Traditionally meditation was and it is still used for spiritual growth, like becoming more conscious, unfolding our innerlight, love, & wisdom, becoming more aware of the guiding presence in our lives and knowing more about our true self... our Spirit. More recently, meditation has become a valuable tool for finding a peaceful oasis of relaxation and stress relief from the demanding and fast-paced world.

Different Methods of Meditation
In simple terms meditation means concentrating your mind to one point or at one place, where you feel detach from the worldly affairs. This can be achieved by various methods that depend upon from person, time and place. There are as many methods in which one can meditate as there are waves in the ocean. Different forms of meditation are described from both Eastern and Western perspectives

Metta Bhavana Meditations - Developing Loving Kindness
"Bhavana" means "cultivation" or "development," and "Metta" is a word that means "love," "friendliness," or "loving kindness." So this is a meditation practice where we actively cultivate some very positive emotional states towards others, as well as to ourselves.

This practice helps us to bring more harmony into our relationships with others, so that we experience less conflicts, resolve existing difficulties, and deepen our connections with people we already get on with. It helps us to empathize more, and to be more considerate, kind, and forgiving. We can also learn to appreciate others more, concentrating more on their positive qualities and less on their faults.In this meditation practice, we also cultivate Metta towards ourselves, so that we experience less internal conflict, and learn to appreciate ourselves more.

Standing Meditation
This is a great exercise to practice proper breathing. All too many of us take short and improper breaths. This is a simple way to concentrate and regain the proper breathing techniques we had naturally as an infant. In this method we stand comfortably with our spine straight and feet about shoulder distance apart, open your left hand and place the thumb on your belly button so the palm of your hand is against our lower abdomen. Now place your open right hand over your left, also palm open and over the back of your left hand. Breathe in slowly and feel this part of your lower abdomen expand, which will naturally push your hands outward with your belly. Hold the breath for four seconds and then exhale slowly and feel your lower abdomen contracting inward as the air is released. Thoughts are recognized without judgment and concentration is brought back to breath.

Vipassana Meditation
Vipassana which is derived from a Sanskrit word Vipasyanam means " insight". It is an analytic method which involves constant mindfulness and awareness of all experiences, good and bad. It is not a withdrawal from life but an attempt to understand life and thus enlarge one's self-awareness. The most authoritative scripture for vipassana is the Satipatthana-Sutta included in the Buddhist Tripitaka.

Vipassana meditation is a technique originally taught by the Buddha, whereby practitioners learn to become more aware of physical sensations and mental processes.