Meditation and Positive Mental Health

Abstract

health is an important part of a person's life besides physical, spiritual and financial well being. It is believed that a healthy mind is major source to an individual attaining satisfaction in life. The world health organization (WHO) reported (2003) Mental health as an individual's state of well-being when he realizes his abilities, as the ability to cope with normal stresses of life, to work productively and fruitfully and can contribute to his community. health means a harmonious working of the mind, which results in well adjusted personality. Mcdaid (2007) pointed out that mental health problems are highly prevalent in our society, onset occurs at a much younger age in comparison to other disease and they have detrimental effect on various aspects of people's life. health is responsible for poorer economic, social and health outcomes. Barry and Jenkins (2007) reported healthier life style, few problems in daily living, greater productivity, better relationship, professional success and quality of life depends on the presence of positive mental health.If we give proper attention and care towards mental illness at initial stage, it can be cure. There are number of psychological techniques which help to elevate mental problems. Depression, stress, anxiety, emotional instability, psychosomatic disorders, behavioural problems and so many other problems can be resolves/manage through psychotherapy. Meditation is one of the psychotherapeutic methods of ancient time to get positive mental health.Meditation is not used for only religious purposes. It may also be used to relax or calm, give peace to a person's soul. Some doctors prescribe meditation instead of pain killer or drugs to relax a person. They do this because meditation has no harmful side effects and can be easily done by anyone. Through meditation we can get calmness and clearer thought process.Meditation has been in practice for more than three thousand years and forms of meditation can be found in every major religion. While meditation styles, sources, and ideologies greatly differ, its purpose is uniform: personal transformation (Gunaratana, 1992). That is, one who enters a meditation practice will not be the same after the experience. The mind calms, concentration and thinking power increases, and tension and anxiety decreases as one becomes more able to handle life events (Goleman, 1988).Meditation has been found to improve mental health by reducing biochemical indicators of stress, decreasing anxiety, and enhancing psychological development.Understanding meditationThese days, meditation is commonly used for relaxation and stress reduction. Meditation is considered a type of mind-body complementary medicine. Meditation produces a deep state of relaxation. During meditation, you focus on your attention and eliminate the negatives thoughts that may be disturbed mind and produce stress. This process improves physical and emotional well-being.Meditation may be defined as the self-regulation of attention to suspend involvement in the habitual stream of thoughts. The goal of meditation is to reach a state of thoughtless awareness, during which a person is passively aware of sensations at the present moment. Although there are a number of different techniques the elements of muscle and 'logic' relaxation, self-induced state and selffocused skill are considered essential (Cardoso et al., 2004).Types of meditationThere are many types of meditation techniques .All share the same goal of achieving inner peace. There are some common meditation techniques in Indian context.Transcendental meditation: Using/chanting a mantra, such as a word, phrase or sound repeatedly silently, to narrow our conscious awareness and eliminate all thoughts from our mind. We focus exclusively on our mantra to achieve a state of perfect stillness and consciousness.Mindfulness meditation: This type of meditation is based on being mindful, or having an increased awareness and acceptance of living in the present moment. …