Meditation refers to a host of practices that engage the mind to cultivate awareness and acceptance. According to meditation master Chögyam Trungpa, meditation creates a space in which to expose and undo your neurotic games, your self deceptions, and your hidden fears and hopes.
In a guided meditation session, you sit with your eyes closed as an outside agent guides you through an imaginary journey. You can participate in a group setting or by listening to a recording at home.
Structure
Most guided meditation sessions follow a generic script that targets an area of concern, such as promoting health, relieving tension, experiencing emotional well-being or managing pain. Regardless of the goal, a good meditation script follows an established pattern, which includes a beginning, a middle and an end.
Activities
To begin, you need to feel comfortable and safe in the meditation setting. In a group sitting, the instructor usually takes a few minutes to allow you to settle into the unfamiliar surroundings, while providing comforting words. If at home, settle into a quiet location without distractions.
This settling in spills over to a short relaxation phase. Many practices encourage you to merely close your eyes and follow the movements of your breath, along with the expanding and contracting of your stomach. Other practices might suggest you to visualize a quiet, comfortable place such as a rose garden or a bubbling spring. Regardless, the key to starting your journey is to relax.
Now, it is time to start the journey. To do this, most scripts begin with an imaginary entry point such as a gate or cave opening. After entering, you wander through this imaginary realm, stopping occasionally to inspect objects or areas of particular interest. For example, you might pick up a rock with writing on it, or maybe you find a lost object in the sand.
However, not all journeys take you to undiscovered lands. Other journeys move through the body. For example, a general deep-relaxation script attempts to discover, then release, pockets of tension by focusing on various body parts: toes, calves, thighs, buttocks, abdomen, chest, fingers, wrist, arms, shoulders, jaw, cheeks and the crown of the head.
Other scripts focus on particular needs. To deal with pain, a healing script might first direct you to calmly, without attachment, observe the area of concern. You then attempt to lessen the pain or heal the sight by visualizing a cold compress, or breathing in light. As described by Dr. David Fontana, you can imagine a white light flooding into the body on each in-breath and directing it to the area requiring healing.
To end the journey, you return to the starting point. After that, you bring your attention back into your body, and then into your physical surroundings. Wait until you feel grounded and connected before opening your eyes. You may feel a little disoriented at first, so take your time when returning to your active lifestyle.
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