First Indian Medtation Wall Art in 5000 to 3500 Bce

History and origin of meditation — Prototype via Pexels

The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne is quoted as having once said 'The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.'

Never is this truer in our current, fast-paced society.

With so many demands on our fourth dimension and minds, it takes conscious effort to take a moment and allow ourselves the time we need to explore who we truly are. Fifty-fifty when we do brand fourth dimension, many people are stuck on how to really exercise this. The practice of meditation has certainly been recognized as a key method that tin can aid.

The word meditation stems from meditatum, a Latin term that means 'to ponder.' Through the practice of meditation, we can seek to find a better connexion with our body in the everyday moments that nosotros frequently permit pass us by, and create stronger awareness for how our emotions influence our beliefs (Due west, 2016).

Yous may already take a meditation exercise that works for you, or you may be new to the concept and looking to build your noesis and understanding of how meditation tin bring value to your daily life. Either fashion, the history of meditation is fascinating and well worth exploring.

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How Old is Meditation?

The answer to that question is more complex than yous might think. Unlike research, books, and schools of meditation refer to the 'age-onetime tradition', merely every bit to how long meditation has been around equally practice really depends on your definition of the concept.

Davanger (2008) reviewed a cross-section of research looking at meditation and speculated that the practice might be equally onetime as humanity itself with the potential meditative capacities of Neanderthals. At that place are more schools of idea that accept placed the origin of meditation within a structured set up of practices and techniques based on artifacts and references in Eastern countries.

Below are the master two, and how far they date back.

India – In some of the oldest written records from around 1500 BCE in Bharat, the practice of Dhyāna or Jhāna is referenced as the training of the mind, frequently translated as meditation. Many of these records come from the Hindu traditions of Vedantism and discuss the various meditation practices across ancient Bharat. Buddhist Indian scriptures and texts dating dorsum to simply a few hundred BC are fifty-fifty earlier recordings of the practice, but many argue that these are somewhat ambiguous in their references directly to meditation.
Cathay – Early on forms of meditation are referenced equally far back as the tertiary and sixth century BC and linked to the Daoist, Laozi, an ancient Chinese philosopher, and his writings. In this piece of work, many of the terms used in afterward centuries to describe meditation techniques are used, including:
- Shou Zhong – roughly translated as 'guarding the middle'
- Bao Yi – roughly translated as 'embracing the one'
- Shou Jing – roughly translated as 'guarding tranquility'
- Bao Pu – roughly translated every bit 'embracing simplicity'

Even so, some contend that it is difficult to tell if these were already widely used techniques when the text was written, or if they were newly created terms for the text. Other writings from the early centuries that draw meditative practices include the Zhuangzi from the tardily Warring States period, roughly 476–221 BC, and the Neiye from the 4th century BC.

The truth is, no one knows for absolute certain when meditation officially started. At that place are multiple references across different cultures and religions – including Judaism, Islam, and Christianity – to meditative-like practices, which all seem to have contributed to and inform the practise known widely today.

Where Did Meditation Originate?

Much like pinning downwards how long meditation has been around for, pinpointing where exactly it originates is equally tricky.

The earliest written records come up from Hindu traditions, in India, of Vendatism from around 1500 BCE. Vendatism is a school of philosophy and is 1 of the earliest known Indian paths for spiritual enlightenment. Other forms of meditation are then cited around the sixth and 5th centuries BCE within Taoist Red china and Buddhist Bharat.

The precise origins are heavily debated, especially around Buddhist meditation (Wynne, 2007). Some early written accounts of the different states of meditation in Buddhism in India tin be establish in the sutras of the Pāli Canon, which dates back to the 1st century BCE. The Pāli Catechism is a collection of scriptures from the Theravada Buddhist tradition.

Some evidence has also connected meditative practices with Judaism, thought to be inherited from its earlier traditions. The Torah (the start five books of the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible) contains a description of the patriarch Isaac going to 'lasuach' in a field. This term is mostly understood as being some form of meditation (Kaplan, 1985).

Practise We Know Who Created/Invented Meditation?

In a nutshell, no we don't. Because the where and when are quite hazy, discovering the who is every bit ambiguous. Some of what we do know, however, indicates a few core people who have been instrumental in spreading the practice of meditation. Beneath I've outlined iii of the key people, but at that place are many others who were every bit prominent in sharing and spreading the practice of meditation.

The Buddha (India)

The Buddha, known by other names including Siddhārtha Gautama in Sanskrit or Siddhattha Gotama in Pali, was a prince who became a monk, sage, philosopher and religious leader. It is his teachings on which Buddhism was founded.

Considering of this, it might be piece of cake to assume that the Buddha created or invented meditation merely this is not true. Buddhism texts refer to many dissimilar practices of meditation and the Buddha sought out other enlightened teachers to learn the exercise and ways of self-fulfillment from. Although he was instrumental in spreading the value of meditation as a practise, the Buddha himself did not invent information technology.

Lao-Tze (Cathay)

Lao-Tze, as well known by Lao-Tzu and Laozi, was an aboriginal Chinese philosopher whose name is substantially an honor title meaning 'One-time Teacher' or 'Old Primary'.

He is credited as the author of the Tao-te-Ching, a work of text that exemplifies his thoughts and teachings that founded the philosophical organization of Taoism, which references meditative practices and the idea of wisdom in silence. There is much speculation as to whether Lao-Tze actually existed equally a single homo, or whether the name refers to a collection of individuals and philosophers who shared the aforementioned ideas.

Dosho (Japan)

Dosho was a Japanese monk who, in the 7th century, traveled to People's republic of china and studied Buddhism nether Hsuan Tsang, a bang-up master at the time. It was during this journey that Dosho learned all virtually the process of Zen, which he then returned to Nihon with.

When he returned, he opened his first meditation hall dedicated to the practice of Zazen, a sitting meditation. He created a community of monks and students with a master focus on teaching this grade of meditation in Japan.

A Look at the Origin and Roots of Meditation

Although meditation as a exercise today is pretty mutual and widespread, it'due south skillful to understand that the origins and roots of meditation go back a long manner. Today, meditation has been and continues to be adapted to suit our lives and going dorsum to its roots can help you to develop a strong appreciation for how wide the practice is, besides as how it adult across dissimilar countries at dissimilar points in time.

Beneath I've given a cursory writeup of these origins and roots:

Bharat, Vendatism, and Yogis

The oldest documented images of meditation are from India and date back to 5000 to 3500 BCE. Wall art paintings depict people sitting in meditative-like seated postures with their eyes half closed, presumed to be deep in meditation.

The oldest documented text of meditation is also from India, from the Hindu traditions of Vendatism, from around 1500 BCE. Although the Vedas created texts describing meditative practices information technology's important to know that these had previously been passed down orally through storytelling practices for centuries.

Alongside the Vedic practice, Hindu traditions as well draw the Yogi practice of meditating in caves. Information technology is believed that many modern practices of meditation stalk from this lineage, including the modern yoga movement whose techniques are predominantly based on the Hatha Yoga practice.

Although it's good to understand that the origin of these techniques is based in meditation for spiritual development, not the mutual practice of stretches and movement many Western schools teach today.

Buddhism in Bharat

Meditation is oftentimes most closely attached to Buddhism, even though the paradigm of the Buddha meditating on a lotus didn't come until much later, a long time after Buddhism itself began. In the classical language of Buddhism, meditation is referred to as bhāvanā, meaning mental development, or dhyāna, meaning a mental calmness.

The various techniques and practices for meditation are many. Effectually the same fourth dimension that Buddhism was growing, three other practices were also developing, each with their own way of budgeted meditation. Although these are not as pop globally as Buddhism, they're worth knowing about:

Mahavira and Jainism in India – Tirthankara Mahavira, also known as Vardhamāna, is credited with reviving Jainism. Tirthankara means 'Ford Maker' and the word indicates a founder of a 'tirtha' – a passage across the ocean of births and deaths. Mahavira was the twenty-fourth Tirthankara. He put frontward the spiritual, and ethical teachings of the Tirthankaras from the pre-Vedic era that led to the revival of Jainism in India. Equally a exercise, Jainism places a potent accent on self-subject area and contemplation, as well as non-violence. The meditative techniques in Jainism specifically focus on mantras, visualizations, and breathing.
Lao Tze and Taoism in Mainland china – Although there is some dispute over whether Lao Tze existed as a unmarried person, or whether the title refers to a collective of individuals if he did exist it is thought this would have been around the 6th century BCE. Taoism places an emphasis on becoming one with 'Tao', significant 'cosmic life' or nature. Traditional Taoist meditation techniques include a focus on mindfulness, contemplation and using visualization.
Confucius and Confucianism in People's republic of china – Confucius was a Chinese teacher, politician, and philosopher, who existed in the 6th century BCE. His teachings and thoughts were expressed through the philosophy now known equally Confucianism and are still quite prominent in Red china today. Confucianism places an emphasis on personal growth, morality, and social justice. Meditation in Confucianism is known as Jing Zuo, and has a focus on self-comeback and contemplation.

Sufism and Meditation Practise

Sufism is an ancient Islamic tradition that dates dorsum as far as 1400 years. It is a practice in which Muslims seek to connect with Allah (God) through self-reflection and contemplation, and through shunning material goods. Information technology is thought that through some Indian influence, Sufism adult its particular practise of meditation that includes a focus on animate and the utilize of mantras.

Judaism and Meditation Practice

As well as what is believed to be descriptions of meditation exercise in the Torah, the Jewish esoteric method and school of thought of Kabbalah, also includes some of its ain forms of meditation. These are generally based around deep thought on philosophical topics and prayer.

A History of Meditation in the West

Meditation first began to be of interest in the West in the 1700s, when some of the Eastern philosophy texts, containing references to meditation techniques and practices, were translated into different European languages.

This included:

The Upanishads – A collection of religious and philosophical texts from India, causeless to take been written between 800 and 500 century BCE.
The Bhagavad Gita – A Sanskrit scripture fabricated of 700 verses that form part of the Mahabharata: a Hindu epic detailing the narrative between Pandava Prince Arjuna, and Krishna.
The Buddhist Sutras – Scriptures that are assumed to be the oral teachings of the Buddha.

Past the 18th century, meditation was seen only as a topic for discussion and interest by philosophers and intellectuals, including Voltaire and Schopenhauer (Abelson, 2008). It wasn't until the 20th century that meditation became more prominent, especially in the United States, when a prominent yogi, Swami Vivekananda, delivered a presentation at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago.

The presentation created a new surge of interest in Eastern models of spirituality in the West, and influenced a number of other spiritual teachers from India to drift to the States including:

Swami Rama from the Himalayan Found
Paramahansa Yogananda from the Self-Realization Fellowship
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi with his Transcendental Meditation practice

Alongside these teachers, spiritual representatives from different Buddhist schools of thought besides began to migrate to the W including individuals from the Zen school of idea and the Theravada schoolhouse of thought. Every time meditation has been introduced in a new place, information technology has been shaped by the private civilisation it finds itself within.

With its introduction in the West, meditation began to become more removed from the religious connections and teachings of its roots and taught in more than westernized means. By the 1960s and 1970s, meditation was being researched via scientific studies, further removing its spiritual contexts and encouraging the practice to exist used by anyone, not just those seeking spiritual fulfillment.

Benson (1967) began some of the commencement studies in the W to explore the impact of meditation on mental and physiological outcomes. Benson would go on to write his best selling book, The Relaxation Response, in 1975 and he likewise founded the Mind Torso Medical Institute in the same year.

In the tardily 1970s, Jon Kabat-Zinn discovered meditation through his studies at MIT and also began investigating the potential health benefits of meditative practice. In 1979 he introduced his Mindfulness-Based-Stress-Reduction (MBSR) program and opened the Stress Reduction Clinic.

Around this time, Transcendental Meditation was growing in popularity too, with many celebrities turning to the practice to help them cope with fame, including The Beatles. Although during this fourth dimension many meditation techniques were connected predominantly with Hippie culture and were non very mainstream. It wasn't until the 1990s that this began to change.

In 1993 Deepak Chopra published his book Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, and in 1996 it was featured on Oprah, selling more than than 137,000 copies in one twenty-four hour period. As more than celebrities came forward to praise the practice of meditation in their lives, more books nigh the how-and-why to meditate began to announced.

In the 1990s, mindfulness was too growing in its applications. Williams, Teasdale, and Seagal (1995) further developed Jon Kabat-Zinn's plan to be used positively with individuals experiencing low and anxiety. The Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) approach combined mindfulness with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with some first-class results.

The MBCT approach has been clinically approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in the UK and is considered a 'treatment of choice' for depression.

By 2012, there were over 700 mindfulness-based programs available across the world and Kabat-Zinn'south original program was the main program used in enquiry on meditation.

Today, mindfulness and meditation are prolific across Western society with resources and schools – both online and offline – bachelor to help guide yous to observe a do that works for y'all. The inquiry and medical science communities continue to go on studying meditation's benefits, with more than and more than studies demonstrating its positive implications for a range of mental and physical weather.

A Timeline of Meditation's History

Below is a cursory timeline of some of the primal dates relating to meditation, some of which have already been mentioned:

5,000 BC – 3,500 BC	Early development	The oldest documented show of the practice of meditation is wall fine art in India.	India
1500 BC	Hindu Meditation	The Vedas, a large trunk of religious texts, contains the oldest written mention of meditation.	India
6th – 5th century BC	Early development	Development of other forms of meditation in Taoist Cathay and Buddhist India.	Cathay, India
6th century BC	Buddhist Meditation	Siddhartha Gautama sets out to reach Enlightenment, learning meditation in the procedure.	India
8th century BC	Buddhist Meditation	The expansion of Japanese Buddhism meditation practices spreads into Japan.	Japan
10th – 14th century	Christian Meditation	Hesychasm, a tradition of contemplative prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and involves the repetition of the Jesus prayer.	Greece
11th – twelfth century AD	Islamic Meditation	The Islamic concept of Dhikr is interpreted by various meditative techniques and becomes one of the essential elements of Sufism.
18th century	Buddhist Meditation	The study of Buddhism in the West remains a topic mainly focused upon by intellectuals.	Europe, America
1936	Western Research	An early piece of scientific inquiry on meditation is published.	America
1950s	Buddhist Meditation	The Vipassana movement, or insight meditation, start in Burma.	Burma
1950s	Transcendental Meditation	Maharishi Mahesh Yogi promotes transcendental meditation.	America
1955	Western Research	The first slice of scientific research on meditation using EEGs is published.
1960s	Transcendental Meditation	Swami Rama becomes one of the first yogis to be studied past Western scientists.	America
1970s	Western Research	Jon Kabat-Zinn begins developing a mindfulness programme for adults in clinical settings. He calls it mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR).	America
1970s	Western Research	Herbert Benson shows the effectiveness of meditation through his inquiry.	America
1977	Western Research	James Funderburk publishes an early on collection of scientific studies on meditation.	America
1979	Medical Awarding	Jon Kabat-Zinn opens the Center for Mindfulness and teaches mindfulness-based stress reduction to care for chronic weather condition.	America
1981	Vipassana Meditation	The first Vipassana meditation centers outside Republic of india and Myanmar are established in Massachusetts and Australia.	America, Commonwealth of australia
1996	Modern Meditation	The Chopra Center for Wellbeing is founded by Deepak Chopra and David Simon.	America
2000	Medical Application	The first major clinical trial of mindfulness with cancer patients is conducted, with results indicating benign outcomes for the mindfulness-based stress reduction programs.	America

The Ancestry of Mindfulness Meditation

Much like meditation, the historical and ancient roots of mindfulness can be traced all over the world, and are heavily mixed with various religious beginnings.

Mindfulness equally a form of meditation has been traced back to Hinduism, effectually 1500 BCE, and is heavily connected with the exercise of yoga.

Yoga in its more aboriginal roots involved very fiddling reference to motion or postures and placed a greater emphasis on stillness, a focus on breathing, and beingness present with the body at that moment. Mindfulness in this context has likewise been traced dorsum to Buddhism and Daoism, both of which include a strong focus on animate and self-awareness.

Many religions include a class of prayer or meditation technique that sees the private turning their thoughts away from everyday anxieties in search of greater self-awareness and presence in appreciating a greater perspective about life and their religion. This form of meditation is very closely aligned with the exercise and purpose of mindfulness.

Around 40 years ago mindfulness became more than prevalent in Western cultures. Jon Kabat-Zinn is often credited with existence the founder of 'modern day' mindfulness, and the idea and concept of mindfulness that is usually held across western cultures.

In the 1970s Kabat-Zinn founded the Stress Reduction Clinic at the Academy of Massachusetts Medical schoolhouse, and since then the schoolhouse has helped to train and educated more than 18,000 people in the principles of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) – a clinically proven plan to help support individuals experiencing a range of conditions including low, anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain, and cardiovascular problems.

Williams, Teasdale, and Seagal (1995) furthered the work of Kabat-Zinn by combining the MBSR with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to create the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) program.

The program is clinically canonical in the UK and is commonly used within clinical psychology to assistance treat individuals with a range of disorders including personality disorders, chronic pain, emotion regulation, and depression.

A Look at the History of Meditation Inquiry

Every bit meditation has grown in popularity, so has its interest within the inquiry and psychology communities. The first slice of scientific inquiry on meditation occurred in 1936, and in 1955 the commencement study using an electroencephalogram (EEG) occurred (Feuerstein, 2014). An EEG records electric waves of activity in the brain past using electrodes placed beyond an individual's head.

In the 1960s, some of the first Western research took place at the Menninger Clinic in Kansas, United States, with Swami Rama, a senior Yogi from the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Scientific discipline. The studies were led by an American psychologist chosen Gardner Murphy and specifically focused on investigating Swami Rama'southward abilities to control different bodily functions that were previously thought completely involuntary, such equally his heartbeat and blood force per unit area (Feuerstein, 2018).

Through the studies, Swami Rama too demonstrated the power to:

Produce dissimilar types of encephalon waves on demand – blastoff, delta, theta, and gamma
The ability to change his heartbeat radically, including increasing it to 300 beats per infinitesimal for xvi seconds and completely stopping it from beating for a few seconds
The ability to remain conscious of the surrounding environs while his encephalon was in the deep sleep cycle
The ability to control his skin and internal trunk temperature

The findings from these studies stimulated further involvement beyond the psychological and medical communities to explore the physiological effects of meditation. Benson, Greenwood, and Klemchuk (1975) examined the effectiveness of meditation to back up positive healthcare initiatives.

Through his research, he reported that meditation produces a number of concrete and biochemical changes inside the body, which he collectively called the 'Relaxation Response'. This was revolutionary at the time equally previously meditation was thought of as a religious exercise, and therefore not appropriate for medical or health purposes.

Benson'southward inquiry began to modify this opinion and continued the need for further research to fully understand the implications of meditative practice for healthcare.

More researchers and psychologists continued to carry out studies looking at the effects of meditation on the mind and torso, with a particular focus on addiction, cardiovascular disease, and cerebral functioning (Funderburk, 1977, Brown, Forte & Dysart, 1984, Hayes, Strosahl & Wilson, 1999, and Carter & Ernst, 2003).

Although the body of enquiry has grown, in that location take in more recent years been concerns effectually the validity of blanketing some of the findings, with peer-reviewed, a meta-analysis of enquiry finding that many of the research results are inconclusive.

In 2000, the Dalai Lama met with psychologists and neuroscientists from Western backgrounds in India, to button the study of accomplished meditation masters with advanced neuroimaging engineering science and farther explore the impact of meditation on the brain.

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health published one such review in 2007. In their report, the researchers reviewed 813 unlike studies that examined five different categories of meditation: mantra meditation, mindfulness meditation, T'ai Chi, Qigong, and yoga.

They focused on studies involving adults, and those that specifically looked at the effects of meditation on physiological weather condition such as cardiovascular disease, substance corruption, habit, and hypertension. From the review, the researchers ended that in that location is a lack of quality methodology across studies pertaining to meditation and that there appeared to be no common theoretical perspective beyond scientific research.

Although the quality of the inquiry has certainly improved since the 1960s and 1970s when it first began, the researchers in this review argued that there is withal work to exist done.

A Cursory History of Transcendental Meditation

Transcendental Meditation is a specific meditative practice, which involves the repetition of a sound called a mantra, for 15-20 minutes, at to the lowest degree twice a 24-hour interval. Transcendental Meditation seeks to aid the private to movement into a state of relaxed awareness.

This item technique and motion were introduced in the 1950s by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, an Indian Guru. Maharishi is a title he earnt through his piece of work, pregnant 'Great Seer'.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi began as a follower of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, the spiritual leader of Jyotirmath in the Indian Himalayas. He credits Brahmananda Saraswati with inspiring about of his own teachings and the evolution of Transcendental Deep meditation, later renamed to Transcendental Meditation.

In 1955, Maharishi Mahesh introduced Transcendental Meditation within India and quickly developed a following, which then began to spread out farther into the world.

Between 1955 and 1965, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi undertook multiple global tours to spread his teachings and spiritual beliefs aslope the practice of Transcendental Meditation.

Following the world tours, the practice gained farther popularity in the 1970s, with celebrities advocating for the value of the practice. During this fourth dimension Maharishi Mahesh likewise began to railroad train others as Transcendental Meditation Teachers and developed schools defended to teaching the practice (Russell, 1977).

The practice connected to gain popularity throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and by the early 2000s, Transcendental Meditation equally a practice and motion had grown to include a variety of associated services including wellness products, educational programs, and teacher training courses, with millions of people involved. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi remained the leader of what became a huge multinational movement right upward until his death in 2008.

Tony Nader, a Lebanese researcher, neuroscientist, and author, became Maharishi Mahesh'due south successor immediately following his death as the leader for the motility.

Transcendental Meditation is still one of the most widely practiced forms of meditation today and remained largely unchanged since its outset introduction in the 1950s. It is too 1 of the virtually widely researched (Benson and Klipper, 2001).

What is Vipassana Meditation?

Vipassana is i of the oldest Buddhist meditation practices and can be roughly translated to hateful 'insight': an awareness of what is happening, exactly as information technology happens. This is the core distinction between Vipassana Meditation compared with other techniques. It's important to understand this stardom, in lodge to fully understand and engage with Vipassana equally a meditative technique.

Within Buddhism, at that place are two cadre forms of meditation and in Pali, these are called Vipassana and Samatha. Samatha is roughly translated to mean 'tranquility': when the mind is brought to a resting country and not immune to wander from idea to thought.

The majority of meditative practices focus on Samatha, in that they enquire the private to focus on one thing – a chant, a prayer, a candle, an epitome – and to exclude all other thoughts.

In Vipassana Meditation, the individual is encouraged instead to use their concentration to gain true insight into the nature of their ain reality. The ultimate aim is to achieve liberation by breaking down the walls that prevent usa from agreement our true reality.

As a meditative technique, it is very gradual and achieving liberation can take many years. The technique itself is quite gentle only extremely thorough in helping the individual achieve ultimate mindful awareness through a dedicated set of exercises. There are three core stages of the practise:

Sila – meaning 'morality' and relating to the giving up of worldly thoughts and desires.
Anapanasati – or the 'mindfulness of animate', where the individual brings their awareness to their breathing without control or judgment.
Vitarka – where the individual simply names the process of animate – both physical and mental – without giving it farther in-depth idea.

Past starting time with one inhalation, the technique sees you continue on this path, removing any other awareness of external events effectually yous, and build from there to the next exhalation and so forth. Many people fail over and over once more.

The purpose is to retrain your mind and create a land of hyper-awareness for everything that is happening within your immediate reality, exactly as information technology is happening and exactly how it happens. Through Vipassana Meditation you are seeking to create perfect, unbroken awareness with your reality (Pandita, 2018).

9 Recommended Books

Every bit meditation becomes more than widely acknowledged and accepted, you can find plenty of reading material to help you lot develop your own do and noesis of its powerful benefits. Below I've listed a few books to assistance you become started, broken down by general topics:

Books about the history of meditation

'The Origin of Buddhist Meditation' by Alexander Wynne (Amazon)
'Zen Buddhism: A History, India and China' by Heinrich Dumoulin (Amazon)
'Zen Buddhism: A History, Japan' by Heinrich Dumoulin (Amazon)

Books near meditation practice

'Meditation: How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Listen' by Pema Chödrön (Amazon)
'Meditation: An in-depth guide' by Ian Gawler (Amazon)
'The Scientific discipline of Meditation: How to Modify Your Brain, Mind and Trunk' past Daniel Goleman (Amazon)

Books about mindfulness

'Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment—and Your Life' by Jon Kabat-Zinn (Amazon)
'Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life' by Thich Nhat Hanh (Amazon)
'The Neuroscience of Mindfulness: The Astonishing Science behind How Everyday Hobbies Help You Relax' by Dr. Stan Rodski (Amazon)

8 Videos on YouTube

The more you build your agreement and knowledge of meditation, it's different origins and ways of practicing, the more likely it is y'all'll detect a version that works for you lot.

Explore the history can also assistance you feel better connected with your practise as you take a deeper appreciation for how ancient and varied it is.

These popular TEDx videos are a great starting indicate:

Debunking the five Most Mutual Meditation Myths – TEDxVeniceBeach

How Mindfulness Meditation Redefines Pain, Happiness & Satisfaction – TEDxSFU

Taming Your Wandering Mind – TEDxCoconutGrove

If you're interested in getting started with a meditation practise, a guided video can help you to keep on rail and develop a ameliorate understanding and connection with the process. Hither are a few favorites of mine from YouTube to aid you lot on your way:

Body Browse Practice with Jon Kabat-Zinn

Guided Meditation for Detachment from Overthinking

iii-Minute Mindful Breathing Meditation (to Relieve Stress) with Terminate, Exhale & Think

Guided Meditation with Kelsang Jampa – TEDxSarasota

Ii Minute Guided Meditation – The School of Life

A Take Domicile Message

I hope later reading through the history and origins of meditation, you'll experience a renewed sense of awe for how ancient and inherent to being human the practice is.

If there is ane thing I'd similar you to take away from this article, it's the idea that, above and beyond any religious affiliations, meditation seems to be a core office of being human. It has been skilful and handed downwards for centuries, and we should not undervalue how important even a short and elementary appointment in meditation practice can be. Especially within our current, hectic daily lives.

I'd love to hear your own thoughts on meditation, or if yous have any other insights about the origins and history of meditation, delight do share them in the comments.

We promise you enjoyed reading this article. Don't forget to download our 3 Mindfulness Exercises for complimentary.

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Source: https://positivepsychology.com/history-of-meditation/