History of Meditation

History of Meditation - The Peaceful Warrior Emerges
Meditation, as it is being practiced today in the mainstream society, is credited for its role in maintaining a person’s physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing. It has become a way to relieve stress and to ease an over-active mind. A look into the history of meditation will tell us that it is tightly woven into the thread of the world’s major spiritual beliefs and how it connects all of us.

meditating man picture

In today's world we are familiar with stress. It seems to come with the territory of relationships, work, and life in general. As proponents of the passive income lifestyle, which leads to the passive income mind frame, we are here to tell you it does not have to be that way.

In fact, if you want to have the passive income lifestyle, stress will be something that you will learn to manage. Why? Because stress can affect health in a negative way. And since we want to enjoy quality of life as we manifest abundance, we have dedicated many pages on this site to help you be productive while living in a healthy way.

When a person acts with clarity (without that awful neediness), this is when abundance really begins to flow. This is when business transactions run smoothly because you knew they would, not because you forced and manipulated the situation.

The Tyrant (or Control Freak) is replaced with the Peaceful Warrior. Emulate this teacher (this humble warrior), and you will be faced with fewer wars and more opportunities for growth and success. And these opportunities will become a gift and, in turn, an invitation for gratitude.

History of Meditation...What is it Anyway?

But what exactly is meditation? Meditation is defined as a mental discipline adopted to reach a calm state of mind. By connecting to the Higher Self, a person is able to blot out the usual noise, whether outside or within the mind. Different people meditate for different reasons. It may be to gain greater focus and creativity, create material abundance, connect to a higher state of consciousness, or simply to achieve a more peaceful frame of mind. An understanding of the history of meditation is important to better understand this concept.

The word actually came from the Indo-European root “med” which means “to measure.” This three-letter word is also where the English words “mete,” “medicine,” “modest,” and “moderate” were derived.

The English language adapted the word “meditation” through the Latin word meditatio, which means any type of physical or intellectual exercise. The word later came to mean “contemplation.”

History of Meditation...The Hindu Beginning

While the history of meditation as a spiritual and religious discipline has its roots in Vedic Hinduism and is central to Buddhism, its practice goes back at least 5000 years. Archaeologists have discovered Indian scriptures that describe meditation techniques. Thousands of years later, people from all walks of life have come to adopt meditation as a mental, spiritual and religious practice.

There are actually five states of mind according to Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras. The first is the agitated or restless mind. The second state is the absentminded mind (aren’t some people forever under this state?). The third state is the confused mind, able to receive input but unable to process it. A calm, focused mind is what is described in the fourth state. The fifth state is when the mind is completely focused and in control of its thoughts. This is the state one achieves when meditating.

According to Sogyal Rinpoche in his book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, meditation is “the greatest gift you can give yourself in this life. For it is only through meditation that you can undertake the journey to discover your true nature, and so find the stability and confidence you will need to live, and die, well. Meditation is the road to enlightenment.”

History of Meditation...The Christian Tradition

There are various practices in Christian traditions that may be considered as a form of meditation. Praying the rosary, for example, is considered a meditative form, and so is the recitation of the Jesus Prayer (“through the grace of God and one’s own effort, to concentrate the nous in the heart”).

Benedictine monk John Main came up with a form of meditation in 1975 that makes use a repetitive recitation of a phrase such as “Maranatha,” an Aramaic word which means “Come, Lord.”

Memorizing bible verses, which is a common practice among many evangelical Christians, is also a form of meditation. One such example is this one from the Old Testament book of Joshua: “"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it, then you will be prosperous and successful."

History of Meditation...The Schools of Thought in Islam

A Muslim prays five times a day (before dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and night). He meditates by reciting “Qur’an” and “dhikr” in order to remain peaceful in the face of several challenges he has to face every day. These daily affirmations he does five times are meant to guide his conduct throughout the day.

Meditation is believed to bring about creativity and spiritual connection. The Muslim prophet Muhammad received revelations of the Qur'an during the long periods he had spent in contemplation.

There are two schools of thought on meditation in Islam: One is Tafakkur and Tadabbur which literally means reflection upon the universe. This process is believed to awaken, free, as well as elevate the mind to spiritual awareness. The second form of meditation is the Sufi meditation which focuses on mystical abilities.

History of Meditation...Evidence in Judaism

The Old Testament offers some insight as to how meditation was also practiced in Judaism. There are two Hebrew words for meditation, hāgâ which means “to sigh or murmur,” and sîḥâ, which means “to muse, or rehearse in one’s mind.”

Kabbalah is a meditative field of study in itself. The Kabbalah and Hassidic philosophy explains one of the best know meditative routine in modern Jewish practice, the hitbodedut or hisbodedus. The word hisbodedut come from the Hebrew word “boded,” which means “the state of being alone.” This word may further mean the process of gaining awareness through careful analysis.

History of Meditation...The Taoism Contribution

The meditative and contemplative traditions in Taoism are described in the I Ching, Tao Te Ching, Chuang Tzu and Tao Tsang texts. The breath training exercises adopted by Qigong, Neigong, Daoyin and Zhan zhuang were influenced by Chinese Buddhism.

T'ai Chi Ch'uan, a Chinese martial art, is named after the popular Taoist and Neo-Confucian meditation, the T'ai Chi T'u, referred to as “meditation in motion.” Other Taoist Internal martial arts also adopt this moving meditation.

History of Meditation...The Western Experience

Meditation, as it has come to be known in the West, is associated with the Yogic kind of meditation that started in India. It is closely allied with the religious and spiritual movements such as Yoga, New Age, the New Thought movement, as well as the one employed by Christians.

In the West, meditation has been used in counselling, psychotherapy, and behavioral therapy. The main function is to help a person improve his physical and mental wellbeing through relaxation techniques as aided by meditation.

The history of meditation is very rich and, not surprisingly—due to its general concept of dwelling only on the good and the positive—deeply rooted into the world’s major religions. As can be gleaned from the history of meditation, this practice of keeping the mind still has clearly transcended cultures, religions, and continents.

The History of Meditation...Coming Full Circle

Whether you are Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, or Christain it appears its birth was uncovered to offer a way to quiet the "monkey mind". Anyone who is living in today's physical world is bombarded with situations that require us to tune in to how it will affect us.

So, how do we handle all this stimulus - especially when much of it is not all not fun?

The cure lies is the calming of the mind. The goal is to reach a higher consciousness. Once in this elevated way of being, our paradigm shifts, so that we are not responding defensively to an unfortunate situation. We become detached observers.

Life still goes on. Things happen. What changes is how we react. Once situations are not taken personally, it is easier to live the experience as the Peaceful Warrior, rather than take on the burden on something happening to you.

Whether in day to to life or business, the abundance we all desire will flow a whole lot easier when we take the time to adjust our perception. The Universe will always give you what you give to it.

So, the next time you get stuck in rush hour traffic and you are running late for work, take a deep breath. Reflect, and whisper a thank you to the Universe. If you had not been fortunate enough to have these cars in front you, you may not have allowed yourself the time to slow down on your own.

And what's the worst that could happen? You get fired from a job that you hate. Now that is certainly a cause for a big "Thank You!" to the Universe. Now you can get on with the business of making lots of passive income....What do you know? You happen to be in just the right place.

For more meditation links and stress relief resources please check out the following:

Discover the power of Japa Meditation.

Stress Relief Meditation - melt your stress away.

To learn about the 7 Types of Meditation Click Here.

Learn about the alert restfulness of Transcendental Meditation.

Learn about Standing Meditation and Chi Meditation - enduring gifts from Ancient China.

Discover the inner peace of Mindful Meditation. Find out more here.

The meditation of 17 breaths. Learn about Merkaba Meditation.

Get in touch with the flow of Chi. Experience Standing Meditation.

To learn about a fabulous way to relax your mind visit the Holosync page.

Want to download some Free Calming Sounds? Visit our Free Meditation Music page.

For other ways to relieve stress follow these valuable links:

Aromatherapy For Stress Relief

Stress Relief Resources

Stress Relief Ball

Hypnosis Stress Relief

Exercise As Stress Relief