What is Meditation? The 4 Common Misconceptions of Mediation
Modern people are facing more and more diseases caused by various psychological factors, and these diseases are becoming increasingly complex. So, a new way of staying healthy is gaining popularity—meditation.
What is meditation?
There are two common types of meditation: focused attention and open monitoring.
Let’s start with focused attention. This is a widely practiced Buddhist exercise that requires the practitioner to continuously concentrate on a specific target. The target can be external or internal—it could be sensing your breath or the beats of a metronome.
This technique helps improve three small skills of focused attention:
- Monitoring awareness, so you can quickly notice distractions without getting lost in them.
- Separating yourself from distractions, or shifting your attention away from thoughts, emotions, or perceptions that might cause distractions.
- The ability to refocus on a specific target. It’s like driving on a highway: whenever you notice your car drifting away from the middle of the road, you steer it back to the center.
Open monitoring, on the other hand, doesn’t have a specific target for attention.
Practitioners’ awareness can follow anything, regardless of its origin or reason.
This openness can extend to practitioners’ thoughts—although they don’t actively try to think, sometimes thoughts can arise uncontrollably.
At this point, open monitoring doesn’t try to stop these thoughts; instead, it observes them objectively—without reacting, criticizing, suppressing, or attaching attention to any particular object.
Dealing with these thoughts is like dealing with a friend who comes in and out of your house—we acknowledge their presence but don’t necessarily respond, acting as observers.
What benefits can meditation bring us?
- Reducing Anxiety and Depression: Meditation is like a “detox” for anxiety. In a study involving 15 volunteers with normal anxiety levels who had not previously undergone meditation training, all participants took part in a 20-minute mindfulness meditation course. During this course, they were asked to focus on their breath and bodily sensations, maintaining an objective attitude towards any disruptive thoughts and emotions that arose. The results showed a significant decrease in anxiety levels among these volunteers after the meditation practice. Brain imaging revealed that meditation helps reduce stress because it directly affects the part of the brain responsible for executive function and anxiety.
- Boosting Immunity: Research from Ohio State University suggests that regular meditation and muscle relaxation can lower the risk of breast cancer recurrence. Another study from the same university found that elderly patients who practiced meditation and relaxation for a month showed a significant increase in their lymphocytes (natural killer cells that enhance the immune system).
- Improving Emotional Well-being: Some forms of meditation can even help improve self-image, fostering a more positive self-awareness. Research indicates that meditation has a certain promoting effect on people’s optimism and cognitive abilities.
Of course, for many who have not practiced meditation, there may be misconceptions.
Some common concerns:
Misconception 1: Successful meditation requires keeping the mind quiet.
Fact: This is perhaps the most common misconception. In reality, meditation is not about emptying the mind; in fact, trying to do so can make stress and inner noise worse. We often can’t stop or control our thoughts, but we can decide how much attention we give them. Meditation is not about thinking, daydreaming, spacing out, or trying to think about anything. Emptying the mind may be one aspect of meditation practice, but not all meditation involves emptying the mind.
Misconception 2: It takes many years of practice to benefit from meditation.
The benefits of meditation can be immediate or long-term. When you sit down and start meditating, you can already experience its benefits. A study by Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital found that after just eight weeks of meditation, practitioners experienced a decrease in anxiety and an overall increase in calmness. The research also found that meditation can promote growth in areas of the brain related to memory, empathy, self-perception, and stress control.
Misconception 3: Meditation is time-consuming.
You might always find countless reasons to postpone meditation if you’re busy. However, when we meditate, we’re saving time. This might sound contradictory, but consider this: during meditation, our breathing and heart rate slow down, our blood pressure decreases, and the production of stress hormones and other substances that accelerate aging in our bodies decreases. After meditation, our attention becomes more focused, and we may become more efficient. Even if your schedule is packed, just a few minutes of meditation practice each day is much better than not doing it at all.
Misconception 4: Meditation is mystical.
Many people might think of meditation as a spiritual or religious ritual. While it’s true that there are some connections to spirituality or religion, not everyone who practices meditation has religious beliefs. This practice is not in conflict with any faith.
Finally, let’s introduce a very simple meditation practice for beginners.
If you’re interested in meditation, you can start with these basic exercises. Of course, there are many forms of meditation, and the following exercise is just a reference for you:
Phase One:
Use counting to keep your attention on your breath. Take a deep breath, relax your shoulders, and expand your belly. After exhaling, count one before taking the next breath. Repeat this step, counting two. Keep counting up to ten, then start the next cycle. If you forget where you’ve counted to during this process, simply start counting from one again.
Phase Two:
Keep your breathing the same as before, but this time, place the counting before inhaling and consciously anticipate the next breath. Count up to ten, then start the next cycle.
Phase Three:
Keep your breathing the same, but in this phase, you no longer need to count. Instead, focus on the breath in your chest, belly, and nose. If you’re distracted by sensations from other parts of your body, gently bring your attention back to your breath.
Phase Four:
In the final phase, narrow your attention even further—perceive the breath entering and leaving your body, focusing on the sensation at the tip of your nose with each inhale and exhale.
In conclusion, I hope everyone can get plenty of relaxation during meditation, bringing health and joy to both body and mind.