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AN
INTRODUCTION TO MEDITATION
Robert
A. Dato, Ph.D., NCPsyA
Meditation
has been studied scientifically for only the past half century,
even though meditation has been practiced for thousands
of years by many cultures. Research indicates that meditation
decreases heart rate, blood pressure, anxiety, and depression—all
key symptoms of stress. Meditation reduces the abuse of
alcohol, cigarettes, and nonprescription drugs. Meditation
increases relaxation, alertness, perceptual and creative
ability, productivity, and performance in school and on
the job. Meditation is quite successful in enhancing the
effectiveness of coaching, counseling, psychotherapy, and
psychoanalysis when practiced in conjunction with these
developmental activities. Thus, it is not surprising that
millions of people around the world practice meditation
every day.
Meditation
is easy to learn and practice. If you decide to devote a
part of each day to meditation, it is recommended that you
meditate early in the morning or late at night. Your meditation
session should take about thirty minutes. If you decide
to meditate indoors, go to an orderly and quiet room and
close the door. Inform others that you will be mediating
and request that you not be disturbed. Sit in a comfortable
chair or on some cushions on the floor. If you decide to
meditate outdoors, choose a safe and serene setting devoid
of ambient activity. As you meditate, keep your body upright,
relaxed, and still. Do not talk while you are meditating.
If your body becomes uncomfortable, shift your position
slightly. As soon as you begin, focus on the rate and depth
of your breathing. During meditation, breathe slowly, deeply,
and continuously. Establish an effortless breathing rhythm.
Maintain this rhythm throughout your session. When your
rhythm becomes slow and deep, shift your focus from breathing
to perceiving. Perceive only. Do not think, move, or feel.
As you meditate, the frequency of your brain waves will
decrease as you enter a preconscious state. Conscious Beta
waves (13-20 Hz) are transformed into preconscious Alpha
waves (8-13 Hz).
Meditation
permits you to explore your conscious, preconscious, and
unconscious perceptions. Open Meditation permits you to
explore your conscious and preconscious perceptions, whereas
Closed Meditation permits you to explore your preconscious
and your unconscious perceptions. It is suggested that you
balance the practice of Open and Closed Meditation so that
you are able to explore perceptions on all levels of awareness.
Open
Meditation. Your eyes should remain open while
engaged in Open Meditation. During Open Meditation, sequentially
focus on the objects in your surroundings. Your conscious
and your preconscious perceptions will integrate automatically.
You will be creating new perceptions. Open Meditation is
similar to the prolonged and intense state of concentration
known as flow, and might be called disciplined daydreaming.
Closed
Meditation. Your eyes should remain closed
while engaged in Closed Meditation. During Closed Meditation,
your unconscious perceptions will bubble up into your preconscious
and will integrate automatically with the perceptions already
there. As with Open Meditation, you will be creating new
perceptions. Closed Meditation is equivalent to the hypnagogic
states that you experience as you fall asleep at night or
wake up in the morning.
The
preconscious serves as the perfect staging area for the
creation of new perceptions. Unlike the conscious mind,
the preconscious mind is free of distractions, and unlike
the unconscious mind, the preconscious mind is free from
irrationality. The preconscious mind is both serene and
rational. You will discover that the more you meditate,
the more serene and rational you will become, for meditation
is the royal road to the preconscious.
©
2002 Dr. Robert Dato, Dato Leadership Institute
www.dato-leadership-institute.com
All Rights Reserved.
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