Meditation as a stress buster

Vesak is an ideal occasion for meditation. Even on other Poya days Buddhists flock to temples and meditate. However, meditation is not confined to Buddhists. Even non-Buddhists in the affluent West have turned to meditation to get rid of stress and other ailments. Therefore, it is pertinent to inquire into the process of meditation.

Many people who made an attempt to meditate for the first time would say that nothing really happened during meditation. However, those who regularly meditate say that they experience a deep mental relaxation and emotional calm. Some people who meditate claim that meditation brings about new knowledge and insight. What is more, those who do advanced meditation claim that it brings them into direct contact with the spirit world.

If you observe a person meditating you will see him seated on the floor usually with closed eyes, spinal column straight and not doing any physical activities. The duration of the meditation can vary from 15 to 20 minutes. Some people meditate even for longer spells of time.

To those who have never attempted to meditate, meditation may seem to be a waste of time.

Drowsiness

It is usual for a beginner who tries to meditate to get a feeling of drowsiness. And he might think that it is an ideal way of preparing for sleep. But this is far from the truth.

The benefits of meditation have been proved scientifically. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi introduced Transcendental Meditation (TM) to the western world. Scientific studies in the West prove that the correct practice of meditation could bring about better mental health, decrease in high blood pressure and improved memory power. What is more, those who meditate do not behave in an aggressive manner.

Meditation has been defined by many people in different ways. For instance, Charles C. Wise Jr., the author of Meditation, Prayer, Healing and the Psychic, says, "(Meditation is) the process of learning and knowing...(It) is a mental discipline in which relationships are revealed. It is a process of pattern-recognition in which the mind is raised above the particulars to receive the universals which give coherence to the particulars."

Meditation and prayer

American psychic Edgar Cayce refers to meditation as "The emptying of ourselves of all that hinders the creative force from rising along the natural channels of our physical bodies to be disseminated through the sensitive spiritual centres in our physical bodies." He says that meditation differs from prayer. "In prayer we speak to God, in meditation, God speaks to us."

Psychology views meditation in a different light. According to psychology our brain waves operate at 14 cycles per second during normal waking hours. This is known as the Beta rhythm. During meditation, the brain wave frequency goes down to about 8 to 13 cycles per second. This is called the Alpha rhythm. What is significant is that what the brain cannot do in normal circumstances (the Beta state), can be done during the Alpha state. During the latter state, it is claimed, a person can experience Extra Sensory Perception (ESP).

It is a misconception that the mind becomes inactive during deep meditation. In fact, it becomes more active and powerful. In deep meditation the mind operates on a different plane giving it a new dimension.

Powerful unit

Psychological research shows that meditation helps to harmonise the activities of the left and right hemispheres of the brain. The left hemisphere of the brain is associated with logical and sequential thinking. The right hemisphere of the brain, on the other hand, is associated with intuition and creativity. When we meditate the two hemispheres of the brain begin to function as one powerful unit.

Most city dwellers have the habit of spending a few days in the country to get rid of stress, a legacy of modern civilisation. A character in one of Dostoevsky's novels digs a hole in the ground and lives there for the rest of his life. When asked why he was doing so, he replies: "The only contribution of modern civilisation to man is to increase his variety of sensations and absolutely nothing else."

Dostoevsky is not far from the truth. However, no civilised man, except a terrorist, can live in a hole in the ground or an underground bunker. Meditation appears to be the only solution to most of the psychological problems created by modern civilisation.