When I suggest to a person that meditating is a simple and enjoyable way to improve learning skills, and to promote a sense of well-being, I often get this response:
‘I’ve tried meditation and it didn’t work – my mind is just too active – I just can’t stop my thinking.’
Such comments reflect the popular misconception that meditation is a means of stopping thought – and to make sure that the person doesn’t consider trying it properly, the thought usually comes with the mental picture of a monk sitting for years on end in some far-off monastery with no mod cons, and no electronic gadgets to play with – boring!
The Mind is Meant to Think
Minds think – that is what they do – without thought you have no mind. Meditation is not about stopping thought – rather it is about improving the quality of your thought by taking control of your thoughts, and directing them to places were you want them to go – instead of your thoughts being out of your control a lot of the time.
After you have meditated a few times it becomes very obvious that your mind is very busy, often with hard to control thoughts about past or future events. As a result, it is hard to maintain the concentration needed for tasks you need to do in the present, let alone more challenging tasks like good reading comprehension and study.
Much of the time our minds are caught up in a whirl wind – so much so that we can easily forget to give quality time to ourselves due to our 24/7 and always on lifestyle, not to mention the frantic attempts of advertisers and media to grab and control our attention.
Face it – the Information Age is well and truly over – we are now in the IOA – the Information Overload Age.
Why Use Guided Meditations
Having a skilled person guide you through a meditation fast tracks the process of learning to meditate because you don’t have to try – all you have to do is sit back and experience it.
Even for a long-term meditator like myself, I often find it easier to be guided through a meditation than to do it myself.
I have created an Online Course with lots of Guided Meditations. Click on the link to try some of the Guided Meditations.
Links to Some Free Guided Meditations
ABC Radio National has teamed up with some of Australia’s leading Meditation Teachers to provide a Meditation Toolkit containing manuals and seven guided meditations. Some of the meditations are suitable for children as well.
The Audios for 7 Guided Meditations are here: 7 Guided Meditations Audios
Their Meditation Manuals are here: Meditation Manuals
Chris Brooks
Principal
High Performance Learning
I welcome your comments. You can add them below.
Chris says
Just following up from my article above:
Some of the meditations available on the ABC site are from the Smiling Mind website (http://smilingmind.com.au) – a new website offering free mindfulness meditation programs using audio on the web, or you can download the individual guided meditations to listen to at your leisure.
You do need to sign up but there is no cost.
The interesting thing is that they have different programs for different ages: 7-11, 12-15, 16-22, and adult. So, if you want to give a child a chance to experience meditation, sign them up and see how they like it.
I have listened to a variety of the meditations for the different ages and found them quite straight-forward and accessible. They are of good quality.
The main approach is to build mindfulness – which is a very active approach to meditation – and something I encourage people to do, at least some of the time when they meditate.
Here is a quote from their program that may help you work out if it is for you.
Are mindfulness and meditation the same thing?
The Smiling Mind program hopes to help you cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness refers to a special way of being aware and attentive to the present moment with openness and a non-judgmental attitude. It’s a state of mind that allows you to live and experience life from moment to moment as it unfolds. This is largely different to how most of us usually live our lives, caught up in stories, worries, memories, plans, arguments, or judgements. But we have all experienced mindful moments. Usually they occur when we’re completely caught up in what we are doing: reciting a piece of music, watching a beautiful sunset, scoring a goal, or surfing a wave. Meditation is the tool we use to cultivate this state of being, because relying only on those moments or activities where it occurs naturally is too unreliable. By taking a few minutes each day to meditate, we are intentionally committing to move into this mindful state, bringing our awareness to the present moment, observing it as it unfolds.
Chris Brooks
Principal
High Performance Learning
Emily says
I tried all the meditations and I agree with you – the Stillness Meditation is the best one.
I also like a couple of the others.
Thanks for providing the links, I have passed them onto some of my friends.
OB says
Hi
The guided meditation by Pauline McKinnon is in the style of Ainslie Meares’ method of meditation. Pauline is generally recognised as the leading living exponent of his method and has taught it for several decades.
Ainslie Meares was an eminent psychiatrist and an internationally recognised medical hypnotist. He taught hypnosis, transitioned to meditation and taught that in Australia before 1960 until his passing in 1986. He re-discovered or reverse engineered our natural method of mental rest. In addition to regular periods of natural mental rest, 2-3 times per day, he said that it was also necessary to let the calm and ease, the effects of meditation, spill over or flow on through daily life. So, that is his method.
A teacher and class is the best way to learn Meares method of meditation. If they are not accessible then a guided meditation can be helpful. Books about Meares’ method which explain it are also a help and many people have been able to learn from Meares’ books or one like Ainslie Meares on Meditation or one of Pauline McKinnons’. However, these things are only aids to re-learning a natural method. With practice the quality of meditation will eventually become such that these aids are unnecessary.
OwenB