Basically there are 3 types of meditation:

A. the 1st is One pointed concentration, meaning we constantly have focused attention on any object collected by five sensory organs. It also includes any mental activities like thought, inner voice or image… that appears and disappears in our mind. ( Herein, let’s simply call it the Mind or the 6th sense. The objects of six senses are:

What we see: a candle (candle gazing), a flower, a tree in nature, tip of our nose…a picture of a beloved one, master or teacher that inspires us….

• What we hear: the sound of ocean waves, raindrops falling on leaves, chirping of birds, meditation music, clicks of clock, repetition of a mantra… any sound that has calming effect

• What we touch or body sensations such as: hands holding together, gentle vibration of fingers, pressure of hip against chair, warmth/coldness of feet, rising and falling of abdomen when breathing, airflow brushing nostrils (which needs a higher level of alertness and concentration)…

• What we taste: 5 basic tastes of saltiness, sweetness, bitterness, sourness and savoriness. A

practice could be: put a candy or tic tac (a small mint) on the tongue, concentrate on its flavor without chewing it. Or just feel the sensation of tongue’s contact with upper palate without food in mouth

• What we smell: scent of flowers, incense, any aroma that has a soothing effect.

• What we think: any mental activities like thought and inner image, voice, silent repetition of a mantra, visualization.... that appears and disappears in our mind.

One metaphor is: A cat is vigilantly waiting in front of a mouse hole. If a mouse emerges, the cat neither catches the mouse, nor follows it. In the same way, we assiduously and purely observe the appearing and disappearing of any mental activities (thought, inner image, memory...etc.) one by one, without suppressing, following it. It’s ideal that you have zero thought.

• The purpose of one pointed concentration is to train the monkey mind to do one thing at one time without any distraction. If you are aware of being distracted, just gently bring the attention back, again and again, to the “point” you focused on (without judging that “I failed” ) This technique is very practical and constructive in our everyday life, which improves our efficiency, productivity and stability in our work or study. Our focused mind will become a laser beam. (instead of white light bulb, where energy is scattered all over the place) With a “laser sharp” mind, we can “cut through” any task at hand. :)

B. the 2nd type of meditation is called: open monitoring, 360 degrees pure observing of all phenomena outside and inside of our body as wholeness, without differentiation of this from that), without any labeling and description.

Compared to the 1st type, Open monitoring is a process of de-focusing, de-concentration, de-attaching, letting go, perceiving all external and internal appearances as one phenomenon.

In Open Monitoring, we may find everything in our awareness is constantly changing and moving. We can be 100% present and non-judgemental at same time. A sense of separation or space between you, the pure awareness, and all phenomena may arise. You may find you are you, the world is the world. A power of pure observing is established.

C. the 3rd type of meditation is: Self-awareness: Awareness is aware of itself, like an Ouroborus, a dragon biting its own tail : )

• The 4th state of consciousness (meditation is not an accurate term here):

Everything you see, hear, touch, smell, taste, think, imagine… become part of you, every object is an extension of you.... Oneness or Non-Duality is realized : ) You realize and experience following words from moment to moment: Love,,Appreciation, Abundance, Happiness, Freedom, Confidence, , Strength, Power, Stability, Clarity, Luminosity, Purity, Openness, Connectivity, Eternity, Infinity…. WOW !

Potential adverse effects:

Meditation has been correlated with unpleasant experiences in some people. In one study, published in 2019, of 1,232 regular meditators with at least two months of meditation experience, about a quarter reported having had particularly unpleasant meditation-related experiences (such as anxiety, fear, distorted emotions or thoughts, altered sense of self or the world), which they thought may have been caused by their meditation practice. Meditators with high levels of repetitive negative thinking and those who only engage in deconstructive meditation were more likely to report unpleasant side effects. Adverse effects were less frequently reported in women and religious meditators.

Difficult experiences encountered in meditation are mentioned in traditional sources; and some may be considered to be just an expected part of the process: for example: seven stages of purification mentioned in Theravāda Buddhism, or possible “unwholesome or frightening visions” mentioned in a practical manual on vipassanā meditation.

Conditions that Meditation can help:

Stress, Anxiety, depression, pain, cardiovascular diseases, migraines (of adults), irritable bowel

syndrome, insomnia, cognitive decline in the elderly, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)