When & Where Did Meditation Originate?

When & Where Did Meditation Originate?
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Meditation is a Universal Tool

There are so many uses for meditation, and you might implement this practice into your daily activities already. You can use it before or after a workout, before you retire for the evening, after you wake up in the morning, during your workday and anytime in between. Meditation has been a tool for relaxation, focus and spiritual enlightenment across many world cultures, which isn’t surprising since it’s such an effective way to center yourself and determine how you’re feeling on several different levels. So where did meditation originate? When did humanity develop this effective tool?

Origin of Meditation

Traditionally, the practice of meditation has been used in mostly Asian countries, but cultures all over the world have used it for various reasons. Between ten and fifteen thousand years ago, South Indian tribes created tantric meditation, which was put into practice to better understand the mind. However, seven thousand years ago meditation became a basis for Eastern religions such as Buddhism, Taoism and Sufism (Tibetan and Zen). Pinpointing exactly where meditation originated is difficult and it’s not just because the time frame is uncertain.

The Art of Meditation and Its Importance to Humanity

When you analyze the process of meditation, it’s essentially a way of concentrating your thoughts and contemplating in the present time (the here and now). For example, after a yoga session, your instructor might ask you to sit and meditate for a few minutes, and he/she will probably suggest that you focus your thoughts on your breath. How does your breath feel as you inhale and exhale? Within a short amount of time, this simple request can make you self-aware, and self-realization is the main objective of meditation.

Now understanding the basis of meditation, hasn’t humanity worked toward the goal of self-realization since the beginning? Although concentrated thinking might not have been associated with the term “meditation” when mankind was living in caves, our ancestors most likely practiced it in some sort of manner.

Meditation enables us to get in touch with our mental, emotional and spiritual sides, so we can benefit from this simple task in a variety of ways. Although it’s uncertain whether this practice originated thousands or millions of years ago, humanity has taken advantage of this tool and has applied it to life in more than one way. Meditation may be closely associated with Eastern religions, but when you ask the question where did meditation originate, you realize that this practice has and will always be a part of humanity because of our natural desire to constantly ask “why”.

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