Equinox Guided Meditation

As a lover of light and warmth, I had always felt a bit of sadness with the coming of the Autumn Equinox. It seemed to signal the descent into winter -- short days, long nights, colder weather. More recently, thanks to meditation and perhaps also aging, which has brought me through so many seasonal cycles and ups and downs of life, my perspective has broadened. I have at long last given up the illusion that I can find a "sweet spot" in life and stay there forever. Perhaps more important is the recognition that you can't have sweet without sour, and whatever my current situation may be, "good" or "bad", it will change.

I am grateful to meditation for helping me to experience that which doesn't change and find a place of balance to carry me through the good times and the bad. As I sat with my guided meditation group, these recognitions and musings lead to this new podcast episode -- Equinox Guided Meditation.

These days when I create a meditation for the podcast, I know there are people on the other side of the world who will listen. Whether you are in the northern hemisphere transitioning from summer to autumn as we are, or in the southern hemisphere going from winter to spring, this equinox meditation will speak to you. We are all experiencing a turning point in the seasons. Actually, we are experiencing a turning point in every moment. I invite you to explore the nature of this change with us in this meditation, and would love to hear what you discover.

Summer Solstice Guided Meditation

Four times a year the solstices and equinoxes remind me of the cycles of change. As a lover of light, I always look forward to the long days of summer. And yet, when the solstice arrives, things are turning the corner. After this longest day, the days will get shorter as darkness increases.  This, plus the fact that we have listeners from all over the world, and half of the world is experiencing the shortest day, caused me to wax philosophical. What started as a meditation to celebrate the light of summer morphed into a meditation reflecting on change and how we can relax into it. Our latest podcast - Summer Solstice Guided Meditation - is an opportunity to relax into change and view our current life situation from a broader perspective.

Body Balance Meditation

This latest podcast meditation came about when I became aware of how much easier it was for me to sense the right side of my body than the left. I was doing a body scan and when I noticed this difference in perception of the two sides, I began experimenting with favoring the signals coming from the left side. The result was a pleasant sense of balance and wholeness. I tried this out with my local guided meditation group and everyone loved the experience. The session had been recorded and so luckily we can share it with you. Doing this meditation, especially if you use it repeatedly, should enhance mind-body coordination, and increase mental and physical balance. The Body Balance Meditation guides you to focus more than most of our meditations. You will be directed to put your attention on the right and left side of the body (moving from feet to head) and notice if you experience each side with equal clarity. Often it will be more difficult to sense one side than the other. When one side is less clear to you, you'll be guided to try to sense that side more, holding the intention of experiencing both sides with equal strength. As you do this, be very easy about this focus. You don't need to strain or concentrate hard to reach the goal of sensing each side equally. If you don't find your perception of each side shifting, that's fine. As with all of our meditations, any effort you make is an "effortless effort". As you repeat this meditation over time, just naturally the balancing of the perception of the two sides will take place. Simply having that intention will gradually make this shift happen.

I'd love to hear your experience with this meditation, and, as always, am happy to answer questions.

Guided Meditation for Stillness, Stability and Balance

In the swirl of activity and the intense demands of life, it's easy to lose ones center. It can be challenging to maintain a sense of stability and balance. Our latest podcast meditation is designed to help you experience stillness in the midst of busyness, and then to create a stable reference point within that stillness. The meditation helps focus and steady the mind. I've had requests for a morning meditation and as well as a meditation especially for students. This meditation may be good for both purposes.

Tips for this Meditation

1. This meditation is best done sitting up in order to maintain alertness. It's not a meditation for falling asleep.
2. Occasionally my guided meditations suggest some use of visualization. In this meditation, you are guided to locate stillness and then a stable balance point within it. That point then becomes the focus of the meditation. It's important not to strain to create this point or to work at concentrating on it. Just be very easy about the whole process. If what I suggest comes easily, fine. If not, let it go. It may take several repetitions of this meditation to get the hang of it.

I'd love to hear what you experience with this meditation. All comments and questions are welcome!

Guided Chakra Meditation

Our attention is like a beam of energy. When we direct our awareness to some area of the body, it brings energy to it. Our new podcast episode, Chakra Meditation, uses this principle to enliven the chakras, creating a better flow of energy throughout the body. (If you are not familiar with the chakras, or "energy centers" of the body, you can read about them here.)

As you listen to this chakra meditation, you may notice differences in how you feel as you focus on the different chakras. It may be that emotions come up, especially at the lower chakras and heart chakra, or that you notice subtle shifts in energy. Just be aware of how you feel, not trying to change or manipulate anything. Simply having your awareness on the chakra will wake up the intelligence in that chakra so that automatically things will shift in the direction of greater balance.

You may find that some chakras are easier for you to focus on. Some may seem very faint or slip away from your attention and others may be sensed more easily. If you continue to use this meditation, your experience of the chakras will become more clear over time. If you don't notice anything in particular with you attention on the chakras, doesn't matter. You will still be getting the benefit of the meditation.

Using this meditation regularly should help to bring balance to life, as each chakra is associated with different parts of the body and aspects of living. Let me know how it works for you!

-- Thanks to Barry Stevens for the beautiful chakra image on this post.