Positive Effects of Meditation

by Shirley Ryan

Meditation gives you what nothing else can give you: it introduces you to yourself — Swami Rama, founder of the Himalayan International Institute.   Meditation is the place where I first found the most complete knowledge of God (or the force I call God) and myself, and where I learned how the two are both the same and different — Michal Levin, author of  Meditation: Path to the Deepest Self   The kingdom of heaven is within. — Jesus Christ

 

While there are myriad definitions of meditation, one commonality is the shifting of focus from outer objects or activities to an inner dimension where one may encounter timelessness, a connection to wisdom, or a sense of peace.  Meditation is a practice of concentrated focus upon a sound, object, visualization, the breath, movement, or attention itself in order to increase awareness of the present moment, reduce stress, promote relaxation, and enhance personal and spiritual growth.

Modern science is finally verifying what sages and enlightened beings have known for the millennia. Meditation is good for you. Historically, meditation has been practiced for its spiritual, rather than physical, benefits. The apparent attitude has been, simplistically, attain enlightenment and everything else will fall into place. Today we tend to be (rightly or not) less focused on enlightenment, and more on the physical and mental benefits of meditation. Whatever the objective, meditating can offer benefits, and a sampling of the general benefits follows:

• Lowers cholesterol and blood pressure
• Allows the autonomic nervous system to become balanced, so that rest and healing can occur
• Studies show decreased risk of stroke and heart disease
• Increases melatonin production which improves quality of sleep and decreases cancer risk
• Increases awareness of intuition
• Improves concentration and focus
• Reduces stress, anxiety, tension
• Increased creativity
• Better relationships
• Increased self-awareness and self-acceptance
• Deeper sense of spirituality and meaning
• Clinically shown to enhance health status in individuals with psoriasis, allergies, asthma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, migraines, chronic pain, diabetes, cancer and panic attacks.

Exploring the benefits

Research has shown that Meditation can contribute to an individual's psychological and physiological well-being. This is accomplished as Meditation brings the brainwave pattern into an alpha state, which is a level of consciousness that promotes the healing state. There is scientific evidence that Meditation can reduce blood pressure and relieve pain and stress. The health benefits of meditation in three parts: (1) physiological benefits; (2) psychological benefits and (3) spiritual benefits.

Physiological Benefits:

• Deep rest-as measured by decreased metabolic rate, lower heart rate, and reduced work load of the heart.
• Lowered levels of cortisol and lactate-two chemicals associated with stress.
• Reduction of free radicals- unstable oxygen molecules that can cause tissue damage.
• Decreased high blood pressure.
• Higher skin resistance. Low skin resistance is correlated with higher stress and anxiety levels.
• Drop in cholesterol levels. High cholesterol is associated with cardiovascular disease.
• Improved flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing. This has been very helpful to asthma patients.
• Decreases the ageing process.
• Higher levels of DHEAS in the elderly. An additional sign of youthfulness.

Psychological Benefits:

• Increased brain wave coherence.
• Greater creativity.
• Decreased anxiety.
• Decreased depression
• Decreased irritability and moodiness
• Improved learning ability and memory.
• Increased self-actualization.
• Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation.
• Increased happiness.
• Increased emotional stability.

Spiritual Benefits:

The longer an individual practices meditation, the greater the likelihood that his or her goals and efforts will shift toward personal and spiritual growth. Many individuals who initially learn meditation for its self-regulatory aspects find that as their practice deepens they are drawn more and more into the realm of the "spiritual." In her work with many cancer and AIDS patients, Dr. Borysenko has observed that many are most interested in meditation as a way of becoming more attuned to the spiritual dimension of life. She reports that many die "healed," in a state of compassionate self-awareness and self-acceptance. Obviously, the benefits accrue with consistency over time.

Types of Meditation

Meditation Methods
Most widely used meditation methods evolved as part of religious traditions and, as such, each of them may be controversial for people who do not identify with the tradition in which the particular method developed. Some of the ways that people meditate are as follows.

Concentration
In concentration meditation, the meditator focuses on one object, most commonly the breath or a word, known as a mantra. Transcendental Meditation or TM as it’s called is probably the most commonly known form of mantra meditation.

Centering Prayer
Centering prayer is similar to concentration meditation, except that during centering prayer, a sacred word or phrase is used as the object of focus.

Guided Meditation
This form of meditation is where you usually listen to a person walk you through a series of instructions or images. To me, this is really more of a visualization or relaxation because when you are listening to a person talking you are using different mental functions than when you are letting go of thought, or focusing on a certain object. These guided meditations can be useful in relaxing and developing new thought patterns. 

Cultivation
Cultivation is a form of meditation with a particular objective in mind.  For example, the practitioner of this type of meditation may aim to cultivate certain qualities such as joy or forgiveness, to boost the immune system or to execute a perfect dive.  This type of meditation is close to visualization, where the imagination is actively used.

Mindfulness Meditation
This is a form of meditation which focuses on being fully present -- really seeing a flower or really tasting a raisin. Many meditation practitioners suggest that the formal meditation process expands throughout the day, so that the entire waking experience is an exercise in awareness.

Meditation from Various Points of View

Herbert Benson, M.D., researcher at Harvard in the early 1970s led the way. Benson's impeccable credentials and university affiliation, along with the world-class quality of his work, led to publication of breakthrough articles on meditation in the Scientific American and the American Journal of Physiology. His book, The Relaxation Response topped the best seller lists in the mid-1970s, and is still widely read.

In The Relaxation Response, Benson concluded, based on his research that meditation acted as an antidote to stress. The body's physical response under stress is well known; when a real or imagined threat is present, the human nervous system activates the "fight-or-flight" mechanism. The activity of the sympathetic portion of the nervous system increases, causing an increased heart beat, increased respiratory rate, elevation of blood pressure, and increase in oxygen consumption.

Meditation's Effects on Muscle Tension and Pain Numerous studies have shown a decrease in muscle tension during meditation. As Michael Murphy points out, this contributes to the body's lowered need for energy, the slowing of respiration, and the lowering of stress-related hormones in the blood. In some studies, the decrease in muscle tension as a result of meditation even exceeded the impressive effects of biofeedback training.

Dr. Kabat-Zinn's studies have demonstrated decreases in many kinds of pain in people who had been unresponsive to standard medical treatment. A large majority of the patients in Kabat-Zinn's studies who were taught to meditate improved, while control groups of similar patients showed no significant improvement. Various related studies have shown improvement in pain from muscle tension, headaches, dysmenorrheal, and other conditions.

Changes in Brainwaves and Enhanced Perception It should come as no surprise that among the well-documented effects of meditation is the alteration of brain-wave patterns. Dozens of studies have shown an increase in alpha rhythms, which are correlated with a state of relaxed alertness. In addition, numerous studies have shown enhanced synchronization of alpha rhythms among four regions of the brain right, left, front, and back. This may be an indication of increased coherence of brain-wave activity.

Some researchers have demonstrated positive effects of meditation on mind-body coordination, exploring this area by measuring such parameters as visual sensitivity to light flashes, response to auditory stimuli, and ability to remember and discriminate musical tones. There are also indications that during meditation the function of the right hemisphere of the brain (generally correlated with creativity and imagination) is enhanced, while that of the left hemisphere (generally correlated with linear, intellectual thought) is inhibited.

Deepak Chopra, states that there is a relationship between meditation and healing, from Quantum Healing:

"Our bodies ultimately are fields of information, intelligence and energy. Quantum healing involves a shift in the fields of energy information, so as to bring about a correction in an idea that has gone wrong. So quantum healing involves healing one mode of consciousness, mind, to bring about changes in another mode of consciousness, body.

Meditation is a very important aspect of all the approaches that one can use in quantum healing, because it allows you to experience your own source. When you experience your own source, you realize that you are not the patterns and eddies of desire and memory that flow and swirl in your consciousness. Although these patterns of desire and memory are the field of your manifestation, you are in fact not these swirling fluctuations of thought.

You are the thinker behind the thought, the observer behind the observation, the flow of attention, the flow of awareness, the unbounded ocean of consciousness. When you have that on the experiential level, you spontaneously realize that you have choices, and that you can exercise these choices, not through some sheer will power, but spontaneously."

Meditation as Taught by Edgar Cayce The Cayce method has an underlying intention: the integration of body, mind, and spirit. The goal of meditation, say the Cayce readings, goes beyond attunement within the individual; it includes service to humankind and a heightened relationship to God, or the Creative Forces.

The place to start, Cayce asserted, is not with technique but with an examination of our purpose. Find your ideal, he urged, so that your practice of meditation will be grounded in a positive purpose. This ideal might be "love," "compassion," "serving others," or any of a host of other worthwhile guiding principles. What matters most is that it truly be an ideal that embodies service, and that it be something you have a sincere commitment to live up to.

In her book, Healing through Meditation and Prayer, Meredith Puryear offers a clear and concise introduction to Edgar Cayce's approach to meditation. Before laying out a specific set of directions, Puryear asks us to remember why we are meditating, and offers suggestions on how to enhance the effects of meditation. "When we ask how to meditate, the real question we are asking is: How do we learn to commune with God? The answer lies not in some technique, though every activity will have some form to it, but with the desire of the heart to know our oneness with Him. To awaken this desire we must feed our soul and mind a more spiritual diet. We must begin to take time to listen to beautiful, uplifting music, to read inspirational poetry and prose and the great scriptures of the ages: the Bible, the Koran, the Talmud, and the Bhagavad-Gita. Even five minutes a day with some uplifting word will change the direction of our lives.

Meditation & Yoga Meditation is one of the five principles of yoga. It an important tool to achieve mental clarity and health. An overview of the different beginner and advanced meditation techniques will aid in choosing the right meditation exercise for you.

T'ai Chi and Health The regular practice of t’ai chi maintains health, develops keen balance and agility, and encourages proper circulation of energy and bodily fluids. The cornerstone of t'ai chi practice, the "solo" exercise or simply the "form"), is a slow, graceful and beautifully fluid choreography of relaxed natural postures and movements.

Like Hatha Yoga, t'ai chi strengthens the functioning of the central nervous system and thus effectively exercises the entire physiology, not just a few muscle groups and the cardiovascular system. The most immediate and obvious benefits are improved posture, circulation, metabolism, digestion, and neuro-muscular functioning, as well as accelerated healing of disease and infection.

Summary of the Benefits of Meditation

Meditation benefits people with or without acute medical illness or stress. People who meditate regularly have been shown to feel less anxiety and depression. They also report that they experience more enjoyment and appreciation of life and that their relationships with others are improved. Meditation produces a state of deep relaxation and a sense of balance or equanimity.

According to Michael J. Baime, "Meditation cultivates an emotional stability that allows the meditator to experience intense emotions fully while simultaneously maintaining perspective on them." Out of this experience of emotional stability, one may gain greater insight and understanding about one's thoughts, feelings, and actions. This insight in turn offers the possibility to feel more confident and in control of life. Meditation facilitates a greater sense of calmness, empathy, and acceptance of self and others.

Meditation can be used with other forms of medical treatment and is an important complementary therapy for both the treatment and prevention of many stress-related conditions. Regular meditation can reduce the number of symptoms experienced by patients with a wide range of illnesses and disorders. Based upon clinical evidence as well as theoretical understanding, meditation is considered to be one of the better therapies for panic disorder , generalized anxiety disorder, substance dependence and abuse, ulcers, colitis, chronic pain, psoriasis, and dysthymic disorder.

Meditation is considered to be a valuable adjunctive therapy for moderate hypertension (high blood pressure), prevention of cardiac arrest (heart attack), prevention of atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries), arthritis (including fibromyalgia), cancer, insomnia, migraine, and prevention of stroke. It may also be a valuable complementary therapy for allergies and asthma because of the role stress plays in these conditions. Meditative practices have been reported to improve function or reduce symptoms in patients with some neurological disorders as well. These include people with Parkinson's disease, people who experience fatigue with multiple sclerosis, and people with epilepsy who are resistant to standard treatment.

Overall, a 1995 report to the National Institutes of Health on alternative medicine concluded that, "More than 30 years of research, as well as the experience of a large and growing number of individuals and health care providers, suggests that meditation and similar forms of relaxation can lead to better health, higher quality of life, and lowered health care costs..."

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