Alison Olson Intro To Meditation Adam Ballenger 30 July 2013

Buddhist Meditation: and Why it Works For Me Over this summer course we have discussed mediation as a whole and have discussed different aspects in meditation that come from Buddhist and Yoga meditation. In class, they both seemed very similar - to the point it was confusing to know which aspect of meditation came from what view. I furthered my research by looking up online journals and articles about both Buddhist and Yoga meditation, still both seem very similar and go both hand in hand. But there are enough differences for me to see that while I have practiced meditation at home, I prefer Buddhist meditation. I feel both are very important but learning in class and doing my own research I feel that the yoga side of meditation is more about contemplation and looking at things a variety of ways. When on the buddhist side of things it is more about having a singular point of focus. Both can offer a better or more clean vantage point. Both types of meditation stress the fact and importance of breathing practices. On the yoga side it is call pranyama, one of the ways I have practiced pranyama in my meditation practices has been by alternating my nostrils. On our buddhist side of meditation the mindfulness of breathing is called anapasati, from what I have found in my research. In both buddhist and mostly in yoga meditation practices you will hear the term vritti often, it was the very first term we learned in class actually. A vritti is a disturbance in the mind and can be disturbed in all forms of consciousness whether meditating, dreaming, or in a normal state of mind. In both meditation practices there are helpful ways to avoid vrittis during meditation and will help you to get over them throughout the day. With my own personal vrittis I have found that finding one just singular point of focus is more productive for me then contemplating different points and trying to find no disturbance. I still feel vrittis popping up in my mind so dharana seems more of an effective form of mediation and center, which I feel goes more hand in hand with the buddhist aspects of meditation, which as I have said already, I prefer.

Meditating at home has helped me in multiple ways, and after doing more research for this paper I have realized my methods comprehend with buddhism more so than yoga. Buddhist meditation focuses on insight, bliss, concentration, and mindfulness. It also concentrates on several foundations for mindfulness. Body, Feelings/emotions, Mind, and mental contents. This form of meditation can be considered a spiritual or religious practice, but even non-believers and non-Buddhists can benefit from practicing the foundations, like myself. I have no intentions of using meditation as a religious outlet, but I have found that it has helped me with everyday challenges. Many psychologists and psychiatrists are picking up on meditation in a way to help their patients to help control different mental health problems. Since Buddhist meditation focuses on mindfulness, as an antidote to negative things, and to focus on reality I have found that it really helps me in my challenges with several mental health disorders. The first I would like to discuss is A.D.H.D. We have talked about the benefits that meditation can bring to someone with an attention deficit disorder. I was diagnosed when I would 13 years old and have been heavily prescribed with medications. I cant even watch a whole movie with out losing focus, let alone ever reading books. It has been a great struggle with education and grades. For example, I have been working on this paper for 4 hours now, but only have this much done, it is because I have to go stand up and basically run around in circles every 20 minutes, which is actually better than I normally do on papers. There has been so much research on how meditation could help a child or an adult with A.D.H.D. I wish when I was diagnosed ten years ago, that my doctor would have pushed the idea of meditation being a natural way to help alleviate the disorder. Since taking this class I have found I am better able to focus in my classes, on movies, and conversations for longer periods of time without zoning out. Taking this course, and researching on Buddhist meditation has shown me that being mindful can really help me center my thoughts and I can think more clearly after I have centered myself. My biggest struggle with A.D.H.D has been always thinking 10 steps ahead or 10 steps behind, but hardly ever being in the present moment. Being able to center myself daily has helped me to be more mindful, and able to focus more in the moment. Another thing I struggle with are anxiety attacks. Which is where focusing on breathing and a mantra have helped extremely well with controlling them. My anxiety usually comes with

stressing out about money or school. I am prescribed on Xanax and I only take it when I feel an attack coming on to help control it. I usually start feeling sick and my breathing becomes off and I get migraine type symptoms to were light and sounds worsen how I feel. I usually can get these attacks under control within an hour. Which, sounds horrible but I guess I have learned to live with it. But since practicing meditation I have found that being able to slow my breath and breathe loudly as a mantra has helped to calm them much quicker. Now, I think I will always need some form of medication to help control my anxiety but practicing Buddhist meditation foundations can greatly help me. The last thing that I deal with, and that meditation has helped me is bipolar. I read multiple articles on how buddhist meditation can help someone with bipolar. Now, it can say that it can be a problem for some with bipolar considering the fact that bipolar can cause a lot of troubling thoughts in someones mind and to try to open up your mind by being mindful can cause a negative effect. The study I read says that someone should start off slowly by meditation 5 minutes a day twice a day, if things are going well for you within a month, increase your time. This what I have been doing and it seems to be helping a great deal, although I havent taken the opportunity to meditate everyday it has helped me and I need to get into that habit, it is an extremely healthy one. A typical problem associated with bipolar is impulsive unhealthy behavior. Like we discussed in class, stress activates our prefrontal cortex but meditation can lower stress hormones, including ones that are found in the brain. The prefrontal cortex is also the sector of the brain that controls our impulses, thought processes, and decision making. With having bipolar those hormones are off on their levels so practicing buddhist meditation could be extremely beneficial too me with bipolar. Although, I have noticed benefits from meditation such as relief of anxiety or concentration with school, I havent quite seen a difference in bipolar tendencies, I feel that would be more of a longer term effect to look into. We talked about the experiment with the marshmallows and the children, I would definitely be one of the kids to eat the marshmallows immediately, and that comes with the impulses from bipolar, and not being able to delay the onset gratification but like what was talked about in class, I truly feel with meditation and mantras and buddhist breathing and physical aspects could really help one day

with time being able to avoid unhealthy impulses. Being able to relate meditation with my mental disorders have opened up a whole new door with a healing process. Now to be honest, it would take an extremely long time to get to know all the terminology associated with and in meditation practices. It would be like learning a new language. But, one set of terms I can remember easily is buddhist virtues, the brahmaviharas. In class when we talked about them I found them very interesting. I was really able to connect with the different ones and I wanted to start to radiate the different mental states we talked about. Meta - is loving kindness, I have found myself always wishing good things for people whether I know them or not, or no matter what their situation is. Karuna - is compassion for others. Hoping that there is no suffering in ones life. Mudita - is the mental state of being able to feel joy with others. Being able to go throughout my day talking to people, meeting some new friends I have found that being able to radiate something as simple as joy, love, and kindness has an amazing affect on relationships. The hardest one for me to work on has been upeksha - which is the ability to see others all at an equal pace. To be able to accept accomplishments and rewards or losses and failures with a detachment. When centering this has been something I have focused on and tried to find different vantage points to better myself when it comes to being disappointed. I am working on trying to detach myself from regret. Being able to put a term, upeksha, too something makes over coming it easier. To have that single point of focus, being I need to work on upeksha today is helping me get past to seeing different things, situations, or people on different levels. Maybe, one of the reasons I am more comfortable and prefer buddhist meditation is because the recommended text for the class is written by an author who radiates buddhism. I really do enjoy that book and all the different examples and suggests on different meditations to try helped me to develop, in a sense, a style. For example, if I ever meditate outside, I have to stand, and as Jon Kabat-Zinn says let your feet become the roots of a tree. Zinn, and buddhist meditations really focus on not just doing but being. So often, I have just thought of what I need to do, what I am going to do, or what I have not done. But, using his chapters and this class has helped me appreciate what I am right now, what is being accomplished in the present moment. The world is extremely busy but taking in different aspects of meditation has helped me

slow down within it. With the mental disorders I have, I have found more stability in the world around me. And, I feel more stable within the world. Buddhism meditation has helped me feel a duality with my body and mind. When my mind tells my body to breath it has become very natural to me, and can focus on that alone for awhile. When my body starts to get uncomfortable my mind is able to help relieve that pain by acknowledging it but not fixing it. I have been listening to buddhist mantras online and they have becoming very calming to me, I have set up a space in my bedroom where I know that it is time to meditate where it stays dark, once I turn on a mantra I have started to feel myself immediately fall into a calmer state of mind. Like we have trained our bodies to eat while in the kitchen, or sleep in the bedroom, I have created a space in which my body and mind dually fall into a meditation design. In buddhism there are known to be two qualities that will come from mediation. Which are serenity and insight. Serenity can compose the mind and help it be tranquil and insight will help one see and explore different aggregates. Since meditation I have been able to find much more insight on my day to day activities and life. The aggregates are also known as the five skandhas, which consist of form/matter, sensation/feeling, perception/conception. mental formations/impulses, and consciousness. Being able to meditate and feel insight on these things is helping me feel a sense of unattachment and I am able to find more equanity in day to day things like skandhas. Being able to gain insight on these things is helping me then find a sense of serenity, I can feel more tranquil then I have in the past with my hindering mental disadvantages. I took this class as part of my general education requirement, I feel blessed that this class was available for the life and wellness portion because of health conditions I cant be physically active. But, I feel that I could have taken a yoga or dance class anywhere and have before, I feel like taking this course is an opportunity most people would look over but it has and will continue to help me through out the rest of my schooling. Although, I prefer buddhist practices of meditation, I dont disregard any of the benefits yoga meditation has or has helped me. I would love to look deeper into other meditation practices to see what other opportunities that I could have.