Meditation is a practice that revolves around increasing awareness and understanding.
It has been used by Buddhist monks for generations, but more recently it has begun to see widespread use across all types of people for its many mental health benefits like decreasing anxiety and stress.
Meditation usually includes sitting down, closing one’s eyes, and focusing on a specific subject, but there are different variations and types that stray from this formula.
Types of Meditation
The question of “how many types of meditation are there” is one that is frequently asked, but it cannot truly be answered.
There are many different types of meditation, so much so that to list even a fraction of them would take an eternity.
However, we will go over a few of the most popular and well-known types of meditation.
1. Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation is by far the most popular form of meditation.
This type of meditation revolves around continually reminding ourselves to stay in the present.
This is usually done by focusing on the breath, something which is always there in the present moment.
Mindfulness meditation is also the most studied form of meditation, with thousands of studies and tests being done on meditation practitioners to see what the real effects of meditation are.
This is why mindfulness meditation is usually the recommended form of meditation, as it is the only one with proven benefits like reducing anxiety and increasing happiness.
2. Concentrative Meditation
Concentrative meditation involves focusing on one subject and bringing our attention back to said subject when thoughts come.
The subject of concentrative meditation can be anything, but the most common subjects are music or specific sounds.
Concentrative meditation has not been as studied as mindfulness meditation, so its benefits are not as well-known.
However, this form of meditation is still practised by millions of people around the world, and many report it as having similar effects to mindfulness meditation.
3. Specific Meditation Types
Some other less common types of meditation include mantra meditation, walking meditation, nature meditation, transcendental meditation, and ‘do nothing’ meditation.
These are but a few of the many types of meditation that are out there – in all reality, there are hundreds, if not thousands of others.
Impact of Meditation
Meditation can be incredibly impactful both on our minds and our bodies.
We will go into the specific changes that meditation makes to the brain in the next section of this article, but when it comes to the tangible meditation benefits, meditation can reduce stress and anxiety, increase life satisfaction, and make us happier overall.
It can also increase concentration and productivity – something which makes meditation a favourite among business owners and entrepreneurs.
Meditation is just a meta skill that can improve all aspects of life, and the impact it can have on an individual is incredibly powerful.
What Does Meditation Do to the Brain?
As we mentioned before, meditation has been heavily studied in a clinical setting.
We now have a pretty good idea of what meditation does to the brain, and the results of this are going to shock you.
For one, meditation has been shown to reduce the size of the amygdala, the part of our brains responsible for fear and anxiety.
In turn, this can reduce stress and anxiety, lessen symptoms of panic attacks, and even help treat more severe disorders like agoraphobia.
Another way that meditation changes us is by increasing the amount of grey matter in our brains.
The volume of grey matter we have in our brains has a direct correlation to awareness, memory, and life satisfaction, making meditation a great tool for combatting depression as well as increasing overall happiness.
It is worth noting that these changes do take place over a long period of time.
As a general rule of thumb, it takes around 2 months of consistent mediation for substantial change to start happening to the brain.
However, even for such a short period of time, the effects that meditation can have on the brain are staggering.
Meditation quite literally changes the way we think and feel for the better, and its physical effects on the brain are only just beginning to be discovered.
The Benefits of Meditation
1. Meditation Is a Tool for Navigating the Waters of Life
Meditation can serve as a valuable tool for navigating the ups and downs, challenges, and uncertainties of life.
It can help individuals develop a sense of calm, clarity, and resilience, enabling them to navigate life’s various experiences with greater ease and equanimity.
2. Meditation Is a Practice of Mindfulness We All Need
Meditation is a practice that cultivates mindfulness, which is the quality of being fully present and aware in the moment without judgement.
It is a skill that everyone can benefit from, as it helps individuals develop self-awareness, emotional regulation, and a deeper connection with the present moment.
3. Meditation Is a Process Of ‘Undoing’
Meditation is not about striving or achieving, but rather about letting go and undoing the layers of stress, tension, and distractions that accumulate in the mind and body.
Through meditation, individuals can learn to let go of thoughts, emotions, and patterns of behaviour that no longer serve them, and cultivate a state of relaxation, ease, and spaciousness.
4. Meditation Helps You To Accept The Here And Now
Meditation encourages individuals to practise acceptance and non-judgement towards the present moment, as it is.
It helps individuals let go of regrets about the past and worries about the future, and instead be fully present in the here and now, fostering a sense of contentment, gratitude, and peace.
5. Meditation Gives You An Opportunity To Step Back From Your Thoughts
Meditation allows individuals to observe their thoughts and emotions from a detached perspective, without getting caught up in them.
It provides a space to witness the workings of the mind without judgement and develop a greater understanding of one’s thought patterns and habits.
6. All Meditation Offers Connection
Meditation can foster a sense of connection and interconnection, not only with oneself but also with others and the world around us.
It can help individuals develop a deeper sense of empathy, compassion, and interconnectedness, promoting a more harmonious relationship with oneself and others.
7. Meditation Is Not About Grasping For An Outcome
Unlike goal-oriented activities, meditation is not about striving for a particular outcome or result.
It is about the process of being present and observing without attachment or judgement.
It cultivates a non-striving attitude, allowing individuals to let go of expectations and simply be in the moment.
8. Mindfulness Can Open Us Up To Genuine Contact And Communication With Others
Practising mindfulness through meditation can help individuals develop better communication skills by fostering active listening, empathy, and presence.
It can enhance genuine contact with others by cultivating deep listening and understanding, leading to more authentic and meaningful connections.
9. The Ultimate Aim Of Meditation Is A Peaceful Mind
The ultimate goal of many meditation practices is to cultivate a peaceful and tranquil mind.
Through regular practice, individuals can learn to quiet the mind, reduce stress and anxiety, and cultivate a state of inner peace and equanimity.
10. Meditation Can Help You Observe Your Own Life From A Third-Party Point Of View
Meditation can provide individuals with a detached and objective perspective on their own life experiences, allowing them to view their thoughts, emotions, and behaviours from a third-party point of view.
This can lead to greater self-awareness, insight, and understanding.
11. Meditation Can Help You to Have Compassion and Empathy for Self and Others
Meditation practices often include cultivating qualities such as compassion, loving-kindness, and empathy towards oneself and others.
Regular meditation can foster a deeper sense of connection and care towards oneself and others, promoting a more compassionate and empathetic outlook towards life.
12. Meditation Can Help You Listen To Your Intuition
Meditation practices can create a calm and quiet space within the mind, allowing individuals to tune in and listen to their inner wisdom and intuition.
By reducing mental chatter and distractions, meditation can enhance one’s ability to tap into intuitive insights, inner guidance, and gut feelings.
Regular meditation can cultivate a deeper sense of self-awareness and attunement to one’s intuition, helping individuals make decisions and choices aligned with their inner wisdom.
Why do Buddhists meditate?
Now that we know how meditation can help average people, we can dive into what its purpose is in religions like Buddhism.
What is Buddhist meditation?
Buddhist meditation is centred around staying in the present moment.
For this reason, mindfulness meditation is the most common type of meditation found within Buddhism, but there are many different types of meditation that Buddhists may perform.
One of the reasons why Buddhists meditate is to get access to the same benefits that the rest of us want.
Finding peace and being happy is one of the main goals within Buddhism, and meditation is just one of the many tools they use to achieve this.
Finding Nirvana
The main purpose of meditation in Buddhism is to find nirvana.
Nirvana is liberation from the material world, or ‘enlightenment’ as it is most commonly known as in the West.
Through meditation, Buddhists are able to increase their understanding of the world and the universe, allowing them to detach themselves from the corporal realm to find peace.
This is mainly done by relinquishing the three fires –greed, aversion, and ignorance.
Reaching nirvana is the primary purpose of Buddhist meditation, and it is the sole goal of many of its practitioners.
The Difference Between Prayer and Meditation
One thing that gets many people confused is the difference between prayer and meditation.
Buddhist monks use both prayer and meditation to reach enlightenment, and while they may seem similar, they serve different purposes.
Meditation is primarily a tool that is used for increasing awareness and staying in the present moment, while prayer is used to reinforce Buddhist ideas such as helping others or the power of nirvana.
It’s also worth noting that the biblical meaning of meditation varies from the Buddhist meaning of meditation.
In Christianity, meditation is seen as self-reflection as well as thinking about scripture, whereas meditation is a tangible practice in Buddhism.
How to Practise Meditation
Practising meditation may seem daunting at first, but it’s actually surprisingly easy.
Let’s take a look at how to practise meditation.
Mastering the basics: Breathing and Posture
To start, sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes.
Your back should be straight, but your posture isn’t as big of a concern as some make it out to be.
As long as you are in an upright position with your back relatively straight, you are golden.
From here, bring your attention to your breath.
This may feel uncomfortable at first – it can seem a little strange focusing on something that we barely ever notice.
However, you just need to push through any irritation you feel – this will go away after a few sessions.
Bring Your Awareness Back to Your Breath
Once you begin to focus on your breath, thoughts will inevitably distract you and take your attention away.
This is completely normal.
A common misconception about meditation is that you are supposed to be completely thoughtless throughout the entire process – this is not the case.
We cannot control our thoughts for the most part, and even people who have meditated for years still have thoughts during meditation.
The key is to shift your focus back to your breath when you notice that your attention has been taken away.
You should do this gently – don’t get angry at yourself for losing your focus.
Eventually, you will be able to catch your attention slipping and readjust yourself straight away.
However, when you first begin, your attention could be taken away for minutes at a time before you even notice.
Get Into a Routine
If you want to practise meditation and get all of its benefits, it is essential that you get into a routine.
It takes months of consistent practice for the real effects to kick in, so you need to accept that you are not going to notice the benefits right away.
The best way to start a meditation practice is to set a specific time each and every day when you are going to do it and how long for.
Start with just a few minutes every day.
This will get you into the habit of meditating, and as you improve, you can slowly increase the length of your meditations.
You will want to build up to 2 20-minute meditation sessions per day, as this has been proven to be the optimal length to receive all of the benefits.
It’s going to take some time and effort, but it will be more than worth it in the long run.
How Can We Meditate in Our Everyday Lives?
To meditate in our daily lives, it is best to meditate on a regular basis.
Not only do the positive effects of meditation only come after a certain length of time of consistent meditation, but it will also be much easier to stick to it once you have built the habit.
As we said previously, you want to start small and build up.
It will be tough at first, but over time, you will become more comfortable.
There is also another option for meditating on a daily basis; guided meditation.
The purpose of guided meditation is to make meditation accessible to anyone.
If you wish, you could even follow a guided meditation routine every single day.
This can make it easier to get started, and you may also find having some guidance quite handy at the start.
Tips for Meditating
The best tip we could give to you when it comes to meditating is just to stick with it.
So many people meditate for a few days, wonder why they are putting themselves through an uncomfortable experience when no benefits are coming to light, and then quit.
It takes time for meditation to take effect, and even then, the differences will happen so slowly that you will not even notice.
The most important part is those first days and weeks.
At first, you might not even be able to sit still for a minute without getting overwhelmed.
This is nothing to be ashamed of – it just shows that meditation will be particularly beneficial for you.
It will take a little discipline to get through those first few sessions, and it is not going to be a pleasant experience.
However, over time, you will notice that you are able to sit for longer and longer without frustration, and this is a sign that you are beginning to see some of the benefits of mediation.
Once we stop listening to our thoughts and instead just stay in the present, sitting still and meditating becomes easy.
History of Meditation
The question of “where did meditation come from” is one that is asked a lot.
While we can’t narrow down its exact origins, there are a few different places in the world where meditation begins to flourish in older civilisations.
Meditation has been practised for thousands of years in various cultures around the world.
The ancient Hindu texts called the Vedas, written over 5000 years ago in India, mention meditation as a means of spiritual practice.
The Buddhist tradition also has a long history of meditation, with Buddha himself having attained enlightenment through meditation.
The Taoist tradition in China also includes meditation as a key practice.
In the West, meditation became more known in the 20th century through influences from Eastern spirituality, including the popularity of yoga, and the work of figures such as the spiritual teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti.
In recent years, meditation has become increasingly popular as a way to reduce stress and improve mental and physical health, and it has been studied by researchers and scientists for its potential benefits.
Meditation has a long and vast history that stretches back to ancient civilisations, and the fact that it has managed to remain popular just goes to show that it has something truly valuable to offer.
Potential Pitfalls
While meditation is a fantastic tool for improving our mental health and lives, there are some potential pitfalls you need to know about.
For one, meditation can exacerbate certain mental ailments for a short period when starting out.
Because of the fact that meditation causes you to face your thoughts and see them clearly, this may make mental issues like anxiety and depression worse for a short time.
Most of us try to push these thoughts to the back of our minds – so when meditation forces us to deal with them, it can make some issues worse temporarily.
However, it is worth noting that this is only temporary.
After a while, you will be able to deal with said thoughts and feelings much better, and your mental state will begin to improve far past what it was before.
This means that for some, it may just be a matter of pushing through until you get to the other side.
In most cases, this exacerbation period only lasts a matter of weeks.
Saying this, if your mental issues are particularly severe, you should talk to a professional psychologist before beginning the practice.
While meditation is undeniably going to help you in the long term, if it is going to push you over the edge in the short term, you need to look at alternative forms of treatment first.
What Is the Purpose of Meditation? – FAQs
Why Should I Try Meditation?
You should try meditation because it can reduce anxiety and stress, increase happiness, and boost productivity.
Meditation is a meta-skill that positively affects all aspects of your life.
What Types of Meditation Should I Try?
The most studied type of meditation is mindful meditation, so this would be a good choice if you want to practise a form of meditation that is tried and tested.
However, feel free to try out any type of meditation you desire. There is no “correct” form of meditation.
How Does Meditation Improve Physical and Emotional Health?
Meditation can improve physical and emotional health by reducing stress and anxiety, lowering blood pressure, reducing the chance of developing certain cancers, as well as much more.
We are still finding new ways that meditation can benefit us.
What Do People Misunderstand About Meditating?
The main thing people misunderstand about meditating is that you are not supposed to have thoughts while meditating.
Thoughts are just a natural process that happens regardless of whether we are meditating or not – the point of meditation is just to not listen to these thoughts.
Is Meditation Recommended for People with Mental Health Concerns?
Yes, meditation is recommended for people with mental health concerns.
In fact, meditation can even be included in treatment plans for depression and anxiety.
However, it still may be a good idea to consult your psychologist if you are scared that meditation may negatively affect your health.
Meditation makes us come face to face with thoughts we would rather avoid, and while this is incredibly beneficial for our mental health in the long term, it can be uncomfortable in the short term.
How to Meditate?
To meditate, sit down in a comfortable position and close your eyes.
From here, bring your attention to your breath.
Thoughts will come and take your attention away, and when you notice that your attention has shifted, gently return your attention to your breath.
This is all there is to meditation.
Does the Mind Have to be Completely Blank to Meditate?
No, the mind does not have to be completely blank to meditate.
This is a common misconception that stops thousands of people from meditating.
It is completely normal to have thoughts while meditating – even expert meditators still have thought during meditation.
The key is to let these thoughts happen and not pay attention to them.
How Long Do You Have to Meditate to See Results?
The length of time to see results from meditating varies, but its positive changes can usually be seen within a few weeks.
To get all of the results from meditation, it takes around two months of consistent meditation.
What if a Person Has Trouble Sitting Still While Meditating?
If a person has trouble sitting still while meditating, this is completely fine. In fact, this is normal when people first begin meditating.
After a few sessions, you will find sitting still easier and easier, and eventually, you will be able to meditate for 20 minutes+ without getting agitated.
Just push through those uncomfortable sessions at the start.
Why is Meditation Important?
Meditation is important because it lets us live happier, healthier lives.
Meditation has helped millions of people around the world reduce stress and anxiety while increasing happiness, and this makes it unbelievably important in our modern world where mental issues are at an all-time high.
We hope this article has been able to give you a better insight into the purpose of meditation.
Meditation comes with so many benefits – there is a good reason why it has been practised for thousands of years.
If you are thinking of starting a meditation routine, we would highly recommend you to do so.
It will make you a happier, healthier person.
If you would like more meditation advice or are just looking for more self-improvement content in general, feel free to check out the other articles we have at MovingForwards.
Giving an answer to “what is the purpose of meditation” is just one of the many ways we could help you.
