What’s different about our guided meditation and guided imagery programs?

If you’re new to guided meditation and guided imagery, it’s easy to be confused into thinking that the first one you experience is similar to all the others. But there are a number of different kinds of guided meditation programs. Here’s a summary.

Learning to meditate is not always easy, and one way to get started is to use a kind of “how to” program. A program with instructions to help you stay focused and on track as you do your meditation can be a helpful way of learning what’s possible. For some, there may be no reason to even go beyond what such a program offers, as it may provide all you’re looking for.

The background music or nature sounds in programs like this can also be quite helpful in keeping you in a serene state of mind. Keep in mind that there are many different kinds of meditation practices, and not all of them lend themselves to a “how to” guided program. Many people are simply looking for a way to “get out of their head” and wind down without drugs or alcohol, and there are plenty of guided meditation programs to help.

Simple relaxation exercises such as focusing on the breath, countdowns, progressions through the color spectrum or through the body from toe to head all can be helpful. Add to that a pleasant scene in nature and some soft background music and you’ll be ready to drift away. These guided meditations are aimed at helping the listener get “better and better”.

Usually focused on a specific area of concern such as confidence, self esteem, or courage, they often include affirmations, and sometimes subliminal messages. Are they effective? In general, when it comes to self improvement, it’s always better to do something rather than nothing.

But sometimes if there are deep underlying issues that have not been dealt with, these kinds of programs won’t go deep enough to make a real difference. See yourself becoming rich, thin, successful, married... happy. Visualization techniques allow us to “preview” the life we’d like, the theory being that if we “imagine it” we can “image it in”.

These are often used by athletes under the direction of sports psychologists. Giving our brain and nervous system a chance to experience the change we seek within the safe context of a guided imagery program seems like a good way to at least prepare us for change. If guided visualization that can be combined with deeper work that moves our resistances and inner blocks out of the way, all the better.

Guided imagery and meditation programs are a great way to explore spiritually, whether that means connecting with “spirit guides, ”spiritual figures, or one’s own higher self and God. For people who have been raised in organized religion, but don’t feel any real sense of spiritual connection, guided meditations like this can open up a whole new world to explore.