MEDITATION
THE STILL POINT IN A
TURNING WORLD
Meditation is the act of coming to rest by disengaging from physical and mental activities while remaining in a wakeful state of awareness
In meditation, we have an opportunity to take a break from the incessant activity and habitual “doing” that often consumes and defines our lives. By coming to rest physically and mentally, we can begin to observe and uncover a depth and calmness of being.
To read more about the practical aspects of being introduced to meditation through the School, click on the TAKING UP MEDITATION tab below.
To register to attend our next FREE Meditation Information Talk, click here.
MEDITATION CAN PROVIDE THE MASTER KEY TO OUR WELL-BEING
A regular mediation practice can unlock our true potential and enable us to meet the world with renewed energy, authenticity, wisdom, creativity, compassion and equanimity.
The remarkable benefits of meditation include an expanded sense of awareness, clarity of thought, lasting peace and happiness, as well as an understanding of our innate ability to resolve the challenges of everyday life, which is the link to genuine and sincere philosophical enquiry.
The opportunity to take up mediation is offered three times each year by the school.
Please read on for further information.
Research into various meditation techniques has shown how sustained practice develops self-awareness, resilience, social intuition, sensitivity and attention-control; speeds up the brain’s capacity for sensory processing, strengthens memory and improves the executive functions of the brain.
Meditation has been prescribed by wisdom-teachers for millennia. Contemporary research data supports the findings of ancient philosophy. Life requires energy, and energy is restored through rest. Just as resting in bed at night is essential for one’s physical well-being, so too the profound rest available in meditation is essential for the well-being of one’s mind and heart.
With the profound rest and total immobility of deep meditation, the human spirit flourishes. Efficiency increases. Creativity flows. Mindfulness and compassion grow.
Read our Introduction to Meditation brochure.
The School has been training people in meditation for more than fifty years.
Initially in the 1960s not much was known about the practice in the West, but this has changed. Although meditation has embedded itself in our culture, the variety of techniques available can be daunting for anyone seeking an authentic way forward.
The School received the meditation practice in the 1960’s. Instruction and guidance was given by the head of the Advaita Tradition in Northern India, Śrī Śāntānanda Saraswatī, then the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math. He continued to provide instruction and guidance until his death in 1997. The School’s commitment from the beginning has been to make meditation available for whoever was seeking freedom, fullness of life or a deeper understanding of themselves.
Today, the School continues to offer the same simple practice it received over fifty years ago. It is an authentic and utterly simple practice, natural, easily learnt and can be practised within the demands of daily life.
Read our Introduction to Meditation brochure.
The School offers a system of mantra meditation that has been in use for millennia. Practice consists in the gentle repetition to oneself of a one-syllable sound and bringing the attention back to the sound again and again.
Meditation starts with the physical body still, balanced and upright. As it proceeds, the breathing naturally slows down, the senses withdraw and gradually the mind becomes deeply still. Then the mantra takes you to the still centre of yourself.
In its simplicity, the practice of meditation is nothing more than sitting still and listening.
The opportunity to take up meditation is offered 3 times a year, and involves 2 meetings and an introduction ceremony, where you receive your mantra. Attendance at all three sessions that are outlined below is a required part of the process.
STEP 1: INFORMATION TALK (ONLINE)
The first step is to attend an introductory Q&A session where you can find out more about the method of meditation available through the school, what it entails, where it comes from, how to proceed with the practice and to ask any questions you might have. By the end of this meeting, you’ll have all the information you need to decide whether or not to proceed.
This talk is open to anyone interested in meditation. You do not have to be attending a course at the school to take up the meditation.
STEP 2: PREPARATION MEETING
Following the information meeting, and should you wish to proceed to taking up the practice you will need to attend this preparation meeting to finalise the practical details for the upcoming ceremony, and to find out about the meditation support program.
STEP 3: THE MEDITATION CEREMONY
The meditation is given in a short, traditional ceremony designed to bring the mind and heart to rest. The ceremony is non-religious and is there to ensure the precise passage of the mantra from generation to generation and to support the significance of the event. It is carried out by a trained instructor, an experienced meditator who has undergone a period of careful preparation.
You will be asked to bring four things to the ceremony, each one symbolic: some flowers, some pieces of fruit, a piece of white cloth and a donation of money. The donation is not a fixed amount and depends on individual capacity. The donation symbolises the surrender of material things. It is an expression of value and is used to make meditation available to others. There is no fee for receiving the meditation.
Once you’ve commenced meditating, the School will support you in the practice with one-on-one meetings, small group sessions and meditation retreats if you wish. This support will be available for as long as you wish. In providing you with the meditation, the School undertakes the obligation of supporting you for life.
Once you've commenced mediating, the School will support you in the practice with one-on-one tutorials, small group sessions and meditation retreats. This support will be available for as long as you wish. In providing you with the meditation, the School undertakes the obligation of supporting you in the practice for life.
The purpose of the tutorials is to help establish good and enjoyable meditation. The tutorials also enable you the meditator to connect with the deeper experience of mediation and to clear any queries or problems. The frequency of the tutorials will decrease as the practice becomes established, although you may request an appointment at any time by emailing meditationsupport@practicalphilosophy.org.au
For information about the various meditation support activities on offer, please visit our ‘What’s On’ page.
MEDITATION RESEARCH 2019 - 2025
The accompanying list of peer-reviewed, scientific publications indicates the health and well-being benefits of meditation and the scientific methods currently being utilised to investigate them. It is not an exhaustive list but reflects the breadth of research undertaken in this bourgeoning area. A range of meditation techniques are cited, from mindfulness meditation to transcendental meditation, as well as studies reporting either the effects of long-term meditation or shorter-term meditation training. The health benefits of meditation highlighted in the cited studies and review articles include, but are not limited to, reductions in psychological strain and depressive symptoms, attenuation of age-related cognitive decline, higher acceptance of chronic pain, improvements in working memory capacity, and, perhaps most notably, potentially slowing biological ageing.
List compiled by Dr. Elizabeth Levay, PhD, BBSc (Hons) and current student of the School of Practical Philosophy.
Click here for a recent literature review on the benefits of meditation.
For further reading, search for scientific articles using the following databases:
PubMed PubMed
And/or PsychINFO APA PsycInfo
DETAILED LIST OF LINKS
2025
- Venditti, S. (2025). Remodeling the epigenome through meditation: Effects on brain, body, and well-being. Sub-Cellular Biochemistry, 108, 231-260. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-75980-2_7
2024
- Calderone, A., et al. (2024). Neurobiological changes induced by mindfulness and meditation: A systematic review. Biomedicines,12(11), 2613. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines12112613
- Ford, S.D., Nagamatsu, L.S. (2024). Four weeks of meditation training improves sustained attention in community-dwelling older adults: a proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Aging, 5,1322705. doi: 10.3389/fragi.2024.1322705.
- Ganesan, S., et al. (2024). ENIGMA-Meditation: Worldwide consortium for neuroscientific investigations of meditation practices. Biological Psychiatry. Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, S2451-9022(24)00314-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.10.015
- Kaliman, P., et al. (2024). Effect of an 18-month meditation training on telomeres in older adults: A secondary analysis of the age-well randomized controlled trial. Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science, 5(1), 100398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsgos.2024.100398
- Mir, I.A., et al. (2024). Effect of mindfulness-based meditation on blood pressure among adults with elevated blood pressure and hypertension: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 85, 103084. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2024.103084
- Park, B.J., et al. (2024). Effectiveness of meditation for fatigue management: Insight from a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis. General Hospital Psychiatry, 91, 33-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2024.08.001
- Rajjoub, R., et al. (2024). Meditation for perioperative pain and anxiety: A systematic review. Brain and Behavior, 14(7), e3640. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.3640
2023
- Dasanayaka, N.N., Sirisena, N.D., Samaranayake, N. (2023). Associations of meditation with telomere dynamics: a case-control study in healthy adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1222863. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1222863
- Hunt, C.A., et al. (2023). Meditation practice, mindfulness, and pain-related outcomes in mindfulness-based treatment for episodic migraine. Mindfulness (N Y), 14(4), 769-783. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02105-8
- Karunarathne, L.J.U., Amarasiri, W.A.D.L., Fernando, A.D.A. (2023). Respiratory function in healthy long-term meditators: A cross-sectional comparative study. Heliyon, 9(8), e18585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18585
- Kurth, F., Strohmaier, S., Luders, E. (2023). Reduced age-related gray matter loss in the orbitofrontal cortex in long-term meditators. Brain Sciences, 13(12), 1677. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13121677
- Lopes, S., et al. (2023). Meditation and cognitive outcomes: A longitudinal analysis using data from the health and retirement study 2000-2016. Mindfulness (N Y), 14(7), 1705-1717. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02165-w
- Zagkas, D., et al. (2023). How Does Meditation Affect the Default Mode Network: A Systematic Review. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 1425, 229-245. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31986-0_22
2022
- Aisenberg-Shafran, D., Shturm, L. (2022). The effects of mindfulness meditation versus CBT for anxiety on emotional distress and attitudes toward seeking mental health treatment: a semi-randomized trial. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 19711. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24256-9
- Bowles, N.I., Davies, J.N., Van Dam, N.T. (2022). Dose-response relationship of reported lifetime meditation practice with mental health and wellbeing: A cross-sectional study. Mindfulness (N Y), 13(10), 2529-2546. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01977-6
- Brandel, M.G., et al. (2022). Mindfulness meditation in the treatment of chronic pain. Neurosurgery Clinics of North America, 33(3), 275-279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nec.2022.02.005
- Schneider, J.K., Reangsing, C., Willis, D.G. (2022). Effects of transcendental meditation on blood pressure: A meta-analysis. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 37(3), E11-E21. https://doi.org/10.1097/jcn.0000000000000849
2021
- Fazia, T., et al. (2021). Mindfulness meditation training in an occupational setting: Effects of a 12-weeks mindfulness-based intervention on wellbeing. Work, 70(4), 1089-1099. https://doi.org/10.3233/wor-210510
- Feruglio, S., et al. (2021). The impact of mindfulness meditation on the wandering mind: A systematic review. Neuroscience and Biobehavoral Reviews, 131, 313-330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.032
- Kurth, F., Zsadanyi, S.E., Luders, E. (2021). Reduced age-related gray matter loss in the subgenual cingulate cortex in long-term meditators. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 15(6), 2824-2832. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-021-00578-6
- Vishnubhotla, R.V., et al. (2021). Advanced meditation alters resting-state brain network connectivity correlating with improved mindfulness. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 745344. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.745344
2020
- Pandya, S.P. (2020). Meditation to improve lateral and divergent thinking among older adults: a 2-year follow-up study. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 32(4), 723-732. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-019-01240-4
- Schutte, N.S., Malouff, J.M., & Keng, S.L. (2020). Meditation and telomere length: a meta-analysis. Psychology & Health, 5, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2019.1707827
2019
- Bostock, S., Crosswell, A.D., Prather, A. A., & Steptoe, A. (2019). Mindfulness on-the-go: Effects of a mindfulness meditation app on work stress and well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 24(1), 127-138. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000118
- Wielgosz, J., Goldberg, S.B., Kral, T.R.A, Dunne, J.D., & Davidson, R.J. (2019). Mindfulness meditation and psychopathology. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 15, 285-316. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-021815-093423