Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Stress Free in 15 Minutes - The Arts and Sciences of Guided Meditation

If you are like most people, you will understand how stressful modern life can be. Work is stressful, and now we have to deal with a recession. The good news is we can relax with meditation. Not only is it a great form of entertainment and relaxation, most importantly, it is free and you can do it anytime, anywhere.

If you are sad, lonely and depressed, I want you to do yourself a favor and give yourself a special treat today. You can do anything that make you feel good. If your budget allows, go to your favorite restaurant and order your favorite dishes. Go to a luxury spa and totally unwind. Visit your favorite shops. If you prefer free entertainment, consider a long bath at home, have a cup of herbal tea, light some candles, read, or even go to bed early. Love yourself, give yourself the permission to be happy and be in touch with your true feelings.

A fantastic way to relax and give yourself the love and joy you so needed is meditation. The best thing about meditation is that unlike going to restaurants, traveling or shopping, you can choose not to spend any money and still feel totally rejuvenated. The selection of meditation products and programs is vast. You can sign up for a $400 2-day meditation retreat, or if you have money, a $2000 trip to some sacred, faraway places like Thailand or Himalaya. You can even book a special, private spa retreat at top hotels like Four Seasons. While I am sure these journeys are great ways to help you rediscover your inner peace, I don't think it is necessary to spend that much money in order to truly benefit from meditation.

So what if you want to save money and feel relaxed at the same time? I recommend trying meditation at home with books, CDs, or online courses. Of course you can DIY and make your own meditation tapes with a recorder like some people do. While all that is fine, the problem is it is time consuming to set aside time, find a good quality microphone and special scripts, and make the tapes. Unless you already own a home studio, or have lots of experience doing audio editing, you are way better off using some aids such as books, CDs or MP3s, most meditation programs cost less than a few dollars a month anyway and you can pick up heavily discounted meditaiton books from Amazon.

If you are new to meditation I recommend guided imagery meditation. There are literally countless meditation scripts out there, some are purely for relaxation, others are more sophisticated and will guide you to learn something about yourself, your unfulfilled wants and your hidden sources of anger. If you don't have the time or money to travel, guided meditation is actually a great alternative. There are hundreds, if not thousands of meditation tracks available on the internet. There are many amazing places you can go, such as tropical island at dusk, lush rain forests or secret bamboo gardens. Most professionally produced guided meditation tracks have sound effects too, so as you close your eyes and follow the voice through the gardens, temples and rivers, you will hear the sounds of nature change as you travel in your head.

Meditation, if used properly, can help you rewrite any negative self dialogues that may exist. It is scientifically proven that meditation is linked to better concentration and empathy. Like many good things in life, it is free. Try it today and experience the power of this ancient art of relaxation.

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