The guided meditation is an amazingly flexible medium. You are both pointing out different components and dimensions of experience, but also – paradoxically- shaping those components and dimensions. Many kinds of effects and insights can be both discovered and induced. Here are a few short MP3s that showcase some of what meditation can do. For longer practices, see Steal These Meditation Ideas. I also have lots of guided meditations on the 10% Happier and Calm apps.
10% Happier asked me to write this meditation for Apple employees. They took my script and recorded it in the voice of the iPhone. Personally, I think the voice should be slowed down by a third, to make it more hypnotic and meditative. The meditation “object” here is the sound of silence, the “space between commands.” … Continue reading “The Space Between Commands”
There are two big meditation approaches out there, two buckets, discovered and rediscovered many times in many different traditions. One is active. It’s about bearing down, about trying to get somewhere, to build some skill, to make something happen. The other is passive. It’s about easing off, about not trying to get anywhere or make … Continue reading “Do Nothing”
In early 2017, Dan Harris and I met with Chief Moir of the Tempe Police Department in Arizona. Chief Moir is an early adopter of meditation and mindfulness in policing. She uses the skills herself, all day long. Her job requires her to be totally present with person after person as they file through her … Continue reading “Compassion for Chief Moir”
“RAIN” is a well-known meditation acronym that stands for Recognize, Accept, Investigate and Non-Identify. It’s a helpful way to explore – and, sometimes, process – any sensation, thought, or emotion. Even hard ones. The practice helps in a couple of ways. First, it boosts our emotional literacy. Instead of being lost inside a big reaction, … Continue reading “Mindfulness of Emotions – RAIN – Short”
Psychologists use a version of this meditation to help people with their addictions, including our technology addictions. The idea is the faster we are at noticing our urges, the less likely we will be to helplessly act on them, and thus the more quickly they can pass, allowing us to reset. It is extremely hard … Continue reading “Mindfulness of Urges”
This is a busy person’s meditation. Ten breaths. That’s it. A modest one-minute reset intended to take some of the wind out of the sails of whatever story line you’ve been racing around inside. The idea is simple: wherever you are, in any situation or mental state, count ten long, slow breaths. From the book Meditation … Continue reading “Ten Good Breaths”
This talk and meditation are a distillation of some of my core ideas about what meditation practice is, and how we can find the right practice for each of us: the right attitude, the right object, and even the right balance of stillness and movement / activity. It talks about the core skills of every successful practice and how to make sure they are activated in the meditation itself.