Welcome back! Today's episode is all about the History of Meditation! Enjoy!
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Email: zensationalstudentmeditations@gmail.com ||
Intro/Outro Song Creds: Lonely Mornings by Scro Music (https://thmatc.co/?l=166A7646) ||
Transcript (if needed):
Hello, and welcome back to zensational student meditations. In today’s episode, I will be talking about the history of meditation. Even though the topic of meditation has only been popularized in the western world recently, meditation has actually been around for thousands of years. It was first founded in 5000 BC and has connections to many different religions-mainly Hinduism. According to Mindworks, a meditation service, “In modern times, the art of meditation has mainly been associated with Asian spiritual traditions such as Theravada, Zen, and Tibetan Buddhism, to name but a few. Western interest in Eastern religions and philosophies seems to have begun in earnest in the 19th century due to colonialism and improved means of transportation and communication.” The 20th Century began the popularization of meditation in the west by Swami Vivekananda. His teachings (along with the teachings of other teachers) allowed people to have a greater understanding and interest in Eastern forms of spirituality. Mediation slowly became removed from its religious connotations and started to become an activity accessible to everyone. Mediation became more focused on relaxation and stress relief, rather than spiritual growth. As time has passed, more scientific studies have been done on meditation to prove its benefits. An article by the NCCIH (the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health) stated that “Many studies have been conducted to look at how meditation may be helpful for a variety of conditions, such as high blood pressure, certain psychological disorders, and pain. A number of studies also have helped researchers learn how meditation might work and how it affects the brain”. The rise of the internet has allowed for meditation to spread even more. Nowadays, we can search up anything about mediation and get a multitude of apps, videos, and podcasts (like this one!). So, that is the (ongoing) History of Meditation! Thank you so much for listening! Remember to follow this podcast on whatever platform you are listening to this on. If you have any questions or any ideas for more episodes, I have a Twitter account and email that are in the description of this episode, so you can ask me there. Thank you so much for being a part of this journey. Take care!
