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Essay for health benefit of meditation
Meditation and mental health research paper
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Though Buddhism has long been a disciplined and strict religion since its’ beginning in the 3rd Century, it has recently gained positive utilitarian use within the psychological and neurological fields of science. Programs dedicated to improving and helping the lives of those who suffer from mental illness have started to incorporate the use of meditation as a form of treatment. Meditation is enforced in many schools of Buddhism as a method, or a way of life, to becoming enlightened. With growing qualitative and quantitative research on meditation, it becomes more evidential of the positive and life changing impact meditation serves in improving overall health of the mentally ill. Additionally, meditation can be implemented as a preventative …show more content…
Meditation aims to develop and master mindfulness, insight, and equilibrium. It allows its followers to obtain indifference to worldly attachments, experience the mind as it is and its original nature. The mind continuously engages with internal and external stimuli, constantly at work. Meditation is a way in which one can gain control over this constant flow of stimuli, by focusing the mind. Within the practice of Theravada Buddhism, meditation is seen as the most crucial way of reaching enlightenment, escaping samsara, and gaining the full understanding of what nature is. Whereas Mahayana buddhism utilizes mantras and incantation as a form of buddhism that also allows its practitioners to use this form of meditation to reach enlightenment. Despite its origination in religious practice, it has been loosely defined as a self regulating technique of having control over one's physical and mental …show more content…
Reese revealed that meditation techniques “proved to be a feasible and acceptable intervention. It resulted in significant improvement in tic severity and tic-related impairment” within patients suffering from TS and CTD (Reese). Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder that causes repetitive and involuntary physical movements or vocalization known as tics that severely impacts around 200,000 Americans as well as a small percentage of others who exhibit minor symptoms. Though it is not known what exactly causes TS, a current understanding of the cause has to do with ¨abnormalities in certain brain regions (including the basal ganglia, frontal lobes, and cortex), the circuits that interconnect these regions, and the neurotransmitters responsible for communication¨ (ninds.nih.gov). Tics and involuntary movements are urges or discomforts that an individual feels who then wants to get rid of it, like having an itchy spot one wants to itch. Though symptoms can worsen with internal factors, such as stress, and external factors, such as social attention and dietary habits. Meditation allows the frontal cortex to undergo a deep relaxation that is beneficial for stress relief and deep physical healing associated with the strain put on by Tourette Syndrome. Likewise, hormones, such as serotonin, endorphins, and dopamine, are released during meditation accounting for increased happiness, pleasure, and a sense of well-being.
In this paper, I will discuss some significant differences of Mainstream Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. Meditation is the action or practice of concentration and mindfulness. Now there are four important things to remember when meditating and they are your environment, body position/technique, motivation and support. I think these four things are pretty universal when it comes to meditation. According to Mainstream Buddhism there are two categories in which meditation falls under samatha and vipassana. Samatha translate into calming which is intended to keep you focused on a certain object for a length of time. The second one is vipassana, which means insight, and this is intended for you to gain wisdom and see things as they are. The way
...biology of Meditation and its clinical effectiveness in psychiatric disorders. Biological Psychology, 82(1), 1-11. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2009.04.003
... does not realize it. The aim of meditation is to achieve the realization that our true nature is nothing less than the Buddha nature. The above analysis thus shows that a number of similarities and differences can be found in Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism. Both these forms however have one thing in common – the transitory nature of human life, as we know it. Although in our hearts we may long for eternity, the unavoidable fact is that we are only temporary beings and true spirituality begins with acknowledging that. References Ch’en, Kenneth KS. Buddhism: The Light of Asia. Woodbury, New York: Barron’s Educational Series, 1989. Conze, Edward. Buddhism: Its Essence and Development. New York: Harper & Row, 1979. Scuhmann, Hans Wolfgang. Buddhism. Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974. Rahula, Walpola. What the Buddha Taught. New York: Grove Press, 1991.
Ramaswami, S. & Sheikh, A. (1989). Buddhist psychology: Implications for healing, In A. Sheikh & S. Sheikh's Eastern and western approaches to healing: Ancient wisdom & modern knowledge, NY: John Wiley
In Eastern cultures, meditation has been practiced for over two thousand years. Through this training a culture has developed in which an individual is empowered to engaged in preventative behaviors, which reduce stress and morbidity, resulting in a general state of wellbeing, with stability and mental peace in the face of everyday challenges (Richardson and Lutz, 2008). Over the last half-century, the western-scientific community has begun to evaluate the efficacy of the eastern methods of meditation. In the modern western world there is an over abundance of stress, pressure and over stimulation. These conditions often result in stress-related morbidity, high levels of anxiety and mental illnesses. This cause and effect relationship is well established, and typically emphasis is placed on symptom control and less on preventative behavior modification. There are clinically documented see table 1, meditation practices that can be taught over a short period of time to an individual which have been shown to have positive results. Meditation can be used preventatively in supporting immune function and during illness as a method to aid healing and wellbeing for nominal costs. This paper will make an literary examination of a variety of studies of which examine the role of meditation training in regards to promoting immune function in athletes, recovering cancer patients, in addition to reducing stress and promoting well being in business professionals, cancer patients and seasoned meditation practitioners.
Meditation is an age-old practice that has renewed itself in many different cultures and times. Despite its age, however, there remains a mystery and some ambiguity as to what it is, or even how one performs it. The practice and tradition of meditation dates back thousands of years having appeared in many eastern traditions. Meditation’s ancient roots cloud its origins from being attributed to a sole inventor or religion, though Bon, Hindu, Shinto, Dao, and later, Buddhism are responsible for its development. Its practice has permeated almost all major world religions, but under different names. It has become a practice without borders, influencing millions with its tranquil and healing effects.
The purpose is to investigate the following; “Meditation in Christianity and Buddhism are different pathways leading to the same destination.” Buddhism is a philosophy than a religion was originated about 2,500 years ago in India and about 376 million followers worldwide. Prince Siddhartha Gotama (Buddha) worshipped for years to enlighten himself and found a “middle way” between his two lives, meaning finding moderation and balancing life’s extremes. Whereas, Christianity has about 2.4 billion followers worldwide and based on his teachings of Jesus, who lived about 2000 years prior. In Christian meditation, metaphysics and transcendentalism are used as philosophies because individuals think during their prayer to reflect on unseen things in a spiritual way, including Holy spirit and are observed to connect with God intellectually and spiritually. Nevertheless, Buddhist meditation is to focus on relaxing the brain by forgetting about the meaningless things.
The studies showed that while meditated, the subjects showed signs of thought processes slowing down and changes occurring in the brain. The purpose of meditation, and mindfulness meditation as mentioned in this course, is to increase awareness while calming the normal thought processes that often overcrowd the mind with ideas that are deemed not-true by Buddhism. These brain scans clearly show that the purpose of meditation is achieved in doing so.
Jewish meditation is a spiritual insight with G-d. This process of getting close to G-d is called "devekut". Devekut is not only getting close, but also actually melting into G-d. This requires much training and rules. It is said that one cannot even look at the Kabbalah (the Jewish mystical text) unless one is male and over forty years of age. A girl the age of twenty was afraid to touch the text let alone talk about it (Warner). The Kabbalah is both fear and love ("Kabbala" 271). Devekut is an actual metamorphosis of the self. Practicing...
Meditation is one of the oldest forms of natural medication that has been used for thousands of years by many different civilizations. Though there are many different types, in the treatment of the symptoms of Attention deficit Hyperactivity Disorder they only use a few of them, one being Transcendental Meditation. Transcendental Meditation is defined in the journal Use of the Transcendental Meditation technique to reduce symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by reducing stress and anxiety as “’effortless transcending’, It does not involve directing the attention or controlling the mind.” (Bateh, Grosswald, Stixrud, travis 2008) In this study they cho...
230). There are two main “types” Buddhism that are practiced around the world. The first is Theravadin, and the second is Mahayana (Smith-Stoner, 2005, p. 228). Buddhism contains a “message of salvation” that considered the “Four Noble Truths” (Leming & Dickinson, 2011 p. 134). They are, the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. Leming and Dickinson (2011) describe how the combination of ethics and meditation are the eightfold path to enlightenment (Leming & Dickinson, 2011 p. 136). The author believes it is important for practitioners to recognize the increasing numbers of people practicing Buddhism in the United States in order to enhance their ability to care for end of life needs in this population. Smith-Stoner (2005) states that Buddhism is one of the fastest growing religions in the United States and that Colorado is one of the main population centers (Smith-Stoner, 2005, p. 229). In Buddhism, it is extremely important to be able to tame emotions and the mind which is done through meditation. The author thinks it is pertinent to know the
uncomfortable with silences and tend to fill them with words, making small talk”(Galanti) but in this case it is respectful to the patients care. (Keown)
Understanding the brain and the different signs will help acknowledge the issues within a person to help them cope with the issue. It is important for one to be aware of their selves and their reactions/behaviors. On the other hand, the studies address the different types of mediation and possible consequences. When introducing a specific technique, there are always pros and cons, and people that are for or against the matter. Meditation is known as healing of the body and/or mind and can be religious. Those different types were address and justified for the understanding of the use for the
What are your thoughts, views, musings and experiences etc. regarding meditation? As we all can learn from each other when it comes to sharing ways of creating a healthy, happy and vibrant life work balance.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). (2010). Health info. Meditation: An introduction. Retrieved from http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation/overview.htm