Copy of Settling Our Troubled Minds

SIX MEDITATIONS TO HELP YOU TO RELAX AND SETTLING YOUR MIND

To be resilient in an uncertain and changing world, we need to learn to relax.

If we relax, our minds relax too and the result is far fewer anxious thoughts and so we end up feeling more secure.

A mind with relatively few thoughts is a settled mind - a deliciously peaceful way to be.

Who wouldn't want that for themselves?

If you do, a very good place to start is with the 6 tracks I have created for you:

'The Body Scan'
'The Chill Pill'
'Grounding and Settling your Subtle Energy'
and 'Tranquility Meditation 1, 2 & 3'

'The Body Scan' is a guided meditation that:

relaxes you
brings you into much greater awareness of your body
and takes your focus away from disturbing thoughts in your mind

'The Chill Pill' is an audio track with pulses embedded in the background that:

help your mind to relax in a safe but very powerful way

And, as your mind relaxes, so does your body.

'Grounding and Settling' is a guided meditation that:

helps you to relax
helps you to ground (i.e. connect energetically to the earth).
and helps you to balance your subtle energy

Those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept can read 'A Brief Introduction to Subtle Energy for those Listening to Grounding and Settling' by clicking here!

'Tranquility Meditation 1, 2 & 3' together comprise a guided introduction to a type of meditation that helps you:

I would suggest that you try all six of the tracks over ten consecutive days:

Day 1 - The Body Scan
Day 2 - The Chill Pill
Day 3 - Grounding and Settling
Day 4 & 5 - Tranquility Meditation 1
Day 6 & 7 - Tranquility Meditation 2
Day 8, 9 &10 - Tranquility Meditation 3

After that you can use any or all of the tracks to settle your mind in a way that you find works best for you.

I would suggest that, those of you who want to deepen your meditation practice, should find a meditation teacher to help you take things further.

But, before you do, please read about each track below.

There is important information in each section!

'The Body Scan'

Almost all of us are plagued by over-busy minds and, if we observe our minds very carefully, we will find:

Endless commentary
Numerous worries
And many critical and self-critical thoughts

And, perhaps one of the most destructive aspects of this is that - in thinking so much - we have become relatively disconnected from our bodies and this makes it much harder for us:

to relax
to restore
to be in touch with our hearts
and to be at peace with ourselves and the world.

'The Body Scan' aims to help you to begin to change that!

In listening to 'The Body Scan' you will be guided through the sensations in your body.

The trick is to be curious about what you experience directly as you are guided through the process.

In other words, try not to focus on thoughts about what you are experiencing.

Rather, focus on the direct experience itself.

And, if your mind gets bored, well, that’s good!

Your mind is far more likely to switch off if it’s bored, leaving you in peace to explore the experience of your body.

To listen, all you have to do is:

Download ‘The Body Scan’

To do this:

Go to the music player above

Hover over ‘The Body Scan’

and click 'Download'

Find twenty minutes when you won’t be disturbed

Sit yourself comfortably

Listen to the track with or without headphones

And enjoy the experience.

Most people prefer to listen to the track with their eyes closed.

'The Chill Pill'

‘The Chill Pill’ uses two cutting-edge audio technologies - ‘binaural beats’ and ‘isochronic tones.’

Both technologies embed pulses of sound in the background of a soothing sound track.

All you have to do is to listen to the track with stereo headphones in the same way as you would with any of your music.

The pulses of sound will play in the background.

Sometimes you will be able to hear the pulses; sometimes not.

Whether or not you hear them, the background pulses will relax your brain and, as a result, your mind will begin to relax and there will be far less mental chatter. As your mind relaxes, so will your body.

It’s as simple as that!

All you have to do is:

Download 'The Chill Pill’

To do this:

Go to the music player above

Hover over 'The Chill Pill’

and click 'Download.'

Find a half an hour when you won’t be disturbed

Sit yourself comfortably

Listen to the track with stereo headphones

And enjoy the experience.

It’s a relaxing and very pleasant experience and I find that those who do not take easily to meditation often are able to use this track to very good effect.

But, please:

note that this track is not suitable for:

pregnant women,
those who suffer from epilepsy
and those who are deeply traumatised or clinically depressed.

If any of these apply to you, please just use the other five tracks.

Please note:

that it is very important that you listen with stereo headphones.
please don’t listen to this track while doing any other activity. It’s not safe to do so and it’s not good for your brain.
that, very occasionally, I find that someone feels a bit tenser – in the first five minutes or so. They may, for example, feel a tightening in their chest. If this happens to you, know that this is simply your mind resisting the relaxation. It will pass! Simply continue listening and you will find that you will begin to relax in a most pleasant way.

Most people prefer to listen to the track with their eyes closed.

It is fine if you fall asleep while listening. You will still get significant benefits but please make sure that the track is not looping (i.e. playing over and over again).

Enjoy 'The Chill Pill.' I have used it with great success with many, many clients.

'Grounding and Settling'

‘Grounding and Settling’ is a guided meditation that:

relaxes you

grounds you

and balances your subtle energy

If you are not familiar with terms like chakra - or if you are sceptical about the notion of subtle energy - then you may find it helpful to read 'A Brief Introduction to Subtle Energy for those Listening to Grounding and Settling' by clicking here!

You do not have to believe in subtle energy for this guided meditation to work.

If you are sceptical, just treat it as an imaginative visualisation.

All you have to do is:

Download 'Grounding and Settling’

To do this:

Go to the music player above

Hover over 'Grounding and Settling’

and click 'Download.'

Find 15 minutes when you won’t be disturbed

Sit yourself comfortably in a chair with your feet on the floor

Listen to the track with or without headphones

And enjoy the experience.

It’s a very pleasant experience and it'll leave you feeling grounded, more relaxed and 'settled' in yourself.

'Tranquility Meditation 1' (Days 4 & 5)

Tranquility Meditation - often called ‘following the breath’ - is perhaps the most widely practiced form of meditation simply because it is so effective.

We find this practice in evidence-based mindfulness training and in many Eastern spiritual traditions.

It has even been incorporated into some Christian practices.

The term ‘Tranquility Meditation’ is the name given by Tibetan Buddhists to this practice and I love the term because it describes exactly what the method often gives rise to - a sense of peace and tranquility - the result of settling an over-busy mind.

So, please:

Download the audio track ‘Tranquility Meditation 1’

Then find a time when you won’t be disturbed for 25 minutes.

Sit yourself comfortably in a chair with your feet on the floor

And listen to the guided meditation which uses ‘Grounding and Settling ’ as a means to settle (relax the body, ground and balance the subtle energy) before the meditation proper begins.

I hope you enjoy it!

You can use this track as a guided Tranquility Meditation over and over again.

'Tranquility Meditation 2' (Days 6 & 7)

Download the audio track ‘Tranquility Meditation 2’

Then find a time when you won’t be disturbed for 25 minutes.

Sit yourself comfortably in a chair with your feet on the floor

And listen to the guided meditation which has a shorter settling

'Tranquility Meditation 3' (Days 8, 9 & 10)

Download the audio track ‘Tranquility Meditation 3’

Then find a time when you won’t be disturbed for 25 minutes.

Sit yourself comfortably in a chair with your feet on the floor

And listen to the guided meditation which also has a shorter settling but very little commentary during the meditation.

The three 'Tranquility Meditation' tracks comprise a good introduction to meditation practice.

If:

you want to find out more about 'Tranquility Meditation'

or if you have any questions about the practice

you'll find a good deal of information about 'Tranquility Meditation' in a blog of mine.

You'll find that blog by clicking here!