Meditation generally refers to the state of concentrated focus on an object of thought or awareness. The background of meditation stems from the aim to get into a higher state of consciousness.It is usually based from ancient beliefs that make up the component of eastern religions. Its practice has been going on for thousands of years.When it comes to meditation, different beliefs hold different spiritual and psychological practices in order to develop or achieve a higher degree of mental consciousness and awareness.Many religions have developed their own method and technique of meditation that allows their adherents to arrive at a higher state of consciousness.The differences of the techniques used may be classified according to their focus. There are certain techniques that focus on a certain perception or experience while there are others that focus on a specific object to achieve a higher consciousness.There are also some forms of meditation that combine the use of open focus and the use of a specific object for focus in their practice to achieve a higher state of consciousness.Meditation may take on many forms but its foundation basically lies on three principles: - In order to concentrate, we focus on one thing or objectOur object of focus may be our breathing, a word that we repeat whether verbally or mentally, or the sensations that we feel in our body. Meditation usually involves the senses for when we smell, feel, or listen, we start to live more in the present.- When our thoughts start to wander, we take them back to our object of focus “Quieting” the mind is not easy so don’t castigate yourself every time you find yourself thinking of other things aside from your object of focus. Reprimanding yourself will just make it more difficult for you to focus. - During Meditation, ignore all irrelevant thoughts and sensationsMeditation doesn’t bring us to another place of existence so don’t expect it will. When meditating, we will still be able to hear the people around us. However, we don’t let these distract us. We don’t let these bring us out of the NOW.Tips- Quite The MindThe Goal of meditation is to go beyond the mind. Meditation cannot be done by thinking. All the different paths of meditation share this common feature of cultivating a silent mind. With a quiet mind we will experience peace- ConcentrationIn whatever we do,we will be more successful if we can concentrate fully on the task in hand. This means being single pointed. When we meditate we need to switch off from everything else and put all our attention onto the meditation.- Place to MeditateIt is very helpful to find a Quiet Place to meditate every day. I have a small corner of my room specially set aside for meditation.- AspirationAspiration to meditate. If we are hungry then we are eat. It is the same with meditation if we are not satisfied with what we have and would like to discover the inner peace within ourselves then we will be motivated to meditate every day.- Perseverance and PatienceIn the beginning we cannot expect results overnight, each time we meditate we are adding to our capacity's even if we don't have great experiences then we need to persevere. If we practise sincerely we will progress.- Use the Qualities of the Spiritual HeartThe heart is the location of the soul. If we focus on the heart, immediately our thoughts have less power. By concentrating on our heart we can enter into the vastness of meditation.