A report on Meditation

Man Meditating in a Garden Setting
The āsana in which Mahavira is said to have attained omniscience
Bodhidharma practicing zazen
A statue of Patañjali practicing dhyana in the Padma-asana at Patanjali Yogpeeth.
"Gathering the Light", Taoist meditation from The Secret of the Golden Flower
Saint Pio of Pietrelcina stated: "Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one finds Him."
Whirling dervishes
Meditation. Alexej von Jawlensky, oil on cardboard, 1918
Meditating in Madison Square Park, New York City
Young children practicing meditation in a Peruvian school

Practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.

- Meditation
Man Meditating in a Garden Setting

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Breslover Hasid practicing hitbodedut in the Jerusalem Forest. Hitbodedut can be performed indoors or amidst nature, and alternatively at night.

Hitbodedut

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Hitbodedut or hisbodedus (התבודדות, lit. "self-seclusion"; Ashkenazic pronunciation: hisboydedes/hisboydedus or hisbodedus, Sephardic pronunciation: hitbodedút) refers to practices of self-secluded Jewish meditation.

Hitbodedut or hisbodedus (התבודדות, lit. "self-seclusion"; Ashkenazic pronunciation: hisboydedes/hisboydedus or hisbodedus, Sephardic pronunciation: hitbodedút) refers to practices of self-secluded Jewish meditation.

Breslover Hasid practicing hitbodedut in the Jerusalem Forest. Hitbodedut can be performed indoors or amidst nature, and alternatively at night.

The term was popularized by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772–1810) to refer to an unstructured, spontaneous and individualized form of prayer and meditation through which one would establish a close, personal relationship with God and ultimately see the Divinity inherent in all being.

A monk walking in a Benedictine monastery.

Aspects of Christian meditation

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The topic of a 15 October 1989 document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The topic of a 15 October 1989 document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

A monk walking in a Benedictine monastery.

The document issues warnings on differences, and potential incompatibilities, between Christian meditation and the styles of meditation used in eastern religions such as Buddhism.

The outside of a zāwiyah, a place where sufis would conduct their murāqabah sessions which was usually in a private section of a masjid.

Muraqabah

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The outside of a zāwiyah, a place where sufis would conduct their murāqabah sessions which was usually in a private section of a masjid.
Inside a zāwiyah, a place where sufis would conduct their murāqabah sessions which was usually a private affair.

Murāqabah (مراقبة, : "to observe") is Sufi meditation.

Yoga Yajnavalkya defines and describes meditation as an essential part of yoga.

Yoga Yajnavalkya

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Classical Hindu yoga text in the Sanskrit language.

Classical Hindu yoga text in the Sanskrit language.

Yoga Yajnavalkya defines and describes meditation as an essential part of yoga.
Solitary and quiet locations are recommended for Yoga by the text in chapter 5.

Meditation discussions start in the eighth chapter of the text, where 40 verses discuss how to start and develop meditative practices with the help of Om and resonating sounds, followed by 44 verses in the ninth chapter for advanced meditation that is reflective on one's mind, Vedana (feelings) and nature of one's Atman (self, soul).

(Om) signifies the essence of Brahman, the ultimate reality.

Brahman

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In Hinduism, Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.

In Hinduism, Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.

(Om) signifies the essence of Brahman, the ultimate reality.
A drop in the ocean: an analogy for Ātman merging into Brahman.
Swan (Hansa, हंस) is the symbol for Brahman-Atman in Hindu iconography.

That Brahman is Supreme Personality of Godhead, though on first stage of realization (by process called jnana) of Absolute Truth, He is realized as impersonal Brahman, then as personal Brahman having eternal Vaikuntha abode (also known as Brahmalokah sanatana), then as Paramatma (by process of yoga–meditation on Superself, Vishnu-God in heart)—Vishnu (Narayana, also in everyone's heart) who has many abodes known as Vishnulokas (Vaikunthalokas), and finally (Absolute Truth is realized by bhakti) as Bhagavan, Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is source of both Paramatma and Brahman (personal, impersonal, or both).

New Age meditation group at the Snoqualmie Moondance festival, 1992

New Age

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Range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s.

Range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s.

New Age meditation group at the Snoqualmie Moondance festival, 1992
This barrel house was the first dwelling constructed at the Findhorn Ecovillage.
New Age shrine in Glastonbury, England
Astrological ideas hold a central place in the New Age
Reiki is one of the alternative therapies commonly found in the New Age movement.
Stonehenge is a site visited by New Age pilgrims, as seen in this midsummer rave.
Isis, a New Age shop named after the Ancient Egyptian goddess that was located in St Albans, southern England
The New World Alliance was one of several New Age political groups in the 1970s and 1980s.
New Age author Marianne Williamson campaigned for a seat in the U.S. Congress and for the Democratic Party nomination for president.
One of the first academics to study the New Age was Wouter Hanegraaff.

A very wide array of methods are utilised within the holistic health movement, with some of the most common including acupuncture, reiki, biofeedback, chiropractic, yoga, applied kinesiology, homeopathy, aromatherapy, iridology, massage and other forms of bodywork, meditation and visualisation, nutritional therapy, psychic healing, herbal medicine, healing using crystals, metals, music, chromotherapy, and reincarnation therapy.

Guided imagery

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Mind-body intervention by which a trained practitioner or teacher helps a participant or patient to evoke and generate mental images that simulate or recreate the sensory perception of sights, sounds, tastes, smells, movements, and images associated with touch, such as texture, temperature, and pressure, as well as imaginative or mental content that the participant or patient experiences as defying conventional sensory categories, and that may precipitate strong emotions or feelings in the absence of the stimuli to which correlating sensory receptors are receptive.

Mind-body intervention by which a trained practitioner or teacher helps a participant or patient to evoke and generate mental images that simulate or recreate the sensory perception of sights, sounds, tastes, smells, movements, and images associated with touch, such as texture, temperature, and pressure, as well as imaginative or mental content that the participant or patient experiences as defying conventional sensory categories, and that may precipitate strong emotions or feelings in the absence of the stimuli to which correlating sensory receptors are receptive.

The therapeutic use of guided imagery, as part of a multimodal treatment plan incorporating other suitable methods, such as guided meditation, receptive music therapy, and relaxation techniques, as well as physical medicine and rehabilitation, and psychotherapy, aims to educate the patient in altering their mental imagery, replacing images that compound pain, recollect and reconstruct distressing events, intensify feelings of hopelessness, or reaffirm debilitation, with those that emphasize physical comfort, functional capacity, mental equanimity, and optimism.

Rajneesh during his birthday celebrations at his residence in Bombay, on 11 December 1972

Rajneesh

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Indian godman, mystic, and founder of the Rajneesh movement.

Indian godman, mystic, and founder of the Rajneesh movement.

Rajneesh during his birthday celebrations at his residence in Bombay, on 11 December 1972
Rajneesh in Rajneesh movement, during 1980s
Rajneesh (right) with his disciples, in 1977
Rajneesh greeted by sannyasins on one of his daily "drive-bys" in Rajneeshpuram, circa 1982

Rajneesh emphasised the importance of freethought, meditation, mindfulness, love, celebration, courage, creativity, and humour—qualities that he viewed as being suppressed by adherence to static belief systems, religious dogmas and traditions, and socialization.

Oracle bone script for qì

Qi

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Believed to be a vital force forming part of any living entity.

Believed to be a vital force forming part of any living entity.

Oracle bone script for qì
Bronzeware script for qì
Large seal script for qì
Small seal script for qì, simplified Chinese character {{lang|zh|气}} is based on it.
Traditional Chinese character {{lang|zh|氣}} qì, also used in Korean hanja. In Japanese kanji, it was used until 1946 when it was simplified to {{lang|ja|気}}.

The Guanzi essay Neiye (Inward Training) is the oldest received writing on the subject of the cultivation of vapor [qi] and meditation techniques.

A monk practicing kung fu in the bamboo forest inside the Shaolin Temple

Chinese martial arts

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Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu, kuoshu or wushu , are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China.

Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu, kuoshu or wushu , are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China.

A monk practicing kung fu in the bamboo forest inside the Shaolin Temple
Depiction of fighting monks demonstrating their skills to visiting dignitaries (early 19th-century mural in the Shaolin Monastery).
The Yang style of taijiquan being practiced on the Bund in Shanghai
Modern forms are used in the sport of wushu, as seen in this staff routine
Kung fu in Iran
Mural at Shaolin temple from 1830's depicting forearm strikes and reverse kicks
Kung fu sword
Two Brazilian fighters in a Sanda/Sanshou match. Sanda is a modernized form of Kung Fu and one of the two disciplines of Sport Wushu
Martial arts fan
Ancient Chinese weapons

In many Chinese martial arts, meditation is considered to be an important component of basic training.