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The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne is quoted as having once said 'The greatest matter in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.'

Never is this truer in our current, fast-paced society.

With so many demands on our fourth dimension and minds, it takes conscious effort to take a moment and allow ourselves the time we demand to explore who we truly are. Even when we exercise brand time, many people are stuck on how to really practice this. The do of meditation has certainly been recognized as a fundamental method that can help.

The word meditation stems from meditatum, a Latin term that means 'to ponder.' Through the practice of meditation, we can seek to find a better connection with our body in the everyday moments that we often let pass us by, and create stronger awareness for how our emotions influence our behavior (West, 2016).

You may already have a meditation exercise that works for you, or you may be new to the concept and looking to build your noesis and understanding of how meditation can bring value to your daily life. Either way, the history of meditation is fascinating and well worth exploring.

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How One-time is Meditation?

The answer to that question is more circuitous than you might think. Different research, books, and schools of meditation refer to the 'age-old tradition', but every bit to how long meditation has been around equally practice really depends on your definition of the concept.

Davanger (2008) reviewed a cantankerous-section of enquiry looking at meditation and speculated that the practice might be every bit old as humanity itself with the potential meditative capacities of Neanderthals. There are more schools of idea that have placed the origin of meditation within a structured set of practices and techniques based on artifacts and references in Eastern countries.

Beneath are the master ii, and how far they appointment dorsum.

India – In some of the oldest written records from around 1500 BCE in India, the do of Dhyāna or Jhāna is referenced equally the training of the listen, often translated as meditation. Many of these records come from the Hindu traditions of Vedantism and talk over the various meditation practices across ancient India. Buddhist Indian scriptures and texts dating dorsum to simply a few hundred BC are even earlier recordings of the practice, but many debate that these are somewhat ambiguous in their references directly to meditation.
China – Early on forms of meditation are referenced equally far back as the 3rd and 6th century BC and linked to the Daoist, Laozi, an ancient Chinese philosopher, and his writings. In this work, many of the terms used in later on centuries to describe meditation techniques are used, including:
- Shou Zhong – roughly translated as 'guarding the eye'
- Bao Yi – roughly translated as 'embracing the one'
- Shou Jing – roughly translated as 'guarding tranquility'
- Bao Pu – roughly translated equally 'embracing simplicity'

Yet, some fence that it is hard to tell if these were already widely used techniques when the text was written, or if they were newly created terms for the text. Other writings from the early centuries that describe meditative practices include the Zhuangzi from the late Warring States flow, roughly 476–221 BC, and the Neiye from the 4th century BC.

The truth is, no one knows for absolute certain when meditation officially started. There are multiple references across different cultures and religions – including Judaism, Islam, and Christianity – to meditative-like practices, which all seem to have contributed to and inform the practice known widely today.

Where Did Meditation Originate?

Much like pinning down how long meditation has been effectually for, pinpointing where exactly information technology originates is equally tricky.

The earliest written records come from Hindu traditions, in India, of Vendatism from effectually 1500 BCE. Vendatism is a schoolhouse of philosophy and is one of the primeval known Indian paths for spiritual enlightenment. Other forms of meditation are then cited around the sixth and 5th centuries BCE within Taoist Communist china and Buddhist India.

The precise origins are heavily debated, especially around Buddhist meditation (Wynne, 2007). Some early on written accounts of the unlike states of meditation in Buddhism in Republic of india can be plant in the sutras of the Pāli Canon, which dates back to the 1st century BCE. The Pāli Canon is a collection of scriptures from the Theravada Buddhist tradition.

Some evidence has also connected meditative practices with Judaism, thought to be inherited from its earlier traditions. The Torah (the first five books of the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible) contains a description of the patriarch Isaac going to 'lasuach' in a field. This term is generally understood as being some form of meditation (Kaplan, 1985).

Do We Know Who Created/Invented Meditation?

In a nutshell, no nosotros don't. Because the where and when are quite hazy, discovering the who is as ambiguous. Some of what we exercise know, still, indicates a few core people who have been instrumental in spreading the practice of meditation. Below I've outlined three of the key people, but there are many others who were equally prominent in sharing and spreading the practice of meditation.

The Buddha (Bharat)

The Buddha, known past other names including Siddhārtha Gautama in Sanskrit or Siddhattha Gotama in Pali, was a prince who became a monk, sage, philosopher and religious leader. It is his teachings on which Buddhism was founded.

Because of this, information technology might be easy to assume that the Buddha created or invented meditation but this is non true. Buddhism texts refer to many different practices of meditation and the Buddha sought out other enlightened teachers to larn the do and means of cocky-fulfillment from. Although he was instrumental in spreading the value of meditation every bit a practice, the Buddha himself did not invent it.

Lao-Tze (China)

Lao-Tze, also known by Lao-Tzu and Laozi, was an ancient Chinese philosopher whose proper noun is substantially an award title meaning 'Old Teacher' or 'Former Master'.

He is credited as the author of the Tao-te-Ching, a work of text that exemplifies his thoughts and teachings that founded the philosophical organisation of Taoism, which references meditative practices and the idea of wisdom in silence. At that place is much speculation as to whether Lao-Tze actually existed as a single man, or whether the name refers to a collection of individuals and philosophers who shared the same ideas.

Dosho (Nippon)

Dosho was a Japanese monk who, in the 7th century, traveled to Red china and studied Buddhism under Hsuan Tsang, a keen primary at the time. Information technology was during this journey that Dosho learned all almost the process of Zen, which he then returned to Japan with.

When he returned, he opened his first meditation hall dedicated to the practice of Zazen, a sitting meditation. He created a community of monks and students with a primary focus on pedagogy this form of meditation in Nihon.

A Expect at the Origin and Roots of Meditation

Although meditation as a do today is pretty common and widespread, information technology's practiced to sympathise that the origins and roots of meditation go back a long way. Today, meditation has been and continues to be adapted to adapt our lives and going dorsum to its roots tin help you lot to develop a strong appreciation for how broad the exercise is, besides as how it developed across different countries at unlike points in time.

Below I've given a cursory writeup of these origins and roots:

India, Vendatism, and Yogis

The oldest documented images of meditation are from Republic of india and date back to 5000 to 3500 BCE. Wall art paintings depict people sitting in meditative-like seated postures with their eyes half closed, presumed to be deep in meditation.

The oldest documented text of meditation is also from India, from the Hindu traditions of Vendatism, from around 1500 BCE. Although the Vedas created texts describing meditative practices it's important to know that these had previously been passed downward orally through storytelling practices for centuries.

Aslope the Vedic practice, Hindu traditions too describe the Yogi practice of meditating in caves. It is believed that many modern practices of meditation stem from this lineage, including the modern yoga movement whose techniques are predominantly based on the Hatha Yoga do.

Although it's good to empathise that the origin of these techniques is based in meditation for spiritual development, not the common practice of stretches and move many Western schools teach today.

Buddhism in Republic of india

Meditation is often most closely attached to Buddhism, even though the prototype of the Buddha meditating on a lotus didn't come until much afterwards, a long time after Buddhism itself began. In the classical language of Buddhism, meditation is referred to as bhāvanā, meaning mental evolution, or dhyāna, meaning a mental calmness.

The various techniques and practices for meditation are many. Around the same fourth dimension that Buddhism was growing, three other practices were besides developing, each with their own fashion of approaching meditation. Although these are not every bit pop globally as Buddhism, they're worth knowing about:

Mahavira and Jainism in India – Tirthankara Mahavira, besides known every bit Vardhamāna, is credited with reviving Jainism. Tirthankara ways 'Ford Maker' and the word indicates a founder of a 'tirtha' – a passage beyond the bounding main of births and deaths. Mahavira was the xx-fourth Tirthankara. He put forward the spiritual, and ethical teachings of the Tirthankaras from the pre-Vedic era that led to the revival of Jainism in India. As a practice, Jainism places a stiff accent on self-subject field and contemplation, also as non-violence. The meditative techniques in Jainism specifically focus on mantras, visualizations, and animate.
Lao Tze and Taoism in Red china – Although there is some dispute over whether Lao Tze existed as a unmarried person, or whether the title refers to a collective of individuals if he did exist it is idea this would have been around the 6th century BCE. Taoism places an emphasis on becoming one with 'Tao', meaning 'catholic life' or nature. Traditional Taoist meditation techniques include a focus on mindfulness, contemplation and using visualization.
Confucius and Confucianism in Red china – Confucius was a Chinese teacher, pol, and philosopher, who existed in the 6th century BCE. His teachings and thoughts were expressed through the philosophy now known as Confucianism and are however quite prominent in China today. Confucianism places an accent on personal growth, morality, and social justice. Meditation in Confucianism is known as Jing Zuo, and has a focus on cocky-improvement and contemplation.

Sufism and Meditation Practice

Sufism is an ancient Islamic tradition that dates dorsum as far as 1400 years. It is a practice in which Muslims seek to connect with Allah (God) through self-reflection and contemplation, and through shunning material goods. It is idea that through some Indian influence, Sufism developed its particular practise of meditation that includes a focus on animate and the apply of mantras.

Judaism and Meditation Practice

As well equally what is believed to be descriptions of meditation practice in the Torah, the Jewish esoteric method and school of idea of Kabbalah, also includes some of its own forms of meditation. These are by and large based around deep thought on philosophical topics and prayer.

A History of Meditation in the Westward

Meditation beginning began to exist of interest in the West in the 1700s, when some of the Eastern philosophy texts, containing references to meditation techniques and practices, were translated into different European languages.

This included:

The Upanishads – A drove of religious and philosophical texts from India, assumed to have been written between 800 and 500 century BCE.
The Bhagavad Gita – A Sanskrit scripture made of 700 verses that course part of the Mahabharata: a Hindu epic detailing the narrative between Pandava Prince Arjuna, and Krishna.
The Buddhist Sutras – Scriptures that are assumed to be the oral teachings of the Buddha.

By the 18th century, meditation was seen just equally a topic for discussion and interest past philosophers and intellectuals, including Voltaire and Schopenhauer (Abelson, 2008). Information technology wasn't until the 20th century that meditation became more prominent, particularly in the U.s., when a prominent yogi, Swami Vivekananda, delivered a presentation at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago.

The presentation created a new surge of involvement in Eastern models of spirituality in the West, and influenced a number of other spiritual teachers from India to migrate to the States including:

Swami Rama from the Himalayan Institute
Paramahansa Yogananda from the Self-Realization Fellowship
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi with his Transcendental Meditation practice

Alongside these teachers, spiritual representatives from different Buddhist schools of idea also began to migrate to the West including individuals from the Zen school of thought and the Theravada schoolhouse of thought. Every time meditation has been introduced in a new place, it has been shaped past the private culture information technology finds itself within.

With its introduction in the West, meditation began to become more removed from the religious connections and teachings of its roots and taught in more westernized ways. By the 1960s and 1970s, meditation was being researched via scientific studies, further removing its spiritual contexts and encouraging the practise to exist used by anyone, not but those seeking spiritual fulfillment.

Benson (1967) began some of the first studies in the West to explore the impact of meditation on mental and physiological outcomes. Benson would continue to write his best selling volume, The Relaxation Response, in 1975 and he as well founded the Heed Torso Medical Found in the same year.

In the belatedly 1970s, Jon Kabat-Zinn discovered meditation through his studies at MIT and besides began investigating the potential health benefits of meditative exercise. In 1979 he introduced his Mindfulness-Based-Stress-Reduction (MBSR) program and opened the Stress Reduction Clinic.

Effectually this fourth dimension, Transcendental Meditation was growing in popularity too, with many celebrities turning to the practice to help them cope with fame, including The Beatles. Although during this fourth dimension many meditation techniques were connected predominantly with Hippie culture and were non very mainstream. Information technology wasn't until the 1990s that this began to change.

In 1993 Deepak Chopra published his book Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, and in 1996 information technology was featured on Oprah, selling more than 137,000 copies in one day. As more celebrities came forward to praise the practice of meditation in their lives, more books about the how-and-why to meditate began to appear.

In the 1990s, mindfulness was also growing in its applications. Williams, Teasdale, and Seagal (1995) farther adult Jon Kabat-Zinn's plan to be used positively with individuals experiencing depression and anxiety. The Mindfulness-Based Cerebral Therapy (MBCT) approach combined mindfulness with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with some splendid results.

The MBCT approach has been clinically approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in the UK and is considered a 'handling of choice' for depression.

Past 2012, there were over 700 mindfulness-based programs bachelor across the world and Kabat-Zinn's original plan was the main program used in research on meditation.

Today, mindfulness and meditation are prolific across Western guild with resources and schools – both online and offline – bachelor to aid guide y'all to observe a practise that works for you lot. The research and medical scientific discipline communities continue to go on studying meditation'south benefits, with more and more than studies demonstrating its positive implications for a range of mental and physical conditions.

A Timeline of Meditation's History

Below is a brief timeline of some of the key dates relating to meditation, some of which take already been mentioned:

five,000 BC – three,500 BC	Early on development	The oldest documented evidence of the practice of meditation is wall fine art in India.	India
1500 BC	Hindu Meditation	The Vedas, a large trunk of religious texts, contains the oldest written mention of meditation.	Republic of india
6th – 5th century BC	Early development	Evolution of other forms of meditation in Taoist Prc and Buddhist India.	People's republic of china, Bharat
sixth century BC	Buddhist Meditation	Siddhartha Gautama sets out to accomplish Enlightenment, learning meditation in the procedure.	Republic of india
8th century BC	Buddhist Meditation	The expansion of Japanese Buddhism meditation practices spreads into Japan.	Japan
tenth – 14th century	Christian Meditation	Hesychasm, a tradition of contemplative prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and involves the repetition of the Jesus prayer.	Greece
11th – 12th century Advertizing	Islamic Meditation	The Islamic concept of Dhikr is interpreted by diverse meditative techniques and becomes one of the essential elements of Sufism.
18th century	Buddhist Meditation	The study of Buddhism in the West remains a topic mainly focused upon by intellectuals.	Europe, America
1936	Western Research	An early piece of scientific research on meditation is published.	America
1950s	Buddhist Meditation	The Vipassana motility, or insight meditation, start in Burma.	Burma
1950s	Transcendental Meditation	Maharishi Mahesh Yogi promotes transcendental meditation.	America
1955	Western Inquiry	The first slice of scientific research on meditation using EEGs is published.
1960s	Transcendental Meditation	Swami Rama becomes one of the start yogis to exist studied by Western scientists.	America
1970s	Western Inquiry	Jon Kabat-Zinn begins developing a mindfulness program for adults in clinical settings. He calls it mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR).	America
1970s	Western Enquiry	Herbert Benson shows the effectiveness of meditation through his research.	America
1977	Western Research	James Funderburk publishes an early on collection of scientific studies on meditation.	America
1979	Medical Application	Jon Kabat-Zinn opens the Center for Mindfulness and teaches mindfulness-based stress reduction to treat chronic conditions.	America
1981	Vipassana Meditation	The first Vipassana meditation centers exterior Bharat and Myanmar are established in Massachusetts and Australia.	America, Australia
1996	Modern Meditation	The Chopra Middle for Wellbeing is founded by Deepak Chopra and David Simon.	America
2000	Medical Application	The first major clinical trial of mindfulness with cancer patients is conducted, with results indicating beneficial outcomes for the mindfulness-based stress reduction programs.	America

The Beginnings of Mindfulness Meditation

Much like meditation, the historical and ancient roots of mindfulness tin be traced all over the world, and are heavily mixed with various religious beginnings.

Mindfulness every bit a form of meditation has been traced back to Hinduism, around 1500 BCE, and is heavily connected with the exercise of yoga.

Yoga in its more ancient roots involved very piffling reference to movement or postures and placed a greater accent on stillness, a focus on breathing, and being present with the torso at that moment. Mindfulness in this context has besides been traced dorsum to Buddhism and Daoism, both of which include a strong focus on breathing and cocky-sensation.

Many religions include a form of prayer or meditation technique that sees the individual turning their thoughts away from everyday anxieties in search of greater self-awareness and presence in appreciating a greater perspective virtually life and their faith. This form of meditation is very closely aligned with the practice and purpose of mindfulness.

Around twoscore years ago mindfulness became more prevalent in Western cultures. Jon Kabat-Zinn is often credited with being the founder of 'modern twenty-four hour period' mindfulness, and the idea and concept of mindfulness that is commonly held across western cultures.

In the 1970s Kabat-Zinn founded the Stress Reduction Clinic at the Academy of Massachusetts Medical school, and since and then the school has helped to railroad train and educated more than 18,000 people in the principles of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) – a clinically proven program to assist support individuals experiencing a range of conditions including depression, anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain, and cardiovascular problems.

Williams, Teasdale, and Seagal (1995) furthered the work of Kabat-Zinn past combining the MBSR with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to create the Mindfulness-Based Cerebral Therapy (MBCT) program.

The program is clinically approved in the Great britain and is unremarkably used within clinical psychology to help care for individuals with a range of disorders including personality disorders, chronic pain, emotion regulation, and depression.

A Expect at the History of Meditation Research

As meditation has grown in popularity, then has its interest within the research and psychology communities. The first piece of scientific research on meditation occurred in 1936, and in 1955 the beginning study using an electroencephalogram (EEG) occurred (Feuerstein, 2014). An EEG records electrical waves of activity in the brain by using electrodes placed across an individual's head.

In the 1960s, some of the beginning Western research took identify at the Menninger Dispensary in Kansas, U.s., with Swami Rama, a senior Yogi from the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science. The studies were led by an American psychologist called Gardner Potato and specifically focused on investigating Swami Rama'south abilities to control dissimilar bodily functions that were previously idea completely involuntary, such every bit his heartbeat and claret pressure (Feuerstein, 2018).

Through the studies, Swami Rama besides demonstrated the power to:

Produce different types of brain waves on need – alpha, delta, theta, and gamma
The ability to modify his heartbeat radically, including increasing information technology to 300 beats per minute for xvi seconds and completely stopping information technology from beating for a few seconds
The power to remain conscious of the surrounding surroundings while his brain was in the deep sleep cycle
The ability to control his skin and internal body temperature

The findings from these studies stimulated farther involvement beyond the psychological and medical communities to explore the physiological effects of meditation. Benson, Greenwood, and Klemchuk (1975) examined the effectiveness of meditation to support positive healthcare initiatives.

Through his research, he reported that meditation produces a number of physical and biochemical changes inside the trunk, which he collectively called the 'Relaxation Response'. This was revolutionary at the time equally previously meditation was thought of as a religious practice, and therefore not advisable for medical or wellness purposes.

Benson's research began to change this opinion and continued the demand for further research to fully understand the implications of meditative exercise for healthcare.

More researchers and psychologists continued to carry out studies looking at the effects of meditation on the mind and trunk, with a particular focus on addiction, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive operation (Funderburk, 1977, Brownish, Forte & Dysart, 1984, Hayes, Strosahl & Wilson, 1999, and Carter & Ernst, 2003).

Although the body of research has grown, there have in more recent years been concerns around the validity of blanketing some of the findings, with peer-reviewed, a meta-analysis of research finding that many of the research results are inconclusive.

In 2000, the Dalai Lama met with psychologists and neuroscientists from Western backgrounds in India, to push the study of accomplished meditation masters with advanced neuroimaging technology and further explore the impact of meditation on the brain.

The National Centre for Complementary and Integrative Health published one such review in 2007. In their report, the researchers reviewed 813 different studies that examined five dissimilar categories of meditation: mantra meditation, mindfulness meditation, T'ai Chi, Qigong, and yoga.

They focused on studies involving adults, and those that specifically looked at the effects of meditation on physiological atmospheric condition such equally cardiovascular affliction, substance abuse, addiction, and hypertension. From the review, the researchers concluded that in that location is a lack of quality methodology beyond studies pertaining to meditation and that there appeared to be no common theoretical perspective across scientific research.

Although the quality of the research has certainly improved since the 1960s and 1970s when it kickoff began, the researchers in this review argued that there is still work to be done.

A Brief History of Transcendental Meditation

Transcendental Meditation is a specific meditative exercise, which involves the repetition of a sound called a mantra, for 15-xx minutes, at least twice a twenty-four hours. Transcendental Meditation seeks to assistance the individual to move into a state of relaxed awareness.

This detail technique and movement were introduced in the 1950s past Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, an Indian Guru. Maharishi is a championship he earnt through his work, significant 'Great Seer'.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi began as a follower of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, the spiritual leader of Jyotirmath in the Indian Himalayas. He credits Brahmananda Saraswati with inspiring most of his own teachings and the development of Transcendental Deep meditation, afterward renamed to Transcendental Meditation.

In 1955, Maharishi Mahesh introduced Transcendental Meditation inside India and quickly adult a following, which and then began to spread out further into the globe.

Between 1955 and 1965, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi undertook multiple global tours to spread his teachings and spiritual beliefs alongside the practice of Transcendental Meditation.

Following the world tours, the practise gained further popularity in the 1970s, with celebrities advocating for the value of the practice. During this fourth dimension Maharishi Mahesh besides began to train others equally Transcendental Meditation Teachers and developed schools defended to didactics the practice (Russell, 1977).

The do continued to gain popularity throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and by the early on 2000s, Transcendental Meditation equally a do and motility had grown to include a variety of associated services including health products, educational programs, and teacher training courses, with millions of people involved. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi remained the leader of what became a huge multinational movement correct upwards until his expiry in 2008.

Tony Nader, a Lebanese researcher, neuroscientist, and author, became Maharishi Mahesh's successor immediately following his expiry every bit the leader for the movement.

Transcendental Meditation is still one of the nearly widely practiced forms of meditation today and remained largely unchanged since its first introduction in the 1950s. Information technology is too one of the most widely researched (Benson and Klipper, 2001).

What is Vipassana Meditation?

Vipassana is 1 of the oldest Buddhist meditation practices and can exist roughly translated to mean 'insight': an awareness of what is happening, exactly as information technology happens. This is the core distinction betwixt Vipassana Meditation compared with other techniques. It's of import to understand this distinction, in guild to fully sympathize and engage with Vipassana every bit a meditative technique.

Inside Buddhism, in that location are two cadre forms of meditation and in Pali, these are chosen Vipassana and Samatha. Samatha is roughly translated to mean 'tranquility': when the listen is brought to a resting state and non allowed to wander from idea to idea.

The majority of meditative practices focus on Samatha, in that they ask the individual to focus on one matter – a chant, a prayer, a candle, an image – and to exclude all other thoughts.

In Vipassana Meditation, the individual is encouraged instead to use their concentration to proceeds true insight into the nature of their own reality. The ultimate aim is to achieve liberation by breaking downward the walls that prevent us from agreement our true reality.

As a meditative technique, it is very gradual and achieving liberation tin take many years. The technique itself is quite gentle merely extremely thorough in helping the individual accomplish ultimate mindful awareness through a dedicated set of exercises. There are three core stages of the practice:

Sila – significant 'morality' and relating to the giving up of worldly thoughts and desires.
Anapanasati – or the 'mindfulness of breathing', where the individual brings their awareness to their breathing without control or judgment.
Vitarka – where the private just names the process of breathing – both physical and mental – without giving it further in-depth thought.

By outset with one inhalation, the technique sees you continue on this path, removing any other sensation of external events effectually y'all, and build from there to the adjacent exhalation and so forth. Many people fail over and over again.

The purpose is to retrain your listen and create a state of hyper-sensation for everything that is happening within your firsthand reality, exactly every bit it is happening and exactly how it happens. Through Vipassana Meditation you are seeking to create perfect, unbroken awareness with your reality (Pandita, 2018).

nine Recommended Books

As meditation becomes more widely acknowledged and accepted, you tin find plenty of reading material to help you develop your own practice and knowledge of its powerful benefits. Below I've listed a few books to help you become started, cleaved down by general topics:

Books about the history of meditation

'The Origin of Buddhist Meditation' past Alexander Wynne (Amazon)
'Zen Buddhism: A History, India and Cathay' past Heinrich Dumoulin (Amazon)
'Zen Buddhism: A History, Japan' by Heinrich Dumoulin (Amazon)

Books about meditation practice

'Meditation: How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Listen' by Pema Chödrön (Amazon)
'Meditation: An in-depth guide' by Ian Gawler (Amazon)
'The Science of Meditation: How to Change Your Encephalon, Mind and Body' past Daniel Goleman (Amazon)

Books well-nigh mindfulness

'Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Nowadays Moment—and Your Life' by Jon Kabat-Zinn (Amazon)
'Peace Is Every Footstep: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life' by Thich Nhat Hanh (Amazon)
'The Neuroscience of Mindfulness: The Amazing Science behind How Everyday Hobbies Help You Relax' by Dr. Stan Rodski (Amazon)

8 Videos on YouTube

The more you build your understanding and knowledge of meditation, information technology'south different origins and means of practicing, the more likely information technology is you lot'll find a version that works for yous.

Explore the history tin too help you feel better connected with your practice as you accept a deeper appreciation for how aboriginal and varied it is.

These pop TEDx videos are a great starting bespeak:

Debunking the 5 Most Common Meditation Myths – TEDxVeniceBeach

How Mindfulness Meditation Redefines Hurting, Happiness & Satisfaction – TEDxSFU

Taming Your Wandering Listen – TEDxCoconutGrove

If yous're interested in getting started with a meditation exercise, a guided video tin help you to keep on track and develop a better understanding and connection with the procedure. Here are a few favorites of mine from YouTube to help you on your way:

Body Scan Exercise with Jon Kabat-Zinn

Guided Meditation for Detachment from Overthinking

3-Minute Mindful Breathing Meditation (to Relieve Stress) with Finish, Breathe & Think

Guided Meditation with Kelsang Jampa – TEDxSarasota

Ii Minute Guided Meditation – The School of Life

A Take Abode Message

I hope later reading through the history and origins of meditation, you'll feel a renewed sense of awe for how aboriginal and inherent to being human being the practice is.

If there is one matter I'd like yous to have abroad from this article, it's the idea that, above and beyond whatsoever religious affiliations, meditation seems to be a core part of being human. It has been proficient and handed down for centuries, and nosotros should not undervalue how of import even a short and simple engagement in meditation practice can be. Especially within our current, hectic daily lives.

I'd dear to hear your own thoughts on meditation, or if you take any other insights about the origins and history of meditation, delight exercise share them in the comments.

Nosotros hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don't forget to download our iii Mindfulness Exercises for free.

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Source: https://positivepsychology.com/history-of-meditation/