ASSIGNMENT ONE: MEDITATION
Meditation is a very diverse and intrinsic skillset that dates back thousands of years and has been used by both science as well as religion to benefit the people who practice it. Meditation is derived from the Latin word meditari which means “to heal”. It has quantitative proven results in the form of lowering blood pressure Decreased stress, tension, depression, and anxiety. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines meditation as “to engage in mental exercise (as concentration on one's breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness.” It is not just a way of relaxing or simply taking a break from everything else going on around an individual, as some may believe. The purpose of meditation is to focus ones thoughts and concentrate by taking time to be in more control of themselves than they normally may be.
Meditation is generally divided into two categories in regards to psychology, concentration techniques and open-up techniques. The first of which involves focusing on a visual object or word or phrase called a “mantra”. When an individual is using this kind of meditation they gradually notice details of the things around them while the idea or thought of the mantra becomes clearer. The second of the two techniques, open-up, is more about sitting and taking the distractions away from your thought process and just forcing yourself to realize all of the things actually going on around you. Each style of meditation has its own positives and negatives, as well as, situations where one technique may be more beneficial than the other.
The lasting effects briefly discussed previously in the introduction are still being researched and tested for accuracy. However, meditation has been proven to relax patients, improve cardiovascular health and decrease anxiety. The most appealing aspect of meditation is that it does not require a lifestyle change like many other...