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Essential Meditation:  Insight or Energy?

by lemortedeben

There are thousands of different meditation traditions across the
world.  There are likely hundreds of thousands of meditation
techniques.  For the purposes of this article though, we will
over-simplify and break these techniques down into two general
categories:  energy and insight.

Insight meditation teaches students to train their awareness,
direct it skillfully, and to learn to accept an experience as it
is... to allow whatever thoughts or feelings arise to flow
naturally without interference.  The primary skills of insight
meditation are awareness and acceptance.

Insight meditation often trains to students to pick a single
focus for a given meditation.  When the focus begins to drift,
the student gently brings it back to the focus of meditation. 
Accepting whatever arises in consciousness (or in life) develops
deep peacefulness.  Growing more and more aware of the specifics
of our experience allows us to deeply change the nature of our
understanding (insight), and we can begin to be more selective
about what we bring into our lives!

Energy meditation teaches students to notice and circulate
energy in the body, to notice how experience and perception
changes with the location of the energy.  Some of the most
popular systems of energy meditation are the meridian system of
qigong and the chakra system of Yoga.

With energy meditations, a student will often use a breathing
method that is outside of their normal pattern of breath.  Then
the student will pay attention to whatever feelings arise in the
body.  Once an awareness of the feelings develops, the can then
be directed as the practitioner sees fit.  This energy can be
directed into chakras, or through the meridians, into the aura,
etc.  Many powerful effects grow from developing control over the
energy fields in and around the body.

Even these two very generalized varieties of meditation cross
over quite a bit.  In order to pay attention to energy in the
body, the meditator has to develop a somewhat skillful level of
awareness.  Before the energy can be effectively circulated, it
must be accepted and allowed to flow.  On the other hand, the
insight meditator is bound to have experiences of energy flow in
the body, whether this is the object of meditation or not.  The
very awareness and acceptance the insight meditator is developing
will allow energy to flow more freely.

In the long run, the reported benefits of these two styles of
meditation are very similar.  Meditators who open all the chakras
usually report an experience of transcendence, oneness, and/or
the inter-connectedness of all things.  Long term insight
meditators typically report similar experiences.

With either method, powerful meditative experiences can
translate into transcendent day-to-day experiences.  This is not
hard to do with either method of meditation.  When you are
completing a session, allow the meditative state to linger as you
get up and begin to go about other activities.  Once you are
proficient with them, you can also practice some of your
meditation techniques with open eyes while you are doing other
activities during the day (please use common sense:  don't do
this while driving or operating heavy equipment).

Ultimately, there is little if any qualitative difference
between these two approaches.  The most important thing to do is
practice.  Get started today!  If you already meditate, choose to
take it a little bit further today.  Whether you prefer insight
or energy meditation, there are powerful benefits to come for
those who keep up the practice!

Benjamin Langley has been studying and training in meditation,
yoga, and other sciences of the mind for over 10 years.  He
regularly writes and shares powerful insights on his own blog. 
Come take a look: http://peacefulprosperity.com/blog

Syndicated by Top Gazebos - www.topgazebos.net

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