Free Guided Meditations
Meditation is really quite simple. All we have to do is embrace each experience with awareness and open our hearts fully to the present moment. When we are completely at ease with our own being, the ripples of awareness naturally spread out in all directions, touching the lives of everyone we meet.
--Mingyur Rinpoche
You might picture meditation as sitting still, perhaps cross-legged or in a chair with your feet on the ground, hands in a specific pose. That's one way to do it. You may think of meditation as keeping your mind empty and focused on one object, and that’s another helpful form. The everyday meditation I practice is resting in a relaxed but alert awareness.
I distinguish between mindfulness and awareness meditation, and that's semantic to some extent. Mindfulness implies using cognition, and awareness is more purely experiential. There's also some semantic difference between meditation and contemplation. Whatever you call it, it's an essential part of practicing the dharma, following the Eightfold Path. But the word "meditation" gets in some people's way. A friend of mine finds silent contemplation with nature as he rests during a hike more important to his spiritual growth than time spent in meditation. I agree with him, so think of these six recordings as contemplations if you prefer.
Even one deep slow breath—in and out—in awareness is a meditation. Try it with your eyes closed several time a day, and you have become a meditator.
Anyone can benefit from at least the first four of these meditations. You might hold off on the final two if you're not experienced in meditation. Just listen to them in a quiet, peaceful state of mind.
Enter your first name and email address to receive access to six guided meditations described in Mel’s book, The New Middle Way. You’ll be joining Mel’s email list, but you can unsubscribe at any time.
