Understanding Spiritual Meditation
Last Updated: September 19th, 2023
By: Mark Stevens
Quick Guide To Spiritual Meditation
Spiritual meditation is practiced in a variety of religions and civilizations around the world. Some people use it to relieve tension and relax, while others use it to cleanse their souls and uncover and develop their link to something bigger than themselves. While numerous studies have examined how meditation can help people relax, few have looked into how it might help people spiritually. This is most likely due to the fact that spirituality is difficult to quantify. Despite this, there is a substantial amount of scientific research that explores spiritual meditation in a variety of forms.
If you want to know, what is spiritual meditation? What are the benefits of spiritual meditation? What is the spiritual technique? then you will find all the answers to your questions in this ultimate guide to spiritual meditation.
Contents
What Is Spiritual Meditation?
Spiritual meditation is a transformative experience that brings you to the core of your being. You, as your true self, devoid of any preconceived notions about yourself up to that point in time. You will feel joy and calm as a result of this practice. Your being is warmed by a sense of belonging and peace. Spiritual meditation allows you to recognize the everlasting truth and let go of everything that has transpired and will transpire in your life. The present is where you’re at and where you will find comfort. Spiritual meditation is necessary because you have an intrinsic need to perceive and comprehend beyond the world of chaos around you.
Spiritual meditation is used in many traditions around the world as a means of connecting to the divine. Spiritual meditation is practiced in a variety of ways by thousands of spiritual and religious communities. The following are a few instances of spiritual meditation from major religions and cultures:
- Sufi Dhikr Or Remembrance Of God
- Mantra Meditation And The Hindu Japa Mala
- Loving-Kindness Or Metta Meditation In Buddhism
- Zazen Meditation In Zen Buddhism
- Marananussati Bhavana In Theravada
- Contemplative Prayer In Christianity
Spiritual meditation, as per a 2017 study, focuses on acquiring a better knowledge of spiritual and religious meaning as well as a link with greater power. Spiritual meditation, unlike other types of meditation, is about much more than stress management or comfort.
Understanding The Benefits Of Spiritual Meditation
Before you begin practicing spiritual meditation, it is critical that you fully comprehend the benefits of spiritual meditation, or, in other words, why you are engaging in this activity on a daily basis. The more you comprehend why spiritual meditation is beneficial, the simpler it will be to remain committed and dedicated to the practice and to make it a part of your daily routine.
Spiritual meditating, like brushing your teeth, ought to be a part of your everyday routine. You brush your teeth at least once a day, if not several times a day, because brushing your teeth only once would be ineffective. Spiritual meditation should be approached in the same way. To see effects, you must do it on a regular basis.
So, what kind of outcomes can you anticipate? Well, the reason spiritual meditation is so prevalent and has been for such a long time, is that it can actually influence practically every aspect of your life. The following are some of the acknowledged advantages:
- Help reduce stress.
- Aids the ability to concentrate.
- Improve sleep.
- Increases self-awareness.
- Aid reduce anxiety and regulates mood.
- Helps boost the immune system.
- Promotes better decision-making.
- Helps in delaying aging.
- Enhances emotional fortitude.
These are just a handful of the numerous benefits of spiritual meditation that might improve your life. Now that you understand why you should meditate, it’s essential to understand how to begin.
The Spiritual Meditation Technique
Every novice should concentrate on two primary aspects of spiritual meditation: breathing and tranquility. All you have to do is concentrate on these fundamental aspects of spiritual meditation, find a suitable, quiet spot to practice, and set up 15 to 20 minutes of your time. Then you’ll go to your first meditation session in this manner:
Choose A Relaxing Position
The most crucial thing to do before you start practicing is to select a comfortable spot and position. This entails avoiding as much as feasible city noises and immersing yourself with nature and the soothing chirping of birds. Spiritual meditation has the ability to send you to sleep swiftly. To avoid this, you must exercise extreme caution when choosing a meditation position. Choose a posture that is pleasant for you, but not one that is too comfortable and will cause you to fall asleep easily. Take a seat in Vajrasana(Thunderbolt Pose or Diamond Pose), Padmasana(Lotus Position), or Sukhasana(The Easy Pose). You can also sit with your back straight in a chair or stand with your back against the wall. Do whatever works for you. Then gently close your eyes.
Familiarize Yourself With The Procedure
What do you generally do when you have the assignment to complete? You make a strategy, visualize the method in your head, and intentionally follow the pattern. That’s how we’ve always done things. We carefully prepare and carry out each one. This, however, is not the best method to approach meditation.
You’ll have to let it go here. Relax and allow it to run its course in a naturally derived way. You should remain a passive observer, letting the procedure unfold naturally. Do not be anxious about the consequence or about making things right. Allow things to take their natural course.
Recognize Your Thoughts
We live in an information-driven world. You are constantly bombarded with new information via live updates, news stories, and social networking sites. As a consequence, your mind is constantly buzzing with fresh information and the reactions of your brain to it. It’s a never-ending game while you’re awake, and it’s even more difficult to settle your racing thoughts while you’re sleeping.
Every thought makes you react, and you end up becoming affected by it. Thoughts will overwhelm you even as you sit to meditate. However, the difficulty is in refusing to respond to them and enabling them to rule you. Allow thoughts to come to you naturally, but resist the desire to react to them. Allow them to drift away, allowing you to return to your meditation.
Say a Prayer
Choose a prayer in your mind as you sit quietly, stopping your thoughts from defaming your calm demeanor. Prayer does not have to be religious in nature. You are free to say anything that is beneficial to you or that you enjoy. It might be a single word or a sentence. If you are a nature enthusiast, it could be something connected to wildlife or something which makes you cheerful. It’s perhaps possible that it’s a mantra.
Maintain a loose and comfortable body now. Breathe deeply and gently. Examine your breath as it enters and leaves your body. Thoughts may obstruct your activity, but you know how to deal with them. After each mental interruption, return to your body and breathing. Then, as you exhale, recall the prayer you selected. Every time you exhale, repeat it in your brain. Make use of the prayer to return your focus back to your breathing.
Reflect On Yourself
Concentrate on your body, as well as your consciousness and awareness of the environment. Make yourself aware of your surroundings. Take note of how your body feels. Pay attention to your breathing and thoughts. Relax deeply and maintain your composure. Slowly open up your eyes and remain in the same posture for a while.
Allow meditation’s impacts to seep in. Embrace it, and appreciate the sensation of lightness in your body. Consider the full procedure and how you carried it out. Observe how you are less agitated than you were before the meditation. Acknowledge that you had a normal instinct for the procedure. As this was the final step, you can now leave the meditation domain, stretch a little, and resume your normal routine.
When Should You Meditate?
You may meditate at any desired time of day, although it is recommended that you do it in the morning and evening. These are the moments when our bodies are much more instinctively open to accepting and connecting. However, if you feel more at ease performing your spiritual meditation at a different time during the day, go ahead and do it. It’s critical that each person understands themselves well enough to determine their individual best time, as they’ll be more likely to stick to a daily practice if they do.
Morning Meditation
If you’re going to meditate in the morning, start a journal first. Use this time to jot down everything that comes to mind; it may be extended on some days. On other days, a sentence or two will be enough. This will assist you in clearing your mind in preparation for your morning meditation.
Night Meditation
It is preferable to practice spiritual meditation shortly before bedtime. Before you start meditating, set your phone to Do Not Disturb mode and leave it there until the morning. Minimize your screen time after your meditation and let yourself fall asleep spontaneously.
In Summary
Spiritual meditation is a unique experience for each person. It is followed in many traditions and cultures across the globe, and there is some scientific evidence to back up its advantages. While spiritual meditation will not grant you superpowers, it will allow you to connect to something larger than yourself.
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