Breaking Bad Habits

Meditation techniques vary from teacher to teacher. Since meditation is often linked with spiritual practices, and there are different meditation methods to achieve different aims. Some forms will find a quiet calm by focusing on an object, while other forms will achieve this same end by repeating a meaningful phrase over and over again. Meditation may ask you to pay close attention to your breathing or it may attempt to condition you to separate the thinking process from your emotions. You may visualize or you may try to clear your mind. Just because one technique doesn’t work for you, doesn’t mean that you should throw your hands up in abject failure. There are meditation practices for everyone.

Most of the modern techniques for mediation fall into one of two categories: Zen-based forms (which involve insight meditation) and Hinduism-based forms (which involve concentrative meditation). With Zen-based meditation, like vipassana or mindfulness meditation, you will become aware of the passing of thoughts and feelings, without becoming emotionally involved. The person meditating sits quietly and allows any thought to pass through the mind, while gently redirecting the focus to the here and now. Breathing and observing body sensations helps to block out distractions to achieve perfect concentration, although there is always a consciousness about the process of achieving meditation.

The concentrative method of meditation aims to help your ability to focus. To do this, you may focus on breath, a mental image, a physical object or a phrase. There are many different breathing methods. For instance, the fourfold breath asks you to breathe-in to a count of four, hold your breath for four seconds and then breathe-out for a count of four. When you are focusing on a mental image, you can choose anything from a beach scene to flames, but the image should have spiritual significance to you. Those meditating focus on items like rocks, flowers, candles or other items with significance attached. Other meditation techniques, such as mantra meditation may involve the repetition of a phrase like “I am that I am” or “Desire nothing — be content with everything.”

When practicing meditation techniques at home, it’s difficult to know whether you’re on the right path or just faking it. Initially, relaxation meditation does feel artificial and a bit forced. Before you reach awareness, you must first battle your mind’s natural tendency to run the show and control everything. As you focus on inner feelings, breathing and visualization, you will find your cares and frustrations melt away. Understand that as long as you are breathing slowly and rhythmically, you are likely on the right path.

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