest in meditation and its own contemplative traditions has largely been through the influence of Eastern practices and philosophies. Experimentation with meditation grew, especially in America as the practice of Yoga took on new significance in that part of the world and Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung explored and drew upon Yoga and other Eastern philosophies and practices in forming his ideas in the early part of the twentieth century.

From that time, modern relaxation techniques and a variety of concepts of meditation began to emerge. The German psychiatrist Johannes Schultz created the relaxation technique and Autogenic Training, and the American physician Edmund Jacobson produced Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR), both still popular today. In 1963 the Australian psychiatrist, Ainslie Meares published his Atavistic Theory of Mental Homeostasis, pioneering the concept of therapeutic meditation (now known as Stillness Meditation Therapy) for the treatment of anxiety and pain, and which he further applied to the management of cancer. In the early 1970s the Transcendental Meditation (TM) movement popularised meditation to a wider audience and was influential in fostering some of the early research activity. In the late 1970s American medical biologist, Jon Kabat-Zinn integrated Buddhist teachings with Western science to establish Mindfulness Meditation for the purpose of stress management. In recent times his work has influenced research into meditation as a healing modality and in the 2000s there has been a literal explosion in interest in the clinical and research applications of meditation, much of this being fostered by the Mind and Life Institute.

While all meditation approaches involve relaxation of body and mind, different styles may be used for individual preference or purpose.

Although traditionally being practiced as a spiritual discipline, meditation in the modern context, is gaining valid attention because of the mental and physical health benefits associated with its practice. Today, certain forms of psychotherapy are also associated with meditation. Thus different meditative disciplines encompass a wide range of spiritual and non-spiritual goals. In the religious context these may include such things as achieving a higher state of consciousness or enlightenment, developing and increasing compassion and loving-kindness, and receiving spiritual inspiration or guidance from God. In more secular, therapeutic or personal development contexts, the benefits of meditation include achieving greater focus and improved performance, enhancing creativity or self-awareness, cultivating a more relaxed and peaceful frame of mind, managing chronic pain, depression and anxiety, and providing a range of physiological and metabolic benefits for the cardiovascular, immune and neurological systems.

Meditation techniques have been incorporated into a range of counseling and psychotherapy approaches, such as mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). Originally used with systematic desensitisation, relaxation techniques are now used with other clinical problems. A range of other techniques and forms of psychotherapy such as hypnosis, biofeedback, Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), EMDR, and multimodal therapy all employ the use of meditation as an individual therapy technique.

The side-effects of meditation include the relaxation response which works toward achieving mental and physical relaxation to reduce daily stress. This reverses the increasingly common and deleterious effects of the chronic over-activation of the stress response (known as high 'allostatic load').

From the point of view of psychology and physiology, meditation can induce a heightened state of consciousness - i.e. it raises awareness. Relaxation, concentration, an altered state of awareness, a suspension of discursive thought, and the maintenance of a self-observing attitude are sometimes cited as the behavioural components of meditation. It is also accompanied by a host of biochemical and physical changes, such as altered metabolism, heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, immune function, genetic function and repair, and brain anatomy and function. Meditation has been used in clinical settings, but its use in the mental health and emotional regulation settings have probably created more interest than any other single field. Other areas of application include the enhancement of performance in sporting, business and academic settings. From a spiritual or philosophical perspective, the physical, behavioural and psychological benefits of meditation could be seen as ‘side-effects’ rather than the central aim of the practice.