Guided Meditations and Talks
The internet offers an almost infinite gift of guided meditations, and a search for pretty much any topic you would like to explore, or teacher you would like guidance from, will bear fruit. Below I’ve listed guided meditations for some of the topics we encounter in class, offered by some of the teachers I have been most involved with these past many months, including Tara Brach, Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Dr. Kristin Neff, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. These are not the “best” meditations out there — gosh, there is such bounty, how would one choose? — but they have brought me insight and peace. I will add to this list as the class progresses.
Overview
Mindfulness Daily: a 40-day mindfulness course that Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach are offering for free during the pandemic. Each day builds on the previous one and offers a new bite-sized reflection and guided meditation, 12- to 15-minutes in length.
Awareness of Breath
The Breathscape Practice for Cultivating Mindfulness: a 20-minute guided meditation from Jon Kabat-Zinn
Awareness of the Body
An Inquiring Practice to Notice the Body: a 20-minute guided meditation from Jon Kabat-Zinn
Awareness of Thoughts
Beyond the Veil of Thinking: a 21-minute guided meditation from Tara Brach
A Meditation on Observing Thoughts: a 20-minute guided meditation from Jon Kabat-Zinn
Awareness of Emotions
Bringing RAIN to Difficult Emotions: a 30-minute guided meditation from Tara Brach. You can access a pdf of this RAIN process here. On her website, Tara offers guided RAIN meditations tailored to working with specific issues, including fear, blame and self-blame, and the wanting mind. RAIN can be particularly powerful when practiced with a partner. Tara explains the process, and offers a guided partner practice, here.
A Light Rain of Self Compassion: Tara Brach leads a brief (9-minute) practice you can do anywhere
Loving Kindness
Loving Kindness: a 15-minute guided meditation with Sharon Salzberg
Loving Kindness: a 12-minute guided meditation by Jack Kornfield
This Loving-Kindness Meditation is a Radical Act of Love: a 47-minute guided meditation by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Self-Compassion Guided Meditations and Exercises: A generous offering of resources from Dr. Kristin Neff
Short Phrases of Lovingkindness from John Kabat-Zinn
Deep Listening
Deep Listening: Ear of the Heart: In this blog post, Tara Brach offers an excerpt on deep listening from her book True Refuge; a 21-minute meditation on “The Pathway of Deep Listening,” and a 50-minute talk, “The Sacred Art of Listening.”
Intention
The Heart’s Intention: a brief essay by Jack Kornfield
Additional Resources
Meditation Timers
i-Qi Clock and Meditation Timer: functions only as a clock or timer.
Insight Timer: has many more features, including guided meditations and the option of belonging to an online community