{"id":101750,"date":"2023-05-07T12:24:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-07T16:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=101750"},"modified":"2023-05-10T12:59:12","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T16:59:12","slug":"western-meditation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/western-meditation\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Meditation: Beliefs, Practices, & Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What exactly is Western meditation<\/a>? Is Western meditation based on religion?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meditation in the West doesn’t come from any specific religion\u2014instead, practitioners often believe in some form of universal consciousness<\/a>. This form of meditation is often goal-oriented and can help you improve your focus<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue below for an in-depth look at Western meditation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Western Meditation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While often drawing from traditional meditation philosophies and techniques, some meditation practices don\u2019t fit neatly under any specific religion or spiritual tradition. Since these practices largely come from the United States, we\u2019ll call this category Western meditation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meditation for Creating the Life You Want<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many forms of Western meditation are based on the idea that there\u2019s a universal source of infinite power and knowledge, and you can tap into it by harnessing your thoughts and willpower. This isn\u2019t necessarily a religious belief; some people believe that this universal source is God, but others might call it \u201cthe universe,\u201d \u201cSource Power,\u201d or simply \u201ca higher power.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rhonda Byrne\u2019s book The Secret<\/em><\/a> popularized this belief. In it, Byrne teaches you to take advantage of the Law of Attraction<\/a>: the idea that your thoughts will \u201cattract\u201d whatever you think about. In other words, you can create the life you want<\/a> by simply believing that it will happen.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of yourself as a transmission tower, like the ones used to broadcast signals to your television. Those signals become pictures on the screen. If you don\u2019t like the show you\u2019re watching, you change the channel to a new frequency. A new picture is broadcast. Through a similar process, your thoughts create a frequency that signals the universe, and the Law of Attraction<\/a> broadcasts that signal back to you as the pictures of your life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In You Are a Badass<\/em><\/a>, Jen Sincero argues that meditation is a way to connect to the universe (what she calls Source Energy),<\/a> get into top mental and spiritual shape, and create the life you want. She argues that even beyond helping you to manifest your dream life<\/a>, the practice has many benefits: Meditation will bring you into the present moment, open you up to receive unlimited information and ideas, relax you, relieve stress, strengthen your intuition and focus, let you hear your inner voice<\/a> more clearly, fill you with light and love, put you in a good mood, and help you love yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She notes that basic meditation is quite simple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n