OPTIMIZE YOUR GUIDED MEDITATION TIME

posted in: Meditation

When you download one of our guided meditations, you’ve taken a step toward overcoming a problem, changing a negative pattern, healing your body, or just relaxing more deeply. But the way you approach your new program can make a big difference in how effective it will be for you. So here are a few tips to help you optimize your experience. 

pathSet The Stage

Be sure to set aside time when you’ll have peace and privacy, so you can bring all your focus to the experience, and allow yourself to go inside, free of distraction. You also might want to light a candle or burn incense. The simple act of doing this small ritual sends a message to your subconscious mind that it’s time to relax, go deeper, and connect within.

Let Your Imagination Lead You

Rather than simply listen to your guided meditation, you’ll get far more out of it by putting yourself into it. That means actively using your imagination to make the story as real as you can. In all of the programs here, you’ll find that the narrator will make a statement or give an instruction to imagine something, and then leave a bit of time. That’s so you can use your imagination to see, hear, or feel the process unfold within. Your imagination is the bridge to your unconscious mind as well as your higher consciousness. To engage this, it’s important to step out of the intellect — the part of your mind that wants to stand back, observe and analyze — and put yourself into the story. Allowing your imagination to lead you will open up lots of new possibilities, help you tap into new understanding, and help you go much deeper into the experience.

Do Some Debriefing

After listening to your program, take a few minutes to write in your journal about your experience. You’ll often find this helps you “ground” what you may have learned, and that as you write, more insight will come. Making this a regular practice will produce the best results over time.

Repeat As Needed

The first time we do a guided meditation is often a mixed experience. We don’t know quite what to expect, so it may not be as easy to relax into it as it can be on later listenings. On the other hand, the element of surprise can produce some exciting discoveries. Upon repeated listenings you’ll come to know the territory, and find it easier to go deeper. For programs that relate to specific areas of personal growth, healing, or solving problems, it’s important to work with the meditations repeatedly over time to gain the full benefit. Often there is a “reprogramming” factor related to the unconscious mind, and repetition is the key.

What other ways have you found to optimize your experience with guided meditation?

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