In our frantic modern world, meditation is becoming more and more popular as people search for ways to relax, de-stress, accelerate their spiritual development and enhance their quality of life. It's really no surprise that meditation is becoming so common nowadays, as it has so many positive benefits to offer. One of the easiest ways to experience the overall benefits of meditation is to listen to a guided meditation.

In this article, I will focus specifically on the benefits that guided meditation can bring to you, starting with everyone's favourite...

Traditional unguided meditation techniques, while wonderful in their own way, do require some effort on your part. It's your job to keep your mind focussed and as clear as possible. But with guided meditation, you are guided into a state of meditation by spoken word guidance. Your guide will literally walk you through the process step by step.

Can you think of anything more effortless and relaxing than listening to tranquil music while you are guided into a state of deep meditation?

Guided meditation is not only easy, it is also a very powerful tool for personal development.

Where guided meditations get really interesting is in the way that they utilize the power of your imagination and the power of visualization to effect positive personal changes. This is one of the main benefits of guided meditation, and in this regard, guided meditations are even more powerful than traditional, passive meditation.

Visualization, or creative visualization as it is sometimes referred to, is the use of mental imagery to effect positive changes in your life. Visualization techniques are now widely employed in many fields such as the arts, sports, business, alternative medicine, religious practices, psychotherapy and self-improvement.

As Denis Waitley, coach to both Olympic champions and Apollo astronauts once said:

Guided meditations help you to vividly imagine positive experiences that represent, either directly or symbolically, whatever changes you wish to express in your life.

During a guided meditation you are in such a deep state of relaxation that the imagery you are guided to visualize becomes very vivid indeed. Immersing yourself in a guided meditation while listening to positive suggestions is a blissful experience that results in real and immediate benefits.

You’ll feel better; physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Of course, different people have different goals and needs, and with that in mind, guided meditations can be tailored to achieve specific outcomes such as:

• Improving clarity in life
• Spiritual development
• Experiencing elation, freedom and expanded awareness
• Emotional and physical healing
• Enhancing creativity
• Profoundly deep relaxation
• Increasing confidence and personal empowerment
• Opening the heart and healing relationships
• Curing negativity or self defeating behaviours
• Improving performance in business or sports
• Resolving psychological difficulties

A well crafted guided meditation often includes positive suggestions and positive visualizations that cause you to have an inner experience of the changes you are seeking to realize in your outer life.

Why is this so important? Let’s allow The Buddha to answer that question for us:

"The mind is everything. What you think you become."

Guided meditations help you to achieve a state of deep inner stillness, so that your mind can be cleared of clutter and unwanted thoughts, and then filled with vivid visualization experiences that effect positive personal changes.

Particularly well crafted guided meditations may also make use of symbolic imagery, so as to connect with the deeper, more abstract levels of your mind in an effort to encourage profound healing and personal development breakthroughs.

Guided meditations are more than just a healthy way of dealing with stress; they can be used to enhance your quality of life in many ways. When combined with relaxing meditation music a guided meditation becomes an immersive experience that can transport you into a vivid inner dimension of freedom, inspiration, healing and joy.

"You can bring into your life more power,
more wealth, more health, more happiness, and
more joy by learning to contact and release
the hidden power of your subconscious mind."

- Dr. Joseph Murphy

Want to read some REAL accounts from people who have introduced meditation into their lives? What better way to explore the benefits of meditation than to learn from the experiences of others. Click here to check out their stories now.

Real people tell their stories of how meditation benefited their lives