meditation has been around since the dawn of humanity. Sometimes the word meditation can mean different things to different people. I decided to write a dedicated post to differentiate different types of meditation and their purpose.

According to the oxford dictionary to Meditate is to focus one’s mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes, or as a method of relaxation. where meditation is the act of doing it.

Though this definition is right, I would like to add some elements into it, that to meditate is to focus your attention or to put your awareness on a specific thing for a period of time, for a variety of purposes.

Why do I beg to differ? as a meditation practitioner, I use it for various purposes. So I am going to explain it based on my experiences and knowledge.

What is the purpose of meditation?

There are three main purposes of meditation, which are as follows:

1. For Personal improvement, meditation can help a person improve their quality of life and their wellbeing. In most cases, a lot of people meditate to deal with the challenges of their daily lives, they want to improve their health and mental health. Transcendental Meditation is known for this.
2. To increase their metaphysical abilities, Though it is not obvious to many, meditation increases our intuitive abilities. A lot of people have to gain more insights into the realms of the unknown by using different meditation techniques. Mostly on visualization, imagination, and different postures are involved during meditation.
3. For spiritual growth, the ultimate goal of meditation is to reach enlightenment, in different religions, there are different types of meditation with specific chants or mantras to make an individual grow spiritually. Religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism employ different meditation techniques for spiritual growth.

7 types of meditation

Knowing the purpose of meditation now we can explore the five major types of meditation:

1. Mindful meditation, this type of meditation is very simple because it only requires your attention to the present moment, unlike others as you will see it doesn’t require a dedicated time or place, but it is an ongoing habit of being mindful at all times.
2. Visualization meditation, because meditation can be used for various types, in spiritual practices like Chinese Chi gong, energy healing and such requires visualization during meditation.
3. Contemplation meditation, When you focus your mind specifically on a certain subject, it means you are contemplating, you are focusing on a certain topic to arrive at a certain conclusion, this type of meditation is used for the purpose of awakening inner understanding of the meaning of life.
4. Relaxation meditation, relaxation meditation is mostly solo, they are solely used for health benefits and are a prerequisite for other advanced meditation. They involve counting, breathing, and visualization.
5. Guided meditation, this type of meditation involves a third party who will guide you during meditation, the meditation session could use prerecorded audio. These types of meditation are useful for personal use. Guided meditation may sometimes be confused with hypnosis, though there is no an underlying difference.
6. Active meditation, Active meditation is somehow related to mindful meditation, but they focus on doing certain activities while you are in a meditative state. You can wash dished meditatively, walk meditatively, dancing and so on.
7. Audio meditation, this type of meditation involves special sounds, vocal or mental repetition of a specific phrase, sound, or word to induce a meditative or relaxation state during meditation. These types of meditation mostly depend on the frequency or tone of the sound to bring the desired effect. Instruments such as relaxation audio, singing bowls, drums, and chimes are used to bring a meditative effect. There is a lot of audio on YouTube that brings relaxation effects.

Now you know what is meditation, what you can do with meditation, if you haven’t already tried it, give it a try and see what suits you.