When the mental noise distracts you from culaquier task, makes you forget why you walked into a room, or keeps you awake at night , you're a victim of what is known in Eastern cultures as the " monkey mind " that seems to jump from one thought to another , as does a monkey from one branch to another to explore what is in that space , but without even really looking at what was in the space just left. It is this flow of thoughts which, according to Eastern tradition , is the source of much of our stress and some mental disorders.

MEDITATION

In the West , meditation has become a concept " umbrella " under which different methods have found their place .

Scientifically speaking , all approaches to meditation, be it relaxation, mindfulness , visualization, mantra or everything another , are associated with specific measurable but no beneficial effects.

Mindfulness ( full awareness )

Mindfulness is a quality of mind or rather the intrinsic capacity of the mind to be present and aware in a given moment, in a time when body and mind are completely synchronized in an instant of present reality. Open full presence and awareness are combined at a time when our mind / body / spirit. It is that very quality of any human being but has been studied mainly in the eastern paradigm.

There is no doubt that mindfulness ( mindfulness ) has a useful role in preserving health and promoting wellness . But despite its hundreds of clinical trials, there is no consistent evidence of any specific effect of mindfulness itself .

Mental silence

Perhaps surprisingly , the oldest known definition of meditation is anterior to Buddhism. In ancient India Mahabharata , the narrator defines the meditator " ... like a log , do not think." In other words, the first definition describes meditation as an experience of "mental silence" . However, Western definitions of meditation have consistently refused to recognize its importance.

This could explain why for most Westerners, including academics and researchers, mental silence represents both a foreign concept and illogical experience.

All scientific studies point to the idea that mental silence is the key defining characteristic of meditation and responsible for the specific effects of the same .

How all this fits together mental silence and honestly ?

The paradigm of mental silence is at once complementary and progression of the concept mindfulness ( mindfulness ) . While mindfulness involves passive observation of the stimuli in order to reduce mental reactions , mental silence implies progress in this experience and achieve a state of mental silence , all without losing control of our faculties.

The original intention of mindfulness is like a method to facilitate the achievement of mental silence rather than an end in itself.

This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Phil Servedio. This applies worldwide.