A state of consciousness in which the individual eliminates environmental stimuli from awareness so that the mind can focus on a single thing, producing a state of relaxation and relief from stress. A wide variety of techniques are used to clear the mind of stressful outside interferences. It includes meditation therapy. (Mosby's Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary, 4th ed).

The aim of this type of meditation is obviously increased awareness, but it also creates a very effective channel through which previously unconscious contents may present themselves to the conscious mind.

Meditation means contemplation or thoughtful consideration. There are as many approaches to meditation as there are people, but the general goal agreed upon is to train the Heart-Mind to observe and then to let go of attachments in order simply to be mindful.

Meditation is an umbrella word which encompasses a multitude of techniques aimed at achieving a state of enlightenment or ecstasy or both.

But despite the variety of approaches, almost every form of meditation tries to fall into one of two basic categories.

The first, on which most Christian, Sufi and yoga meditation techniques are based, is heightened concentration. The practitioner gives their undivided attention to a single idea or perception, seeking the total absorption which leads to understanding. If successful, a trance-like state ensues in which external awareness dims and the effects of competing stimuli die away. Experts believe this to be the oldest form of meditation and its advanced practice can lead to ecstatic states.

The second, traditionally credited to the Buddha for its development, involves the passive examination of the changing content of individual awareness, taking care neither to select the content nor to cling to any aspect of it once another aspect arises.

Different masters, schools, and individuals recommend different techniques for learning to focus the mind. Some suggest being aware of one's breath rising and falling and sometimes counting the breath, maintaining mindfulness of only this activity: breathing. For others, it is recommended to listen to the sound of silence. Some masters use the ancient tradition of KOAN figuring out a riddle which seems to have an obvious answer but which has a deeper level of meaning requiring great understanding and concentration to discover. What ever the method, after one begins to quiet the mind and heart, one can begin to AWAKEN to the emptiness and impermanence of all phenomena, including the products of one's ego, thoughts and feelings.

The key to meditation probably lies in managing to concentrate on just one thing at a time instead of on a welter of things as we normally tend to do. Reducing the flow of information and sensations we are trying to accept reduces the mental responses we have to make. This respite from any thought also diminishes stress.

Research shows that breathing, brain activity, blood pressure, and heart and pulse rate are all affected my meditation. The calm and rested feeling it produces should not only ease disorders of the moment, but also improve your ability to cope physically and mentally with forthcoming activities or future problems.