Meditation can help help you develop a sense of tranquility, calmness, and inner peace. It can also assist you with conditioning your mind with thoughts that can improve the condition of your life.

During a guided meditation, you listen to the voice of a teacher who gently leads you through a visualization or contemplation process. You are guided to focus on thoughts and feelings that are described in such a way that you focus on a goal or state of mind or circumstance such as healthful habits, peace, or harmonious relationships. Meditation is so much more than just sitting cross legged on the floor, with your eyes closed and repeating a mantra. For many it is a way to reach a peaceful and calm state, whether through a sense of union with the Divine or simply creating and entering a blissful cushion away from the stress of living.

Guided meditation can help you achieve these or other goals when you begin with a purpose in mind. For instance, in applying for a job you probably already have in mind a monthly salary that covers expenses like house and car payments, food, and other necessities, and also recreation, entertainment and vacations. Without such a reason for working, e.g., knowing the things the salary would buy, finding a job may not come as easily. Or it may not even be necessary if these things are already provided for and you have no other reason to work such as fulfillment or social engagement. But usually when you are looking for a job, you have a definite purpose in mind.

Just so with your guided meditation process. This can include many benefits that you are aiming for, and your meditation goals can vary accordingly. Perhaps you want to:

• Achieve inner peace or deeper relaxation
• Bring about more focused concentration
• Change the state of your mind
• Improve your capacity to learn and be creative
• Build self-esteem and confidence
• Focus on healing yourself
• Control external and internal pain
• Overcome fears
• Relieve stress

Your reasons for doing meditation can really be unlimited. Be assured that during the guided meditation process your teacher or guide is simply helping you to focus your thoughts and feelings on taking specific actions. Ideally, you may enjoy a healing process where you first let go of either tensions or images that no longer serve you, and then engage in imagery where you are pleasantly already engaged in achieving your objectives.

Try different approaches and teachers, so you can choose something that works for you, lead by someone with whom you feel comfortable. Ideally, you will choose a teacher whose energy resonates similarly to your own or assists you to a new or healing level of energy. Different practitioners and experts on guided meditation have different methods and techniques. Each sincerely strives to facilitate you in experiencing a meditation path that fits your objectives.

Most meditation experts teach breathing methods to help orient you in practicing relaxation as well as in maintaining focus. This is the first step, a basic but important one to look for in choosing a guided meditation process that helps you succeed in your goals.

Though meditation teachers can differ in their guiding process, you can take the time to choose one whose energy and style seem to work best for you. For example, if you are looking to find new ways of thinking and feeling, or are looking for new ideas about how to meditate, you can start by listening to online audio excerpts of meditations before downloading a guided meditation MP3 or purchasing a CD. A guided meditation that works for some may or may not be what you have in mind. So choose from other guided meditation styles.

Guided meditation DVDs and MP3 or CDs are widely available on the internet or at your local bookstore. Meditation programs with good quality are usually open for viewing and testing. This is the same if you wanted to attend online guided meditation and spiritual retreats. A popular online store is Sounds True. While browsing their site, look underneath the image of the album for the preview links, which looks something like this:

Preview
Click the links below to preview this product.

The main thing to keep in mind about guided meditations is the same as with any formal meditation or spiritual practice: you will be successful if you meditate regularly, with patience and an open mind and heart.

Enjoy this meditation video, courtesy of YouTube: