This article serves as the second installment of a five part series called “What is Group Meditation?” The focus of this installment is Guided Group Meditation, including mental imagery invoked by spoken word and scripting in group meditation practice. This form of meditation is helpful when one wants to excite the creative aspect of the brain, induce a state of relaxation, or work on a specific issue. Guided meditation is very different from focus based or mindful meditation in that during guided meditation one is re-patterning thoughts derived from an external source rather than focusing attention inward and bringing thought patterns into awareness. Guided meditation is useful when one is unable to focus inward with attentiveness and reach a state of mental alertness in order to be in command of one’s thinking or gain access to the thought stream within one’s own mind. Guided meditation has a wide range of uses.
Virtually anyone can lead a guided group meditation. All that is required is a calm and steady voice and a well-written script. There are many meditation scripts available online through a Google search for “guided meditation scripts”. In choosing a guided group, seek out the theme or subject you need guidance or support in – many times certified hypnotherapists will lead guided group meditation because they have specific training in writing scripts that utilize guided imagery. Words that invoke mental images, sensations, emotions, or positive intentions are guided imagery.
Guided meditation is beneficial to reduce stress, relieve pain, enhance positive outcomes of all kinds, and promote mental visualization with intention. By implanting affirming messages within the a person’s thought stream through suggestion, words which invoke images in the meditation practitioner’s mind, guided meditation aims to re-pattern thinking from the outside inward. There are guided meditation scripts for just about every human challenge you can think of: smoking cessation, self-esteem, pain relief, insomnia, relaxation, and overcoming procrastination just to name a few.
Remember there is no right, there is no wrong, there is only meditation.
In the next part of this series, I will examine mindful meditation, the use of mindfulness in everyday life and in group meditation practice.
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