Other Methods of Meditation
Scroll to the bottom of this page for a variety of meditations and articles on meditation.
Therre are probably as many different meditations as there are days of the year, or minutes in that year. Just to name a few: walking meditation, sitting meditation, dancing meditation, finger meditation, active meditation, vipassana meditation, yoga meditation, chakra meditation, etc. etc. The list goes on and on, and then there are variations on those as well.
Which Meditation Is Right For You?
Choosing the right meditation is a bit like picking out the clothes you wear. You pick something that appeals to you, that feels right, and that suits your character and temperament. And as with the clothes you wear, your tastes and preferences will change through the years, if not throughout the week. There is no "right" or "perfect" meditation except the one that is right and perfect for you at this moment.
As you glance through the list of articles below that present various types of meditation, pay attention to your intuition, and go with the one that appeals to you the most or sounds interesting. Next week, it might be a different one. Or perhaps the one you focus one will be one that will carry you through years of meditation, deepening your connection each time you use it.
The Goal: Attaining Peace of Mind
The goal to remember is, as John Cianciosi says, to tame the monkey mind and to thus create a peaceful state of mind. There are many tools (meditations) to help you attain that goal. Just as most tasks can be done with any of a variety of tools, inner peace can be attained by many paths. This is not a "one size fits all". While all meditations may work for everyone, some will be a "better fit" and thus you will be drawn to practice it regularly.
This section "Other Meditations" includes a hodge-podge of meditation types. You might also look through the more specific meditations found in the previous section "Meditation" for more traditional types of meditation. Wishing you an awesome experience of love and inner peace.
Visualization in Active, Focused Meditation
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by Von Braschler. This type of meditation is different from most meditation. Our approach to meditation is patterned after that of the Western shamanic spirit walkers or dream walkers and Hindu samadhi mystics. Samadhi mystics go into deep meditative states to leave the body...
Vipassana Meditation
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Vipassana meditation is a Buddhist practice that uses pure self-observation to realize the transient nature of life's activities. This is accomplished by meditating on the thoughts, sensations, and feelings that are moving through your body, and noticing their source and the fact that they are transient. This technique is especially effective in helping...
Kinhin - Walking Meditation
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by Franz Metcalf. Perhaps you envision meditation as something completely peaceful and still. Not always. Meditation is a tool for calming and concentrating the mind any time, any place. Sitting meditation comes first because it's easiest, but there are other kinds. One of the most important is walking. Now that you've tried sitting, try kinhin, a Zen form of walking meditation.
Finger Meditations, a.k.a. Mudras
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by Gertrud Hirschi. Meditation, as I understand and practice it, has become an indispensable aid in my life. I recharge my inner batteries and solve my problems, make decisions, get advice and comfort, refine my character traits, mobilize my immune forces, develop visions for the future -- and seek my connection with the Divine. We can use meditation for everything.
Meditation Through Dance
| by Iris J. Stewart.
Dance as liturgy or ritual has always been a way to honor the sacred, the mystery, turning into the spiral of life and the universal, the ever-present flow of the Divine force. It has profound implications for healing, psychotherapy, spiritual growth, and the full unfolding of human potential.
Control of the Body & the Senses
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by Ernest Wood.
Relaxation and muscle balance are necessary to the practices of concentration and meditation so that (1) the body may not be injured by the mental efforts and (2) the mental work may not be spoiled by bodily discomfort. Third, we have to remember that bodily attitudes are associated with states of feeling, such as lying down with sleep, and...
Creating a Peaceful Mind
| by Dagsay Tulku Rinpoche.
Buddhists believe that all our actions are dependent on our state of mind. A mind that is not well controlled is liable to cause a great deal of harm to itself and others, while a peaceful mind creates a comfortable atmosphere for itself and everyone around.
Awareness Tune-Up
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by John Holland.
There have been many books written on spiritual unfoldment and developing one's awareness. I recommend that you research and experiment to find out what really works for you. The following techniques have worked for me and have...
Active Meditation
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by Tobin Blake.
Have you ever noticed the way figure skaters move in flow with their music? If you watch carefully, you will notice that the best skaters are those who just let go and focus completely on the present state of their body. Other top athletes must also exercise this same type of meditation in order to compete at the peak of their abilities. They may not call it meditation, but that's what it is.
Aura Meditations for Everyday Life
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by Cynthia Sue Larson. Many studies have shown the benefits of meditation to be real and profound. Simply by meditating, people have been able to reduce the amount of stress they feel in their lives, alleviate physical pain, deepen awareness, relax muscle tension, improve mind-body coordination, achieve a sense of peace and joy, see more possibilities, and even reduce biological age.
Taming the Monkey-Mind
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Although there are many different approaches to meditation, using a great variety of techniques, all meditation methods share some basic characteristics and work in similar ways. The fundamental requirement in meditation is that we find some way to manage the monkey mind so that we can start training it.
Got A Minute? Meditation... Express Style
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by Nancy L. Butler-Ross and Michael Suib. Many of us know that a few moments of connecting with our inner resources can have dramatic and healthy effects in restoring a sense of balance to a hectic day. But who has the luxury of spending 45 minutes to one hour...
