Psychology of Meditation
Meditation has traditionally been practiced as a religious observance, but its ability to promote individual wellbeing is what draws attention in modern times. Scientific research is detecting verifiable and observable measures of the therapeutic effects of meditation, as both an altered state of consciousness and a clinical self-regulation strategy.
As an altered state of consciousness, meditation has been credited with generating a sense of joy, expansiveness, and unity. Such states have been termed by Davidson (1976) as "mystical states," and can occur along a continuum from an intense spiritual experience to more subtle perceptual changes. Research investigating the mystical states related to meditation has reviewed a number of the experiences individuals have during meditation. In a study using subjective reports of changes that occur during meditation, Dua and Swinden (1992) found that research subjects felt enhanced acceptance, compassion, and tolerance to self and others. These findings suggest that meditation may be an effective treatment method for reducing anger.
Meditation is considered a self-regulation technique for the treatment of problems such as stress, addiction, and hypertension. It is meditation's ability to induce relaxation that is believed to be responsible for its success with these clinical problems. Goleman and Schwartz (1976) conducted a study on meditation as a device for stress management, and reported that meditators displayed greater autonomic responses in anticipation of a stressful scene during a film, but recovered at a faster rate. Research on meditation as a treatment for an addiction has focused on a variety of addictive substances, including drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol. The practice of transcendental meditation in particular has been correlated to decreases in the usage of these three substances (Benson & Wallace 1972). Transcendental meditation has also been shown to be as effective as some prescription drugs in lowering both systolic and diastolic blood pressures ("Meditation Lowers," 1997). Stress, addiction, and hypertension are health problems that are wide spread in the United States. Meditation could potentially be the solution to these problems, because it treats illnesses without causing the harmful side effects of most of today's manufactured medications.
Altenative Medicine | Meditation | What is Meditation? | Psychology of Meditation
Physiology of Meditation | Conclusion | References