Guided Meditation - Should You Try It?

Guided meditation has become extremely popular in self-help circles, with seemingly every website dedicated to meditation trying to sell us CDs or even expensive one-on-one sessions with a personal meditation guide. I have never been drawn to this activity, and in this article I will explain the reasons for my reservations. If you are serious about attaining altered states of consciousness through meditation, you won't fall for the hype either.

Is Guided Meditation Really Meditation?

Meditation is - or should be - the ultimate individual pursuit, in which the practitioner explores the deepest regions of the self. This is not a team sport, and it is not a social activity. If you want to meditate in the presence of other friends or like-minded people, perhaps in the hope of experiencing a deeper connection with them, or with a view to discussing your experiences afterward, that's fine. But the actual activity itself is one you must undertake alone. The journey is uniquely yours.

Guided meditation, by its very nature, converts this personal activity into an interpersonal activity, and gives unacceptable control and direction to the meditation guide. The voice of the guide may ask you questions to encourage analysis of troubling emotional issues, as in a psychotherapy session. It may attempt to lead you to certain inner states by suggesting imagery, as if you can't relax by yourself. Or, in its worst possible form, it may actually seek to reprogram your belief system with selected affirmations, in a manner akin to hypnotherapy. These may all be interesting activities, and may even be worth pursuing for some people who can't seem to gain traction working alone. But to the extent that they transfer control and direction to someone else, they cannot be considered proper meditation.

An Impediment to Real Progress

Beyond definitional issues, there is a fundamental practical problem with guided meditation. If your goal is to explore genuinely altered states, such as the fascinating Alpha-Theta boundary, you have little chance of getting there with a "guided" meditation. The voice of the guide - especially if you don't like that voice or what it says - is a constant interruption of and distraction from your descent to deeper levels. I certainly think it is possible, if you listen with your eyes closed, to attain an Alpha state while using these products. And that might be enough for you - especially if your main goal is simply to relax at the end of a tough day and ward off the manifold evils associated with stress and an excess of Beta waves. But I doubt very much that you'll be able to go any deeper than that, unless you are fortunate enough to find a recording that includes excellent brainwave entrainment audio and a voice that - by chance - doesn't grate on your nerves.

Why Meditate? Here's What You're Missing Out on If You Don't!

Whenever someone asks me, "What are the main reasons to meditate?" or "Why should I bother with meditation?" I love to surprise them with the simple reply, "Because it makes you feel fantastic!" Meditation has a reputation for being a bit mysterious, a bit difficult, and perhaps even a bit boring. Most people never stop to consider that it might actually be enjoyable...even pleasurable! In fact, I can think of few other activities that are as rewarding, as healthy and as life-enhancing all at once. People who meditate know exactly what I'm talking about. Once you start meditating, it's hard to imagine ever living without it. It's hard to imagine what it would be like to no longer have "serenity on tap". If you do not currently meditate, then you probably don't even know what you're missing out on. Well here are just a few of the benefits that you'll begin to enjoy just as soon as you start... Goodbye Stress Meditation reduces stress better than anything else I know of. Not only does it give you much needed "down time" to rest physically and mentally, it also has a very direct effect on your entire nervous system by reducing your body's production of stress related chemicals like cortisol. On the flipside, it increases your production of natural mood enhancing chemicals like serotonin. That's why some people refer to meditation as a "natural high". Improved Health Meditation will improve your health by strengthening your immune system, reducing your blood pressure and lowering cholesterol levels. People with debilitating or life threatening medical conditions like cancer will sometimes turn to meditation as a means to enhance the process of healing and recovery. While meditation should never be used as a substitute for proper medical care, in some cases it can lead to healing breakthroughs, even when traditional medical treatments have been unsuccessful. Of course, you do not have to be terminally ill to benefit from the healing effects of meditation! Even if you have just come down with a case of the flu, meditation will enhance the function of your immune system and help to you to rest more deeply, leading to a speedier recovery. Meditation also happens to be a wonderful way to alleviate headaches and to prevent them from recurring.

Tai Chi Meditation to Reduce Stress

Can Tai Chi meditation work well as a means of alleviating stress? Not only can it work well, it is among the very best ways one could possibly use to reduce stress.

There are a number of myths about meditation. Probably the most prevalent myth is the notion that it can only be performed seated. This is not the case at all as moving meditation can be employed as well. Granted, you would not want a haphazard method of moving meditation since this would not aid in the process. Thankfully, there is a method that you can employ to meditate while moving. It involves using the traditional forms of Tai Chi Chuan as the basis for the moving meditation. In fact, most people attest that this art of meditation remains the best way to take part in meditating. This should not come as a surprise since the sets and forms in Tai Chi complement the relaxation process needed to achieve a meditative state.

It is important to know that is a martial art that has become known more for its ability to promote a more harmonious state of mind and well being. Controlled movements and breathing exercises are employed to improve one's ability to gain the most from such health benefits. However, the potential to improve one's mental state through this type of meditation can never be dismissed because its value is so enormous.

One reason that stress is so difficult to deal with centers on the fact that it crowds the mind. In general, it will make the mind literally run rampant with thoughts of anger, agitation, and other problems associated with the condition of stress. When you take part in Chi meditation, you are able to slowly quiet down the mind and allow some of the stress and internal noise to dissipate. This will certainly have a positive effect on your overall health and well being.

The key, however, is to perform your Tai Chi meditation exercises in an area that is quiet and serene. It can be a little difficult to calm down and relax when there is distracting environmental noise. This does not benefit someone trying to use Tai Chi to alleviate stress at all. As such, selecting the right environment for the process is recommended.

Moving slowly and in a controlled manner is also recommended if you want to get the most out of the process. It is hard to meditate or calm down a stressful mind when your movements lack a sense of calm purpose. Keep this in mind when trying to use Tai Chi for stress reduction purposes.

And, of course, consistency is a major component to successfully using any type of meditation to reduce stress. Even if you perform your exercises for only 10 minutes at a time for 3 days a week, be sure to be consistent with your workouts. This will increase the chances you get the most out of them. And you certainly will be able to effectively use Tai Chi meditation as a means of eliminating stress.

Delving Into Zen Meditation

Zazen is known as the art of Zen meditation. It works by helping a person focus on their inner center, studying themselves from within. Note these important points about the art, as well.

1) While Buddha was said to be in the process of attaining enlightenment, he sat in the stillness of meditation. In the present time, Zen practitioners meditate in the same seated position of stillness.

2) Zen meditation has been practiced for the past 2500 years and has been handed down from one generation to the next. It traces its origins in India, then traveled on to China, Japan, the rest of Asia, and finally to the West.

3) The craft is heavily influenced by the Japanese technique of singular focus on a certain thought or particular object. It is a type of meditation more commonly attributed to Buddhist monks who practice Zen meditations daily. Because of this, Zen Buddhists are popularly known as, "Meditation Buddhists."

4) This craft can be practiced on a daily basis for any length of time, although experts recommend an average of five minutes spent on meditation each day for a person to benefit from all the advantages that this can bring. Apart from helping get rid of stress, this also eases away tensions caused by all the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It is a very simple practice to incorporate into one's daily activities and the meditation techniques are very easy to follow.

5) As with other types of meditation, all the benefits that are derived from Zen will need patience and persistence to reap. While most people have a tendency to see their body, breath and mind as separate entities, Zen seeks to unite all three into one single unit.

6) In this type of meditation, the focus starts with the position of a person's body. The body is supposed to lean towards a particular pattern in order to commune with the world as well as communicate with a person's inner self. The position of a person's body ultimately affects the way they breath, and eventually towards the way the mind thinks.

7) Most Zen experts recommend the sitting position. With the use of a small pillow called a Zafu which serves to elevate the back, the sitting position allows a person's knees to come into contact with the ground. A person sitting on a pillow with their knees touching the ground forms a tripod alignment which provides for a 360-degree angle of stability for the body.

8) Through closing one's mind to all thoughts and images, a person's breathing rate gradually slows and becomes shallow, and the heart rate slows down as well. Little by little, a person can reach a deep state of reflective meditation.

9) Creating a synergy of body, soul and mind, this meditation connects all the aspects of the body and strengthens them as a whole. This also helps a person deal with everyday stress and the chaos of the world surrounding them. Eventually, a person begins to focus only on the present, and ceases to fret about the past or worry about the future.