Guided Meditation

Chaos. Stress. Confusion. Rush. Anxiety. These are ever present factors in today’s world. Sometimes it’s inevitable to be subjected to all these external pressures given the daily rigor of things. And in order to cope and maintain holistic balance, we have to find ways and means to still ourselves amidst the hurly burly.

Some people find things to do—paint, draw, sing, sports—and make these activities their catharsis. Some may sleep things through to get by, while others may seek psycho-spiritual calming activities such as meditation.

There is really no right or wrong method to attain inner stillness and holistic balance, however, here are some things to consider:

• Doing activities with a cathartic intention may temporarily unleash pent up negative emotions and energies, but these activities still add to the collective stress level that our bodies have. If our primary goal in finding and doing cathartic activities is to reduce stress and tension levels and eventually find balance, but the activities themselves add some amount of stress, eventually we would tire out of these activities and find them stressful too. Pure cathartic activities are somewhat short term solutions, as they don’t really address the root of the problem at hand.

• Sleeping might be practical, but sleeping does not necessarily equate to rest, replenishment and inner peace. If there is something troubling our minds, we will most likely find it difficult to sleep—We will be laying on our beds, twisting and turning; trying to find that position or opportune moment of blissful shut-eye—Most of the time, if ever, we get to fall asleep only because of exhaustion but not because we can sleep soundly.

Most experts recommend meditation in order to attain the much needed rest, stillness and peace that our minds and bodies need. Mediation helps temper and eventually take away our erratic, restless and unneeded thoughts, and attain long-term peace, inner stillness, calmness, serenity and balance amidst the unpredictability of our lifestyles and environment.

I’d like to liken meditation to computer defragmentation. If our computers need to be defrag-ed every-so-often in order to boost and regulate its speed and performance; then we as human beings need some kind of recollecting moment all the more.

Meditation is a relatively easy thing to do, but it takes time and commitment in order to acquire, appreciate and benefit from the discipline. It will not immediately give you rest and balance after one go of the exercise. It’s not some kind of instant gratification; it’s a long term solution and lifestyle to help you become a better person physically, psychologically and spiritually.

Meditation, like most of the Asian practices and traditions address the individual’s core (mental, spiritual, emotional facet) before proceeding to the external or physical attribute of the person. The logic here is based on the age-old saying “When the root is good, the fruits will be good,” which basically means that if your core or foundation is good, then everything else follows on that line of goodness.

Indeed, meditation begins as a mental activity. A lot of people who try meditation out for the first time usually get bored, or restless because of the seemingly lack of activity. Not everyone can immediately submit themselves into a perfect state of calm during meditation.

Usually, when we close our eyes and “force” ourselves to relax, the mind grows more aware of its surroundings and randomly focuses on anything it can focus on—it acts likes it were suddenly stripped off of activity, and it desperately tries to come up with something rather than turning “idle.” This state of mind is theoretically a delicate one; it’s a turning point of sorts, and if these “issues” aren’t address, one may not learn the proper way of meditating or even so, achieve the inner stillness that one wanted to achieve to begin with.

A great way to ease into the discipline of mediation is through GUIDED MEDITATION. Guided meditation is one method of meditation that leads individuals to a more concrete path of the abstract realm. Unlike transcendental meditation where you close your eyes and zone out for 15-20 minutes, trying to “think of nothing,” guided meditation serves as that helpful map to a person new to a place.

In guided meditation, “you could have someone speak or read a guided meditation to you, listen to a professional on a CD or read your own onto a recorder and play it back to yourself.” This way, you have a point of reference to reflect on consciously or subconsciously; your thoughts are more guided and directed and you have a goal to attain during meditation itself.

Guided meditation is usually the place to start with if you’re a beginner in meditation. It provides you with a routine to follow, and comfort—as it lets you get acquainted with personal silence. It also heals holistically because it helps you release negative emotions and thoughts and in turn, you become more at peace, relaxed, at ease and positive.

Some examples of Guided Meditation texts:

• “Begin by sitting in a comfortable position with your head bent slightly forward. Cup your hands together in your lap and with your eyes closed, take a moment to check that each part of your body is completely comfortable; your feet, your lower legs, your knees, your upper legs, your buttocks, your pelvis, your lower back and abdomen, your middle back and solar plexus, your chest and upper back, both shoulders, neck, upper arms, elbows, lower arms, wrists and hands. Also ensure you have relaxed your facial muscles and your scalp muscles.

“Now become aware of your breathing. Simply observe how you are breathing. Is it shallow or deep, quick or slow? Are you breathing through your mouth or nose? Gently close your mouth and begin to breathe in through your nose and out through you mouth, still in your own rhythm.

“…Using your imagination, picture yourself rising up out of your body to a point above you where you can see yourself sitting in the chair. See a beautiful white light more pure than you have ever seen before surrounding your body. It is filling every inch of your body and overflowing to a few feet around you. This white light attracts any discomfort, negativity, hurt, pain, illness, anger or fear into it’s outer rim where it is dissolved. Imagine all your past hurts, physical problems and mental barriers being drawn out into the light where they dissipate forever. (Long pause for visualization) Picture the white light slowly turning into golden light from your centre outwards. The golden light is flowing through you, up high beyond the sun and stars and back down deep into the core of the earth.”

Though most of the guided meditation texts today are written under an interfaith perspective, some of you still may be hesitant about Guided Meditation or Meditation in general because of the fear that it may contradict the teachings in your religion. Meditation is actually a natural human phenomenon; we meditate about life matters sometimes without knowing it. From my understanding, most, if not all religious sects and denominations practice meditation in one form or another. However, to address these qualms, I suggest that you practice Guided Meditation with scriptural passages based on your religion. This way, your Guided Meditation becomes your form of prayer.