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Relax and free your mind.
By Danielle Vickers — Written on Apr 21, 2020
Though we've read about it in history books, or have heard about its lifestyle changes, exactly what is Buddhism?
Buddhism is a religion that has been practiced for more than 2,500 years starting in northeast India, with over 450 million followers worldwide. It's the act of people studying how to be patient and find complete zen. It focuses on the follower's spiritual development while showing true intuition in life.
Followers practice Buddhism through meditation to find their inner zen. Finding your zen means being fully attentive to the world around you, while maintaining a complete state of calm. This is the crux of zen meditation and the art of mindfulness.
What is meditation?
Meditation is when an individual is focusing on a singular thought or idea and removing distractions of the mind.
Some meditations are guided by an outsider. Some people enter a meditative state by focusing on their breathing. Knowing how to do meditation helps people be calmer and emotionally stable.
Many people use meditation to help with anxiety, stress, improving mental health, becoming more self-aware, and being a kinder person. And research has shown it can help lower blood pressure.
Zen means feeling relaxed and being very mindful of decisions. You think in a very calm manner, which is why Buddhists practice zen it via meditation.
What is mindfulness meditation and how do you meditate?
There are many ways to meditate, including concentration meditation, which is when the individual focuses on a single thought while repeating a certain phrase and staring at the flame of a candle.
Mindful meditation, on the other hand, is a little different.
It's perfect for someone who has a wandering mind. Mindful meditation allows the practitioner to be fully present. The practice of mindful meditation helps quiet thoughts in order to become fully zen.
What are the best meditation and mindfulness techniques?
To help you get started on your journey to zen, here are a few meditations to calm your soul. You'll find that after you do them, you'll feel centered and serene.\
1. Focused attention meditation
Breathe and focus on one thought.
2. Loving-kindness meditation
This is a practice for enhancing positive energy. During the loving-kindness meditation, you are putting positive energy towards another person, and you focus on other people. This helps you feel at ease and let go of your unhappiness.
3. Zen meditation breathing
The practice of Zen Meditation involves breathing. Zen meditation is the most known form of meditation because you are sitting upright and just breathing.
4. Meditation that uses a sound bath
This is popular in Buddhism. A sound bath uses sounds like gongs, instruments, and bowls to put someone in a calm state.
5. Yoga
Buddhists use yoga as a form of mindfulness. You don't have to be Buddhist to do yoga; in fact, many people do yoga to get themselves into a serene state.
6. Guided meditations
These can be found online. A guided meditation can be any audio recording that lets your mind focus on a certain story, putting you in a peaceful mindset.
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Danielle Vickers is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture and relationship topics.