Some meditators become bored and just sit to sit without actually trying to meditate. But the rewarding challenge of meditation is to use every technique at our disposal to continue focusing. Do you have trouble falling asleep on most nights? Say no more—this calming podcast will have you drifting to dreamland without a hitch.
You can meditate for as long, or as short, as you’d like. Any amount of time spent meditating is good, no matter how brief. A starting point for beginners is 30 minutes but meditate for long enough that your mind and body calm.
We depend more and more on external things to take our mind away, losing our innate ability to focus and to experience contentment with what is. Our avoiding habit deepens, and the backlog of mental junk -- the stuff we've been consuming in order to avoid what's there -- piles up. These external situations can indeed take away the thinking mind, but it is only temporary.
That’s why the guided meditations from Meditation Minis Podcast are so popular. In 10 minutes or less, host Cher Hamilton will help you find new ways to calm your anxiety, overcome negative thinking, reduce stress, and feel calmer. Not only that, the Ten Percent Happier app has teachers that will walk you through the basics, one breath at a time. Promising to help you enjoy your life more, this guided meditation podcast aims to increase your capacity for joy, gratitude, and love—no magical thinking required. You can practice mindfulness meditation on your own anytime and anywhere. But listening to basic guided meditations can also be helpful, especially when getting started.
Fall asleep each night listening to whispered readings that include soothing meditations, interesting stories, and tranquil poems designed to help you relax, find calm, and enjoy a peaceful night of sleep. Finding peace and calm in the chaos of life can be a real challenge. So-called meditation music is meant to be relaxing, and of course meditation does help you to relax too. But meditation goes beyond relaxation and helps us to be more alert and focused. It also helps us to do things like cultivate kindly or to deeply question the nature of our experience.
Some feelings might be neutral — tingling or itching. In the midst of classic rock’s golden days in the early ’70s, Henry Wolff and Nancy Hennings decided to hole up in the Island Records studio and make a record with just Tibetan bells and singing bowls. Using little more than struck metal from the Far East and capturing those subtle vibrations on tape, the duo found themselves at the fore of New Age music. Sometimes you may find that what you’re hearing is distressing, or you’ll disagree, or you’ll really want to speak your piece. There will always be opportunities for you to share your thoughts—later.
When you use this method, slow down your walking pace so that you can focus on each movement of your legs or feet. Concentrate on your legs and feet, repeating action words in your mind such as "lifting," "moving" and "placing" as you lift each foot, move your leg forward and place your foot on the ground. This technique is good for beginners because breathing is a natural function. Focusing your attention is generally one of the most important elements of meditation. In tai chi (TIE-CHEE), you perform a self-paced series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner while practicing deep breathing. You try to use as many senses as possible, such as smells, sights, sounds and textures.
Check in with your physical and emotional reactions, let go, and return to listening. Give the gift of your full attention and you just might find that it’s more than enough. See if you can learn to move freely between being in silence and with sounds. Just be aware of sounds as they arise and pass away. Open yourself to the music of the world in this moment, in this place. If there are no sounds, listen, and rest in this moment of silence.
A lake water sound provides a calm rhythm that helps you drift off to sleep or create a relaxing peaceful environment. Basic mindfulness meditation is very spa music simple, even if it isn’t always easy to do. More than anything else, it requires a commitment. “Admiring the idea of meditation doesn’t really do anything,” said Sharon Salzberg, who has taught mindfulness meditation for more than 40 years.