Getting started with Guided Meditation
Guided meditations should generally feel effortless and deeply relaxing. It is best to try different guided meditations and decide which one is most appropriate for us.
In the past few hundred years, humanity has taken giant strides in understanding our surroundings, environment, and the universe at large. But, we still struggle to understand our true selves. Meditation is a study into the self; a state of mind in which our faculties go beyond everyday consciousness and we develop awareness of our inner being.
The level of stillness and introspection needed to begin the journey inward is achieved when one empowers the mind. The mind is continuously fed with data such as emotions, sensory information and thought patterns, which make it reactive and ineffective. We have to train the mind to look inward step by step if we want to experience the state of meditation.
Guided Meditations
As with any life skill, it is better to learn from the masters than to try and reinvent the wheel. In guided meditation, we are instructed into meditative practice by an experienced teacher, who will help us understand the right way to practice. A guide is especially indispensable during the early stages. Beginners need a guide to impart the dynamics of mind and the way the mind is likely to behave during the practice.
Choosing the right meditation
Guided meditations should generally feel effortless and deeply relaxing. It is best to try different guided meditations and decide which one is most appropriate for us.
It is also important to research and understand the theory behind each type of guided meditation. Many guided practices have been designed as “feel good” techniques which will not take us further than a state of self-hypnosis, in which we may reduce stress and anxiety but rarely uncover the root cause of our problems.
The aim of meditation is to help us let go of emotional tensions, negative thought patterns and repressed memories forever, not just temporarily. This requires certain techniques which have been created exactly for this purpose.
Once these unnecessary tensions, thoughts and memories are eliminated for good, all the processes of life are greatly and notably enhanced – permanently.
Controlling the mind is an error
There is a general misunderstanding that meditation involves controlling the mind. First time meditators will often try to control thoughts from entering into the Mindspace and get agitated when they find it isn’t possible. The mind cannot be controlled, but it can be observed and directed. And it can be emptied over time.
Guided meditation will ease us into it. By reducing these common mistakes, we can speed up our progress and reach deeper levels of meditation faster.
Research into the effectiveness of guided digital meditation shows a clear reduction in job strain (1) and improvement in overall well-being (2).
The Three Main Guided meditations
There are three guided meditation practices of great importance, which can take us into the deepest layers of meditation. These are Yoga Nidra, Ajapa Japa and Antar Mouna. All three practices are ancient practices which were developed with two objectives: the ability to take the awareness to the deepest layers of the personality; and the ability to uncover all repressed memories, thoughts and experiences – which are the root cause of all our anxieties and fears.
Though we can also achieve such results with other meditation practices, these are the safest, easiest and fastest for most people.
It is only necessary to practice one of them at a time, but the practice should be continued daily for an extended period for any real attainment to take place.
Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra – also known as the sleep of yogis – is designed to take us midway between consciousness and sleep. The objective is for the body to fall asleep, whilst the mind remains aware, as this is the deepest level of physical rest we can achieve once we have mastered the technique. But there is another reason. At this level of relaxation, our brain frequency drops significantly, bringing us closer into the realm of the subconscious mind. Since we are entering such a state whilst remaining conscious, we can very effectively start to reprogram the mind. This is exactly what is done in Yoga Nidra, when we repeat our resolutions and visualise images that will not only reinforce our resolutions, but expose fears and suppressed emotions.
Ajapa Japa
Ajapa Japa stands out amongst other meditation practices due to its combination of meditation, mantra chanting and pranayama. In Ajapa Japa it is easier to remain aware than in other practices, because our awareness is attached to the breath and the mantra at all times, making it a great practice for those who find it challenging to concentrate.
Ajapa Japa cleanses, unblocks and detoxifies our energy channels. This in turn releases repressed feelings, emotions and memories into the conscious mind, where they can be observed as a witness and eliminated permanently. Ultimately this cleansing of the mind and energy network, gives us great vitality, vigor and confidence and enhances our mental capacities of creativity, analysis and imagination.
Antar Mouna
Antar Mouna is especially effective for those who can’t sit still, and experience countless thoughts racing through the mind whenever the eyes are closed. It is a straight method by which we can slow down the mind, and train it to decrease the stream of thoughts.
It involves observing the thoughts as well as our reaction to the thoughts. Over time, we learn to create and eliminate thoughts at will, which slowly uncovers repressed thoughts, memories and experiences. Our self-awareness increases to such a high level, that we are able to master the dynamics of our own mind, giving us immense authority over our own life.
