Meditation - Should I Be Doing That?

What is meditation? Meditation is a valuable tool.  Should I be doing that? Simple put, yes.

Meditation is a tool for self-care, prayer, and coping.

Whether in pain, anxious, depressed - meditation is a common recommendation.  When faced with an important decision, meditation is recommended.  Meditation is recommended for athletes, students, professionals, and religious.  Meditation is recommended by therapists, nurses, doctors, homoeopathic practitioners, priests, nuns, spiritual directors, and life coaches.  The catch is: meditation may mean different things to different people.

Arguably there are two types of meditation: prayerful and self-care.  There is, of course, some crossover in these.  Praying can contribute to self-care.  Self-care may include praying.  The purpose is different.  Prayerful meditation should be focused on God.  Self-care meditation can have a variety of focuses.

Prayerful meditation can be guided or unguided.  Guided meditation may follow a rule, such as the Ignatian or Carmelite method.  It might be as simple as placing oneself in the presence of God.  It may be more complicated, like analyzing a prayer line by line.  The Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy are also guided meditations.

Unguided meditation involves praying more freely with the intent of "being still" and "knowing that" He is God.  This may be simply sitting in the presence of God's creation.  The moments of awe can be unguided meditation.

Self-care meditation can have many purposes.  It could be to improve a mood, cope with emotions, conquer a problem, and look toward the future.  Meditation can be used for weight loss, pain control in labor, and coping with mental health concerns.  Meditation can be used to learn new things and process things learned.  Meditation can be used to balance work and life.  It can be used to prioritize.

Guided meditation, which can be called self-hypnosis, involves relaxing and holding an image in your mind.  This is often done with the help of another person who guides the meditation, such as a nurse.  This can be done with recordings.  It can also be done alone.  The setting must be relaxing.  The image must be positive.  Breathing must be rhythmic.

Unguided meditation can be used as a coping mechanism used in any situation.  It involves deep breathing and banishing thoughts for a minute or two.  It can be used in the instant.

This is not intended to teach meditation; rather, just to mention it.  I am currently listening to a podcast on happiness meditation.  It is interesting to hear different methods of meditation.  If you are not meditating, it might be what you need to find a meaningful, happy work-life balance.