The Therapeutic Significance of Meditation

By Ritu Chowdhary, P.G. Deptt.of Psychology, University of Jammu.

ABSTRACT 

Various studies indicate that meditation facilitates therapeutic processes. Predisposition of a subject to a meditational technique affects the therapeutic facility induced by practicing the meditational technique. High levels of motivation help to draw more out of practitioner, while a mere subject undergoes very little psychological changes. Various techniques of meditation do not seem tailored for specific therapeutic effects. Practitioners employing meditation for bringing about efficiency in mental functions certainly seem to succeed. Standard therapeutic techniques and various meditational techniques still have very little interrelation. Various cultural and aptitudinal factors motivate a person to undertake the practice of a specific meditational technique, which facilitates positive or negative induction to a specific therapeutic process. Without said cultural and aptitudinal factors, an experimental or mechanistic practice of any meditational technique is of very little therapeutic significance.             

 SEMANTICS AND DYNAMICS

In modern industrialized society the pace of our lives is largely determined by economic considerations rather than by the rhythms of human life or natural growing things and there is a dearth of spontaneously occurring quiet inner space into which we can retreat . Meditation is one such way of calming down the mind and body as well. Meditationis a state of extended reflection or contemplation. Although the term and the characterization of the mental state itself have sufferred from considerable abuse -- administered mainly by those who make unsubstantiated claims about its therapeutic value -- a few aspects of meditational state have been documented; the EEG pattern generally shows alpha waves, oxygen consumption drops, energy expenditure is lowered and subject reports are consistent in describing the experience as relaxing and salutary.

       The Encyclopedia of Mystical and Paranormal experiences describes meditation as, “Any of various disciplines of mind and body that enable one to achieve higher states of conciousness. Meditation has no intrinsic goal, but the goal toward which it is applied is the transformation of conciousness. It is a tool for self improvement or spiritual growth.” It may be described as the methodology of Eastern psychology in that it is a means to experiential knowledge of mind and self, whereas Western psychology has adopted the scientific approach to understanding relying on procedures which are publicly verifiable and observable. 

     After reviewing the concepts and notions of meditation it is very difficult to come to a single definition of meditation. Broadly meditation means awareness about internal operations both physiological and spiritual and then convergence to a sense of blissful neutrality. It appears that most of the meditators' motivation is to reach a stage of calm where the reactiveness of man is at least temporarily obliterated. Meditation may be defined as that state of mind which changes and alters our perspective of understanding of not only the sense reality, but also usher in a benign world outlook.

CLASSIFICATIONS IN BELIEFS

Meditation has been practised for a very long period, yet we do not have a real understanding of why it has been sustained for so long and also across so many different cultures. Japanese practise the Zazen and according to the Hindu philosophy and yoga teachings there are subtle psychic sense organs and a particulars force called the kundalini which when activated in the form of psychic energy leads to a state of perfect enlightenment. It has long been used throughout Christendom , where the Desert fathers who were among the earliest Christians silently repeated the ‘kyrie eleison’ to help them achieve a state of rest where, nowhereness and nomindness purified the soul. The most detailed classical Buddhist treatise on meditation is the Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification), part of the Abhidhamma. Buddhist meditation is approached through purification (sila), concentration (samadhi) and insight (punna), all of which work together. The student begins with purification, following a strict ascetic and moral code, and learning mindfulness (sati), a minimal awareness of sensory perceptions without allowing them to stimulate thoughts. Mindfulness then leads to “seeing things as they are”(vipassna). 

       In Sufi tradition of Islam meditation is a central practice in the attempt to reach a state called ‘fana’ or ‘passing away in God’. The aim of Sufi meditation or ‘zikr’ is to overcome the minds waywardness and random play, and to achieve one-pointedness on God , so that God pervades the mind’s activity. Similarly American Indians , Africans and even Eskimoes have practised different forms of rituals which they believe activate their energies. 

PSYCHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

The reasons given by people for their meditation practice seem to differ according to the belief system of those concerned. However there is a commonality of objectives. Is meditation an exercise that clinical psychologists can employ to help people towards greater effectiveness and psychological well-being? Many therapists believe on the basis of using meditation in their practices that the answer is a firm yes. The effect of meditation on well-being and health are usefully viewed as falling within the larger domain of psychotherapy research. 

       It has long been argued that meditation has psychotherapeutic potential. Carl Jung (1961) incorporated meditative concepts in his approaches to therapy. In 1950’s and early 1960’s a number of psychotherapists displayed intense interest in meditative practices. Others discussed meditation in psychoanalytic term (Suzuki 1960; Watts 1961). It was argued that meditation usually Zen, can be therapeutic because it facilitates uncovering processes central to insight therapy (Carrington 1984) and is a proposed relaxation tool or reciprocal inhibitor in behaviour therapy (Boudreau 1972). 

       For the healthy individuals a case has been made for using meditation as a tool for dealing with stress. Meditation as an attention – centering technique has been said to facilitate effective coping by enabling one to react with curiosity, acceptance and interest rather than with threat (Goleman and Schwartz 1976). It appears to have promise for treating essential hypertension (Benson and Wallace 1972, Patel 1973, 1975, 1984). Results have shown reduction in anxiety among subjects after they commence the practice of meditation. Even among the patients, it was found the dosages of psychotropic drugs could be greatly reduced after the patients had been meditating for several weeks (Glueck 1973). 

       Meditation is something more than a stress-reduction technique. It’s a whole affect management approach. It takes training in thought control, followed by regular practice. This may help people to bring more of their behaviour under conscious control. It can bring about increased efficiency as it lessens the need for daytime naps, increased physical stamina, increased productivity at work and increased ideational fluency (Carrington 1977). Meditation also helps in increasing self-actualization. Meditators show increased self-acceptance which lead to increase in tolerance for the human frailties of others thereby improving human relations. People who meditate frequently report experiencing pleasure, sadness, anger, love and other varied emotions easily than before.

       Based on both research and clinical reports, a substantial body of knowledge has accumulated concerning the usefulness of meditation. But the most important issue is, can everybody practice meditation, or are there certain personality traits that are required to venture into this realm of reality? There have been attempts to identify personality characteristics of the meditation-responsive person. It has been seen that the more internal the locus of control of participants prior to meditation instruction, the greater are the reductions in anxiety (Beiman et al 1980). The degree to which the person has a disciplined lifestyle should be considered, since meditation requires less self-discipline. Also, the peaceful mental state of meditation is experienced as unusually pleasurable by many people and this self-reinforcing property makes it very appealing to many. 

UNIQUENESS OF THE MEDITATOR

        Some people may perceive meditation initially as being almost ‘magical’. When they gradually realize that the technique varies according to its effectiveness and also according to an individual’s circumstances and cultural background, they may become disappointed. Also, sometimes meditation may result in an easing of life pace which may threaten the high-pressured lifestyle being led by the individuals, thereby creating incompatibility with the lifestyle or the defensive system of a person. But such complications do not arise with all the meditators. This may also help people to evaluate themselves and the evaluation will almost always reveal a discrepancy between behavior and goals. Thus to achieve self-consistency, behavior will be altered to some extent. 

       It may be concluded that meditation is a wide approach towards therapeutic process. It is also useful for various physical ailments. So far as mental aberrations are concerned , meditation directly intervenes the psychic operations through the internal control system generated by practising meditational devices. Naturally, meditation cannot be specific for any particular mental or physical disease but it creates a condition within human system, which enables other therapies to effect positively. Unfortunately, a large number of meditationists use it as a panacea for all maladies. Particularly in oriental countries, it is so much loaded with religiosity, that many people consider it as a ritualistic practice. But the fact is, meditation only invokes a state of mind, that could be fruitful for any psychosomatic activity, either in a positive or in a negative manner. There is certainly no guarantee that meditation will uplift one’s mental state to a very high level but it will definitely activise internal system in an anabolic way. 

       Finally, it can be said that meditation is a self-directed and active process in which a technique is used ‘by’a person and not ‘on’ a person. For this reason meditation may not be readily dispensed to people if they show little motivation to practice. The value of meditation may be greater for those who wish to be involved in directing their own development than for those wanting to be ‘cured’ passively.

REFERENCES

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