What is Meditation?

Meditation is a balanced state of relaxed alertness, with a certain focus of attention in the present moment which we maintain as best we can and to which we continually return after each distraction. Another essential aspect is an attitude of non-involvement toward intruding thoughts and images which are spontaneously being churned out by the mind. One element of this non-involvement is the adoption of a non-judgemental frame of mind.

No matter how many times we get distracted, as long as we redirect attention back to the primary focus the moment we realize the mind has drifted, we are doing meditation. This is the way to discipline the mind, and it takes practice. “I can’t do it, my mind wanders too much” doesn’t cut it as a reason to give up.

The contemporary medical world classifies meditation as a mind-body intervention, self-regulation category, alongside autogenic training and progressive muscle relaxation. The medical focus is on the stress-relieving aspect of meditation, with the realization that stress affects all systems of the body/mind, including the nervous system, endocrine system, immune system, digestive system, skin, and so on.

NCCAM (National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine), a division of NIH (National Institutes of Health) acknowledges that regular meditation reduces health care use, enhances quality of life, increases intelligence-related measures, and decreases blood pressure, cortisol levels, anxiety, chronic pain and substance abuse. If this remedy were in a pill form, the drug or supplement industry would be urging us all to take it!

It needs to be stated that the stress-relieving benefits are not always felt in the beginning stages of practice, nor indeed at certain times even as an experienced meditator. But the general trend over time is a progressive, favorable effect.

Medicine refers to Insight Meditation as Mindfulness Meditation. You can see this in the abstract of Richard J Davidson’s important study. Mindfulness is indeed a hallmark characteristic, but only half of the unique qualities of Vipassana.

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