What is Meditation
"Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."
Jung, 1916
“Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally.”
Jon Kabat Zinn - 1994
Meditation enables a flow state. What is often called "being in the zone." It is the mental state where someone is so fully immersed and absorbed in an activity their sense of time is transformed.
We accept that eating, sleeping and exercise are important to be physically healthy. But sadly, we don't consider mental health training equally important. As if mental wellness is a given. You either have it or not.
​
Meditation trains our minds to be calm and clear allowing us to live in the moment. We don’t meditate to escape life. We meditate to develop the skills, strengths and capacity to enjoy life.
​
Meditation is for our mind what exercise is for our body. Meditation builds four mental muscles:
-
Concentration
-
Clarity
-
Friendliness
-
Equanimity
“The mindful and dedicated expression of complete awareness in everyday activities."
Huisi - 350 CE
Ready to establish a personal practice? Our 32-week Introduction to Meditation course guides you step by step from the very basics to a sustainable daily practice.
Just want to sit? Browse our guided meditation library, from a quick five-minute reset to a deep forty-five minute sitting. Press play and begin.
Six different types of Meditation
Focused Attention
Calming or Shamatha
The foundation of all meditation. Attention is gently anchored to a single object: breath, body sensation, sound, or mantra. When the mind wanders, you simply notice and return. Each return strengthens concentration and cultivates a natural, deepening calm.
Sound Immersion
Mantra Chanting
The rhythmic repetition of a word or phrase creates waves of vibration throughout the body and mind, gradually replacing inner mental noise with focused, resonant sound. Chanting directly stimulates the vagus nerve, activating the body's natural relaxation response and deepening concentration.
Visualization
The mind does not easily distinguish between vivid imagination and direct experience. This practice uses that capacity intentionally, using mental imagery to cultivate specific qualities, states, or insights. Widely used in healing, performance, and contemplative traditions worldwide.
Open-Awareness
Insight or Vipassana
Rather than focusing on one object, awareness opens to observe everything: sounds, sensations, thoughts, and emotions, as they arise and pass without judgment or reaction. This practice develops clarity and a direct, unfiltered understanding of your own mind.
Loving Kindness
Friendliness or Metta
A deliberate cultivation of warmth, care, and goodwill, beginning with yourself and extending outward to others. Far from sentimental, this is a trainable skill that measurably reduces anger and reactivity while building genuine resilience and connection.
Analytical
Sustained, focused contemplation of a question, experience, or idea. Rather than seeking distraction from difficulty, analytical meditation turns attention directly toward it, using the stability built in calming practice to investigate deeply and arrive at genuine understanding.
Which type of meditation is best?
There is no right way, or best way to meditate. Two Buddhas shares many resources with our community because people have diverse capacities and natures. Meditation resources for you to calm yourself and see the world clearly. Resources to master your life so when confronted with a variety of situations you are calm, clear and at ease, able respond in healthy manner and time of your choosing.
Support This Work
These meditations are offered freely, as the Dharma has always been offered. There is no fee, no subscription, and no paywall, and there never will be.
That said, creating, recording, and hosting these meditations does cost time and money. Two Buddhas is an all-volunteer nonprofit, and every contribution, however small, helps keep this library growing and available to anyone who needs it.
If these meditations have been useful to you, please consider making a donation in whatever amount feels right. It is never required and always appreciated.