Free your mind from “judgments” about reality and things. To become serene, detached and objective observers. Strengthen attention to what surrounds us, looking moment by moment, but only as simple witnesses.
These are the foundations on which the principles of an ancient discipline are founded and today all to be rediscovered: meditation.
Doctor Roberto Di Rubbo, surgeon, specialist in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and 2nd level Master in Meditation and Mindfulness at the University of Florence, explains what this discipline consists of, starting from its remote origins.
“Those of Vipassana meditation, for example, precede the advent of Buddhism, even if it was Gautama Buddha himself who rediscovered and spread it, 2500 years ago, as a method to get out of all kinds of suffering”.
Born in India as a spiritual technique, this form of meditation did not fit into any religious or philosophical corpus and was practiced by people regardless of whether they were secular or religious.
1) What is meant by “meditation”
What origins does this practice have
“The term” meditation “indicates a series of practices used to self-regulate the states of the body / mind by learning to use a faculty of the mind itself: attention, which is addressed to the observation of current experience, moment by moment.
Classically there are two fundamental meditative addresses: the one addressed to Mindfulness (English translation of the word Sati in the Pali language, which means “conscious attention”) and the one addressed to Concentration.
Examples of the first type are: Vipassana meditation, Zen meditation and Mindfulness meditation practices adapted for Westerners. In this first meditative address, the intention is to keep the attention on the present moment, in a non-judgmental way, on every thought, feeling, sensation that arises, moment after moment, with the pure purpose of becoming aware, like a detached witness, of all that arises in the mind.
Examples of the second type are: some forms of yogic meditation, Buddhist Samatha meditation. In the meditation techniques of concentration, the focus of attention is kept on a specific mental or sensory activity, such as a repeated sound (the famous mantra), the visualization of an image, the breath. By focusing the attention in this way, the flow of thoughts slowly calms down, until it stops and allows the experimentation of non-ordinary states of consciousness.
However, it can be said that the development of the awareness of being the “Witness” (a non-judgmental observing function) is the implicit or explicit goal of every form of meditation ».
2) It is a recognized discipline also on a scientific level
«Considering only the works in international scientific journals, since 2009 there were already more than 1500 scientific articles on the therapeutic effects of meditation. In Canada and Australia, as well as in the USA, numerous institutions used meditation procedures within therapeutic protocols as early as twenty years ago. The Stress Reduction Unit of the Clinical Center of the University of Massachussetts, directed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, is quite well known now ».
3) Who can benefit
«Generally, in various forms and measures, to all those who perceive its potential or to whom it is made known and practiced. Psychotic illnesses or an absolute lack of tendency to introspection, generally exclude the applicability of meditation, but each case must be evaluated individually ».
4)There is an ideal age range for practicing “meditation”
«No. Anyone who decides to devote himself to the discovery of his mind can begin to do so. At any age. Perhaps it is advisable to get help from a teacher from an experienced practitioner because the conceptual mind often “traps itself”, in an attempt to keep everything under control. The meditative state must be developed in every activity of the day in an informal way, such as with the Walking Meditation (meditating bringing attention to the movement of the feet moment by moment) ».
5) It can cure some pathology
«Mindfulness today represents the central basis of a series of new, empirically validated treatments, and has proven over the decades to be a practice capable of integrating with most psychotherapeutic models.
Starting from psychiatric disorders, there is evidence of the efficacy of meditation in general stress, depression, including suicidal forms, bipolar disorder, drug addiction, anxiety disorders (panic attacks, generalized anxiety , social phobia), in post traumatic stress disorder, in obsessive compulsive disorder, in eating disorders, in ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
The scientific evidence of the therapeutic efficacy of meditation is also reported in numerous articles for various organic pathologies: pain, diseases of the cardiovascular system (hypertension, arrhythmias, coronary diseases), metabolic syndrome, dermatological diseases with psychosomatic components (such as, for example, the psoriasis), headache, and epilepsy “.
6) Why you need a guide to deal with this practice
Alone at home is not possible
«It is important that an experienced practitioner can provide support to those approaching meditation. At least for a while. The operational or conceptual mind, the one we use daily, produces billions of thoughts continuously. In meditation one moves towards the slowing down and silence of this function of the mind, while the vision of the structure of the mind itself becomes clearer; we do not seek at all the cancellation of the continuous inner chatter, but to bring out the perfect silence below. As a Zen tale tells, a cup cannot be filled with anything if it is already full ».
7) How much can “meditation” help us in times of stress
“Hugely. Just remember that Kabat-Zinn’s program, the MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) was structured precisely for this. In 1979, with the support of the Head of Internal Medicine of the Medical Center of the University of Worcester (Massachusetts), he founded the first Clinic for stress reduction based on the cultivation of Awareness.
8) How psychiatric and meditative matters are married
«The possibility of disidentifying oneself from one’s mental contents is the condition at the basis of our freedom and our healing from mental (and physical), body-mind discomfort. This is what psychotherapy pursues, and, albeit in other ways, it is a shared goal with meditation. The two subjects therefore blend very well. I practice psychoanalytic psychotherapy, but the benefit that each therapist and each patient draws from the meditative state of the therapist in the session is remarkable: it enhances the capacity for listening and attention, creates a silence full of peace, even though part of the therapist’s mind does not miss a single word of what the patient says “.
9) In the society and world we live in today it still makes sense to think about “meditation” and experience it
“In a world where contact with others has falsely intensified (Web, Facebook, Whatsapp, Messenger, etc.), where meeting places (lounge bars, discos, etc.) are very crowded, the number of lonely people has decreased
. impression and that they have increased. In a world where we are apparently enormously closer, we are increasingly in the void. Relationships have become fictitious and insubstantial. This happens first of all in the relationship with ourselves. We are not able to face our pain of existing. We have hundreds of opportunities to escape from ourselves. So: it makes sense to stop and start looking at what’s inside
I would say yes! Not only does it still make sense to speak of “meditation”, today it is essential to experience it ».
10) Those who practice it must do it continuously
“Of course. Those who go to the gym to improve their body structure will get results by going to the gym only four times a year
. Certainly not ».
11) Better a meditative session or a chat with a trusted friend
«They are two completely different things. In the meditative session I actively and progressively become proficient in awareness of myself and in contact with the deeper part, and beyond, of the mind. Even a good friend can help me go in that direction. So why choose one or the other
Better both, if possible. If I find myself alone but at the source of me there is everything ».
12) There are qualified centers where to learn “meditation” in Italy
“Without wanting to advertise anyone in particular, it must in any case be recognized that the Buddhist center of Pomaia, in the province of Pisa, (the Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, also visited last summer by the Dalai Lama) has within it teachers, including Tibetans , of considerable value. It would be optimal to be able to do a retreat of a few days. The other important references are the Center for Mindfulness in Italy (motus Mundi), the Italian Mindfulness Center, the Vipassana Italia Association and obviously the Institute of Neuroscience of Florence where I work which has a section dedicated to the teaching of Mindfulness. “.
Source:
- http://www.lastampa.it/2015/08/31/scienza/benessere/meditazione-vivere-la-realt-senza-esserne-travolti-q5iPhQDhg6pJdiY1xPjAAI/pagina.html
