April 15, 2009

Learn How To Meditate with Free Meditations

LearnOutLoud.com invites you to learn about meditation and the different ways to meditate with this top ten list of free meditational resources culled from our Free Resource of the Day Emails. Over the years, we’ve featured several guided meditations, relaxation exercises, and mindfulness practice lectures as a part of our Free Resource of the Day Email service. From these emails we’ve compiled a brief selection of audio guides, videos, and podcasts that cover topics such as mindfulness in everyday life, transcendental meditation techniques, Christian-based practices and more. With these ten resources, you’ll not only learn how to meditate, you’ll also get the latest science on the health benefits of daily meditational practice. Click the links below to begin the process towards a more mindful, present-oriented life:

1. Meditation Class 1: Learn to Meditate

The Meditation Society of Australia has recently put up a meditation class on our site. This free program offers seven keys to meditation that will help those beginning meditation to reach what is referred to as the “intuitive state”. After the lesson, you are guided through a meditation with relaxing music to help you along. This program is available as a free MP3 download on LearnOutLoud.com.

2. Mindfulness as a Foundation for Health

Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh recently led a 3-hour workshop on mindfulness at the Googleplex and this entire workshop can be viewed on YouTube. After about an hour of music and introductions, Thich Nhat Hanh gives a talk and answers questions for two hours. He provides many insights of how people can incorporate mindfulness into their daily lives from walking to eating to washing the dishes. Listen to the wisdom of 85-year-old monk Thich Nhat Hanh and his message of mindfulness and peace.

3. Introduction to Your Mind: Two Guided Meditations

Start you day off with these two free guided meditations. They were published by Mi Ka El Mindchanger through our TeachOutLoud self-publishing tool. Through these two 10-minute meditations Mi Ka El leads you through the practice of mindfulness meditation with insights on how to transcend your thoughts & feelings and come into awareness of your true Self. These excellent meditations can be downloaded on MP3 through LearnOutLoud.com and listened to again and again. Thanks Mi Ka El for this great free resource!

4. Alpha Break

Listen to this free 12 Min. MP3 download offered by Effective Learning Systems. This spoken word program is designed to put listeners in a relaxed state both mentally and physically. It can be used again and again at any time during the day. Download this free MP3 from LearnOutLoud.com.

5. Ceaseless Society: Is 24/7 Good for Us?

In this lecture from MIT, author & meditation teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn shares his perspectives on a society that is busy all the time. He provides insights into how we can regard time from the perspective of mindfulness, and suggests that in our effort to be technologically connected to everyone, we often lose connection to our true self. This lecture is available on streaming audio & video as well as MP3 download.

6. AM Focus

Listen to this 13-minute visualization & relaxation process for focusing in the morning from Dr. Patrick Porter. Dr. Porter guides you through positive affirmations for your day. Combined with soothing music, this audio program is a great way to begin your week. This free audio download is available on MP3 download through LearnOutLoud.com.

7. Consciousness, Creativity and the Brain

Filmmaker David Lynch shares his passion for Transcendental Meditation (or TM for short) in this lecture released on downloadable audio from WGBH in Boston. In a style uniquely his own, Lynch explains how the creativity displayed in his work over the years has been a direct product of TM; arguing that expanded consciousness necessarily leads to expanded creative insight. It is his impassioned belief that if more people used these meditation techniques, the effect would rub off on everyone else and consequently much of the world’s turmoil would cease. This talk is available on streaming audio & video and MP3 download from the WGBH Forum Network.

8. A Quiet Mind Podcast

Listen to spiritual wisdom from Robert Jackson on A Quiet Mind Podcast. He’s been podcasting for years now and all of his podcasts are up on the feed. Each podcast confronts a different spiritual topic, in relation to our striving for peace, happiness, and fulfillment. Browse all these podcasts on LearnOutLoud.com.

9. Coming to Our Senses

For decades now Jon Kabat-Zinn has been teaching mindfulness meditation as a technique to help people cope with stress, anxiety, pain and illness. Along with his teaching, he’s also written the classic Wherever You Go, There You Are and most recently Coming to Our Senses. In this lecture from UCTV, Kabat-Zinn speaks about reintroducing you to yourself, and developing an awareness of this moment in a fast-paced, technologically advanced world. This video lecture is available to stream through YouTube.

10. The Meditation Experience

Sounds True is currently offering a free self-guided course entitled The Meditation Experience: Eight Pathways to Open the Heart and Mind. This eight session course features readings and guided audio & video meditations to teach you various methods of meditation. The course is taught by excellent meditation teachers including Shinzen Young, Jack Kornfield, Mark Thornton, Arjuna Ardagh, Rick Jarow, Anodea Judith, Kim Eng, Reggie Ray, and Lama Surya Das. It requires you to register on SoundsTrue.com as you will go through the stages of the course on their site. The audio & video meditations are available to stream and download.

We’ve been sending out our Free Resource of the Day Emails for many years now. If you’ve not subscribed yet, we highly encourage you to do so.