What is Guided Meditation?
Your meditation guide will ask you to sit comfortably, or in some cases, you may be asked to lie down. You then listen to your guide while they lead you through a series of relaxing visualizations. As you gradually relax and become more and more still, stress fades away, and your mind becomes clearer and clearer. While you are in this deeply relaxed state of mind, your subconscious is open to positive suggestions, and your guide will use this time to take you on an inner journey that is designed to improve one or more aspects of your life. For example, a guided meditation might be tailored towards personal empowerment and positive thinking. Another might focus on emotional healing or spiritual development. You might be taken on a guided journey to unleash your full potential, or you may choose to go on a guided meditation journey simply for the sheer pleasure of experiencing profoundly deep relaxation. As you can now see, a guided meditation can be an experience that is not only relaxing, but one that enhances your sense of self, that transforms your perspective in positive ways, and that inspires you to live your life to the fullest. It’s an effortless and very enjoyable experience that results in deep relaxation, elimination of stress and a heightened appreciation of life. At the conclusion of your guided meditation, your guide will gradually bring you back to a state of normal awareness, leaving you feeling refreshed, rejuvenated and relaxed. A guided meditation might be as short as 5 minutes, or as long as an hour, depending on your personal preference. In most cases, a guided meditation of 15 minutes or longer is recommended if you wish to experience a truly deep state of relaxation and maximize the positive benefits of meditation. Guided meditation CD’s and MP3’s do vary in quality, so make sure that you are able to hear a preview of the meditation before you purchase it. Ideally any guided meditation you choose will contain original music that has been composed specifically for that guided meditation. When the effort has been made to create original music that blends harmoniously with the guided meditation journey, your overall experience of the meditation is enhanced. It’s like wearing a tailor made suit...the words and the music just fit together better to create a more complete experience. If the guided meditation music also includes nature sounds, as is often the case, you’ll notice a distinct difference in the depth and quality of your guided meditation if the nature sounds are synchronized with the guided visualizations. For example, if you are guided to visualize yourself standing in a forest, then you should hear the sounds of the forest. If you approach a waterfall, then the sound of that waterfall should gradually become apparent. You’ll find that listening to guided meditation audio productions that include a vivid tapestry of visualizations, music and environmental sounds, your senses will be immersed in the experience and you’ll be drawn deeper into the meditation.
Most traditional meditation techniques require you to take command of your own awareness by concentrating your attention on a single point of focus. This point of focus might be your breathing, it might be a physical action, or more commonly, it may be on a mantra - a sound, word or phrase that you repeat to yourself mentally so as to stabilize your attention. |
