Guided Meditation Practices

Our guided meditation practices at the Pine Street Clinic in San Anselmo, California begin with inviting the bell and an invocation that I wrote for this purpose:

This life is the gift of the whole universe: the earth, the sky and many generations. May we learn to live in mindfulness in order to enjoy the wonders of life!

Following the invocation, members of our community check in with how they are feeling and what is going on in the present moment for them in their lives. This time for this period can be quite extended. My partner and I practice deep listening and loving speach while our members talk about themselves.

Most of the time we continue with guided meditation practices that either one of us will lead. These guideded meditations are often made up on the spur of the moment, possibly based on what people have shared. They have become a powerful instrument in our classes and have inspired many people to take charge of their lives and their healing.

I found this article in a very unexpected place and thought you would enjoy this excerpt to understand a little bit about what we do in our classes.

Guided Meditation Practices

Guided Meditation Practices

Guided meditation is a type of meditation that uses the imagination to relax the mind and body. The meditation is guided by another person, which can be a teacher or guru or a recording of a guided meditation. During meditation, you are guided through a journey of the imagination by a person or recorded voice.

Through guided meditation, you will learn to slowly and quietly calm the mind. The practice begins with finding a comfortable place and sitting in a comfortable position. You will begin with a focus on your breath and an awareness of the body. Relax and focus on the voice and follow the directions given in the meditation.

The content of a particular guided meditation practice will depend on the focus of the practice. There are guided meditations that are designed to reduce stress, release negative emotions, change a behavior or habit, or achieving your goals. If you want to focus on a specific area, you can likely find a recorded guided meditation that meets your needs.

….More at Meditation Techniques: Guided Meditation – Yoga – Families.com

We have introduced mind stories as meditation practices, in general, and guided meditation practices, in particular as shown in the videos in that post. Micah was taught to use visualization techniques to snuff out his cancer by filling the holes with gooey stuff that didn’t allow the cancer to breath, so it just gave up and died.

You might be thinking, “How do you know this actually happened.” My answer to that is that many things in his cancer recovery were linked together and it is virtually impossible to determine any independent causative  factors that are responsible for his miraculous recovery. I think this is true in so many areas of health and wellness that one should simply be thankful for the opportunity to enjoy the wonders of life in the here and in the now. Intellectualizing is interesting in light of speculation, but the bottom line is that Micah recovered.

Isn’t that all that matters? What do you think?