The Commonly Unknown History of Meditation
The Commonly Unknown History of Meditation
How Meditation Arrived in the United States
The history of meditation and how it arrived in America is quite interesting. Meditation as a spiritual practice is not traceable to any one point in time and may precede all of the world religions, with some yogic disciplines claiming to be older than Hinduism, the oldest of the five major religions. It has been around in recorded history for thousands of years. It originated from Asian religious practices, in India, China and Japan. The practice of meditation was spread to Western society thousands of years after it was adopted in the East.
Meditation deals with the human mind is non-denominational. It is believed that meditation was probably one of the oldest forms of mind control and self-healing. The practice of meditating has been part of almost all ancient religious and magical traditions. Currently, meditation is a central practice of New Age disciplines among other main stream religions.
The Arrival of Meditation in the United States
The practice of meditation came to the United States around 1950. However, it did not become accepted or well-known in the US until the 1960s. A key reason why meditation became common amongst Americans was the fact that it was supported by the Beatles. The Beatles learned to meditate and spoke openly about how it affected them and had a great impact on them individually and as a group. Their open discussion on the subject of meditation made the practice much more common among Americans.
Meditation is a practice that helps people achieve balance both mentally and physically as well as emotionally. Meditation also helps to lower ones heart rate and blood pressure by slowing down ones breathing which lowers the amount of oxygen needed for the body. Meditation is both an ancient spiritual practice and a contemporary mind-body technique for relaxing the body and calming the mind. Meditation is the first mind-body intervention to be widely adopted in mainstream health care. Meditation is now widely taught at medical settings such as the VA clinics and Kaiser Permanente where it is prescribed as a technique for relaxing the body and calming mind. Meditation elicits many descriptive terms: stillness, silence, tranquility, peace, quiet, calm. Meditation aids in lowering heart rate and blood pressure by slowing down breathing, which reduces the amount of oxygen needed.
Though the exact history of meditation in terms of specific dates and years is not traceable, it is a fact that meditation is now a global practice. Throughout the years, meditation has traveled from the East to the West and has transcended the entire world. You can now find people from all corners in the world who meditate on a regular basis. Today, people meditate as part of their religious practice, to benefit their health, to become more enlightened, gain relaxation from it, and for many other reasons that are beneficial to them. It is a great practice to start which can have a life-improving impact on you.
 Thanks for visiting! Make sure to check out our recommended Spiritual Resources Page and get a free binaural beats sample!Meditation has had an incredible impact on my emotional, professional, and spiritual growth. It has benefited me so much that I created this site to share information about meditation with other busy, stressed out parents, professionals, college students, and business owners in a straightforward way. Meditation led me to my life path as an Integrated Executive Life Coach. If you'd like to work with me as a coach, schedule a free 15 minute coaching session today! Make sure to let me know you came from My Meditation Garden! |
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