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1. Authentic-Happiness.com
Meditation
Techniques
Part 1- What are the
basics of meditation?
Part 2- Effects of
Meditation
Part 3- What are the main
types of meditation?
Part 4- How to practice
meditation?
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2. Part 1- Meditation Basics
Popularity
* A 2007 study by the U.S. government found that
nearly 9.4%
of U.S. adults (over 20 million) had practiced
meditation within the past 12 months
* This was up from 7.6% (more
than 15 million people) in 2002
2

3. Part 1- Meditation Basics
When the mind is emptied of superfluous conscious thoughts and
ego chatter, insights can bubble up from the unconscious mind.
Meditation is about emptying your mind.
* Meditation is defined as a mind- cleansing or
emptying process
* At a deeper level, meditation is focused
concentration and increased awareness of
one’s being
3

4. Part 1- Meditation Basics
McKinsey & Co.
* developed meditation and self-analysis programs not only for their own
employees but for other corporations
* a meditation program developed by McKinsey for an Australian client saved the
business more than $20 million.
Yahoo!
* meditation rooms, free classes offered on-site.
Deutsche Bank
* meditation classes, quiet spaces on site
Procter & Gamble
* health and fitness programs that include meditation classes
* meditation spaces in their major corporate buildings.
HBO
* gyms, free yoga classes, and meditation classes at the workplace
4
10 Big Companies That Promote Employee Meditation

5. Part 1- Meditation Basics
10 Big Companies That Promote Employee Meditation (continued)
Apple
* employees allowed to take 30 minutes each day to meditate at work,
classes on meditation and yoga on-site, meditation room.
Prentice Hall Publishing
* “Quiet Room.” for employees to take a break and slip into the space for
meditation
Google
* “Search Inside Yourself” employee support program
* meditation space and meditation courses
Nike
* relaxation rooms, meditation and yoga classes w
AOL Time Warner
* meditation classes during the work day, quiet room
5

6. Part 1- Meditation Basics
The best meditation posture is the most comfortable one: whether it is laying,
sitting or standing. It does not have to be the traditional cross-legged sitting pose.
Originally, the asanas (yoga postures in above picture)
served as stable postures for prolonged meditation
6

7. Click on the screen

8. Part 2- Effects of Meditation
Some Study Examples on the effects of meditation:
* Heightened restful state, lowered heart rate and
pulse, slow and calm breathing, and relaxed muscles
Orme-Johnson (1987, 1995)
* Heightened alertness. EEG recordings show high activity of
alpha and beta waves
Persinger’s (1984, 1993)
* Decrease in the concentration of arterial and
blood lactate levels 4 times faster than in sleep
Wallace and Benson(1970, 1971,1972)
7

9. Part 2- Effects of Meditation
The graph shows the number of meditation studies considered as serious
explorations of meditation’s effects published per year
in the MEDLINE database
8

10. Part 2- Effects of Meditation
Regular meditation practice contributes to increased mental acuity
(better test scores), increased concentration skills (less ADD)
and increased emotional stability (less depression)
In summary:
* A recent randomized study published in Psychological Science
reported that practicing meditation led to doing better on a task
related to sustained attention
* In over 1,000 published research studies, various
methods of meditation have been linked to changes in metabolism,
blood pressure, brain activation, and other bodily processes.
* Meditation has also been used in clinical settings as a method of
stress and pain reduction
9

11. Part 3- Main Types of Meditation 10
●Exclusive
Meditation
●Inclusive
Meditation
Mindfulness
Meditation
●focus on only one thought, to the exclusion of all
others, also called restrictive meditation
How does it work?
* Mental repetition (mantra)
* Visual concentration (tratek)
* Repeated sounds (nadem)
* Physical repetition (breathing, rhythmic exercise)
* Tactile repetition (beads, shell, stone, ...)

12. Part 3- Main Types of Meditation 11
●Exclusive
Meditation
●Inclusive
Meditation
Mindfulness
Meditation From top left to right:
* Tactile repetition (beads, shell, stone, ...)
* Physical repetition: breathing
* Repeated sounds/music (nadem)
* Visual concentration (tratek)

13. Part 3- Main Types of Meditation 12
●Exclusive
Meditation
●Inclusive
Meditation
Mindfulness
Meditation
allow all thoughts to enter the mind’s screen, yet
passing no judgment or emotional attachment
on them
How does it work?
* Observe with emotional detachment
* Example include Zen Meditation
(next slide)

14. Part 3- Main Types of Meditation 13
●Exclusive
Meditation
●Inclusive
Meditation
Mindfulness
Meditation
Zen Meditation
A kōan is a story, dialogue, question, or statement,
which is used in Zen-practice to provoke the "great
doubt", and test a student's progress in Zen
practice.
For instance: “Two hands clap and there is a sound.
What is the sound of one hand?—Hakuin Ekaku

15. Part 3- Main Types of Meditation 14
●Exclusive
Meditation
●Inclusive
Meditation
Mindfulness
Meditation
be mindful / conscious of everything you do
without judgment. Some people consider this to
be a form of inclusive meditation
How does it work?
* Close your eyes and listen to all sounds, even the
faintest, most distant ones
* Mindfulness Mediation is also seen as a form of
inclusive meditation

16. Part 3- Main Types of Meditation 15
●Exclusive
Meditation
●Inclusive
Meditation
Mindfulness
Meditation
The aim of mindfulness isn’t to make you feel
more relaxed.
Trying to relax only causes more tension.
Mindfulness is accepting your moment by
moment experience.
So if you are tense, mindfulness is being aware
of that tension.
Where do you feel tense? What’s it shape,
colour, texture? What’s your reaction to this
tension, your thoughts.
The Hindu Ohm evokes
peace and mindfulness

17. Part 4- Practicing Meditation 16

18. Part 4- Practicing Meditation 17
Mindfulness meditation in practice:
1- Pay attention: To be mindful, you need to pay attention
to the present moment, whatever you choose to attend to.
Present Moment is the reality of being in the here and now
means you just need to be aware of the way things are as they are now.
Your experience is valid and correct just as it is.
2- Be non reactive, non judgmental, open your heart
to your thoughts.
Step back and think about your experience before reacting
Normally, when you experience something you automatically react to
that experience according to your past conditioning. Example: if you
think, “ I still haven’t finished my work”, you react with thoughts, word
and actions in some shape or form.
A reaction is automatic and gives you no choice;
a response is a deliberate and considered action.

19. Part 4- Practicing Meditation 18
* Dedicate a specific time of day
* Dedicate a specific place each time
* Minimize distractions; phones, TV, co-workers
* Maintain a comfortable position allowing your body
to relax
* Consider using some type of focusing device such
as mantra, music, breath, ...
Create a routine in your weekly calendar
Tip: check out the “Self” meditation app available on iphone

20. Click on the screen

21. * wikipedia.com
* “The Power of now” from Eckard Tolles
*http://www.onlinemba.com/blog/10-big-companies-that-promote-
employee-meditation
* “Study shows compassion meditation changes the brain” March 25,
2008 by Dian Land, University of Wisconsin
* www.psychologicalscience.org
Sources and References 19

22. Slide transcripts 20
Click on "Open speaker notes" in the menu
located at the bottom-left of this screen:
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