I have been practicing sitting meditation for 35 years, first learning from the written instructions in Zen Mind, Beginner Mind. For the first 20 plus years of my practice, I assumed that sitting meditation was a single “thing” – and always did what I would now describe as mountain meditation or shikan taza – resting my mind in my hara (the region just below my belly button) and being firmly present and concentrated there. After I joined Thich Nhat Hanh’s Sangha 11 years ago, after so many years practicing by in isolation, I began to realize the diversity of what people call sitting meditation – and as I took advantage of that diversity, I enriched my practice with so many (too many?) options for what to do when I sat down.
I occasionally would experiment with guided meditations in Thay’s style (as described in The Blooming of a Lotus), but really didn’t find them compelling generally. However, lately I have been using recorded guided meditations by Jon Kabat-Zinn and Tara Brach fairly regularly (once every week or two) – particularly when I feel tired or my mind is particularly busy or I feel anxious. I am finding it a useful supplement to my regular sitting practice – a way of reinforcing and supporting helpful attitudes towards sitting, and making clear choices about the kind of meditation I wish to do – vipassana or tonglen or resting in the breath.
Do you use guided meditation as part of your personal practice? If not, why not?
If you do use guided meditations, which ones do you use, and why do you choose to use them?
