|  | Alternative Medicine | Meditation

Aids for Meditation Techniques

According to the Meditation Society of America website, meditation is a technique used to bring about mental clarity, emotional stability and overall well-being. To practice meditation you only need find a quiet, relaxed environment in which you feel safe and secure. Take 10 to 15 minutes of each day to focus on yourself and developing your well-being. To assist you on your meditative journey, you can use visualization, guided meditations or music to increase your sense of peace and tranquility.

  1. Visualization

    • Meditation assisted by visualization is simply the practice of meditating while keeping your mind focused on an image, series of images or object. The use of visual stimuli during meditation can help you if you find traditional meditations methods (such as chanting, repetitive motions or movements) difficult. ProjectMeditation.com suggests that visualization with meditation can be used individually or in a group or with a guide. When using visualization alone, first relax yourself in whatever environment you're in. It's best to begin in a place you feel safe and secure, such as your bedroom or your office. Close your eyes, and relax your breathing to a comfortable level. Focus on the sensations of your body, and pay attention to them. If you feel an itch, scratch it. If you have too much weight on one side of your body, adjust yourself accordingly. Once settled, visualize healing energy flowing in through your nostrils and being absorbed by your body. This healing energy can be a white or gold colored light, sunlight or whatever visual image seems best to you. Practice this at the beginning of each day. Eventually, it will become more and more easy for you to visualize this light entering your body and filling you with a sense of tranquility and calmness.

    Guided Meditation

    • Guided meditation is similar to visualization except you are given prompts or scenes by a guide or leader. Guided meditation can work in two ways. You read a script or scene and focus on that script or scene once you begin your meditation, or you close your eyes and begin the meditation process while a guide describes the scene around you. One benefit to guided meditation is that it is a great tool for beginners to use to feel comfortable with the practice, and it can be used at any time that is convenient for you. For example, the website SelfHealingExpressions.com offers a series of guided meditations accompanied by peaceful energy that you can use while sitting in front of a computer. There are a plethora of additional sites that offer guided meditation scripts and audio downloads, so you can meditate when you feel you need it most. For example, if you find long drives make you nervous, you can listen to an audio version of a guided meditation to keep you calm before you hit the road.

    Music

    • Another useful technique when meditating is the use of calm and relaxing music. Often, it is hard enough to still the worries and concerns running through your head, and many people become discouraged when they begin meditating because of that difficulty. For some, adding tranquil music while meditating gives them something to focus on in addition to their breathing. When using music to meditate, you want to focus on music that is peaceful, relaxing and serene. If you want, you can use meditation music that also has lyrics, chants or other spoken aspects. Most, however, find that peaceful, sometimes described as "New Age," music is most helpful. You can also try classical music, instrumental pieces, or ambient electronica. When meditating with music, you want to make sure that you don't have the music up so loud that it is distracting, but not so low that you can barely hear it. Once you find a comfortable volume, you can combine some visualization techniques to enhance the feelings of serenity and calm that arise when meditating.

Meditation - Related Articles