Guided Meditation for Home Practice: Connecting to Your Soul for Guidance

04 Dec Guided Meditation for Home Practice: Connecting to Your Soul for Guidance

When we began this series, I wrote about the many benefits received from a regular meditation practice. Just in case you missed the post, however, the facts are repeated below. This week, my goal is to help you to connect to your soul for guidance. But here are also links to three different meditations from prior weeks: Receiving from the Source; Guardian Angel; Grounding Light.

One of the many benefits of meditating is to quiet your ego mind, that is full of self-judgment, and instead connect to your Soul that loves you unconditionally and will guide you to the life you desire.

In order to hear the guidance that is coming from your Soul you need to be in a receptive state and be open to doing something different than you have tried in the past.  In other words, you need to leave your comfort zone.

Because your Soul’s voice is the quiet, subtler voice within it is easily overpowered by the voice of your ego mind. The challenge lies in quieting the loud chatter of your ego and listening instead to the voice of your Soul.

The first step to building a relationship with your Soul is to ask for its guidance. To begin, you need to be in a peaceful, receptive state. Easier said than done. Often when you are asking for guidance from your Soul it is because your mind can’t figure out the answer. That is usually stressful, not peaceful.

To get to a receptive place, I recommend meditating using the Grounding Light meditation ( link above) I gave you in the previous post. You can get that here.

Once you do that meditation and feel grounded and connected to your inner light say to yourself, “I now connect to my Soul.” Know that because it is your intention to connect to your Soul it has happened.  It knows you are a divine spark of the universe and are connected to all that is. When you intentionally connect to your Soul, it is always there!

After you have stated your intent to connect, you can ask for general guidance or state a specific question. If you ask a question it should be clear, succinct, and only about one topic at a time. Having said that, you can ask your Soul about anything! Not only about your own life’s journey, but also information that effects all of us. For example, when a natural disaster happens you can ask, “What do we need to learn collectively from this situation?”

I recommend that when you start out and are getting use to the language of your Soul, you ask questions that don’t have too much emotional charge for you. When you are too attached to an answer, then you aren’t receptive to hearing anything else and that fact alone will block your ability to receive the truth coming from your Soul.

Here are some questions you can start with:

• Help me understand how to best use my talents in life.

• What do I need to do to stay grounded in the present and in my body?

• What are the best food choices for me right now? What foods would be best for me to reduce in my diet?

• What do I need to become aware of to allow more financial abundance (or loving relationships, better health, more joy, etc…) into my life?

• What do I need to learn from my back pain (or any physical pain) so that it can heal?

As you become more comfortable discerning your Soul’s voice, then you can move on to questions you are more emotionally attached to.

I also recommend you keep a journal to write down what you receive during and right after your meditations.

Journal about the following:

• What are you sensing in your body and where in your body are you feeling it?

• What you might have seen in your mind’s eye. For example, did you recall an old memory? Or, was there a scene being played out, similar to a dream?

• Did you see colors in your mind’s eye and if so, what were you feeling when you saw them?

• Did you “hear” words with your inner hearing? Or did you see words in your mind’s eye?

• Did you simply have a sense of knowing of what the answer was?

Whatever the experience, write it down. That way you will ground the information you receive from your Soul. And as you write, more information often comes.

Let me know your experience with this and if I can answer any questions…

Why Meditate?

According to Emma Seppela, of the Center on Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, there are at least 19 scientific reasons why a person should meditate.

It improves your Health:

•Increases immune response

•Decreases pain

•Decreases inflammation on the cellular level

It boosts your Happiness:

•Increases positive emotion

•Decreases depression

•Decreases anxiety

•Decreases stress

It boosts your Social Connection:

(Yes! – that’s right it actually increases your sense of connection to others.)

•Increases social connection and emotional intelligence

•Makes you more compassionate

•Makes you feel less lonely

It boosts your Self-Control:

•Improves your ability to regulate your emotions

•Improves your ability to be introspective

It changes your Brain for the better:

•Increases grey matter

•Increases volume in areas related to emotion regulation, positive emotion and self-control

•Increases cortical thickness in areas related to paying attention

It improves your Productivity:

(I know this may sound counter-intuitive, but it’s true!)

•Increases your focus and attention

•Improves your ability to multi-task

•Improves your memory

•Improves your ability to be creative and think outside the box

It’s nice that science has caught up to what many of us have felt and been benefiting from for years. And, don’t worry if you are still struggling with starting, or being consistent with, your own meditation practice – here are some tips to help:

• The goal of meditation isn’t necessarily to empty your mind of all thought (that is only one form of meditation). Often, when you first get started your thoughts are all over the place, and that’s OK. Focus on your breath and witness the mind chatter as it comes in – it usually has something to teach you. Eventually, as you allow yourself to notice your thoughts without reacting to them they calm down.

• Pick a form of meditation that works for you. (For an overview of different meditation techniques check out: http://liveanddare.com/types-of-meditation/) There are so many ways to go. Surely you can find an approach that is right for you.

• You don’t need to be in a seated position and completely still to meditate. According to Yoga International, meditation is achieved when the mind is clear, relaxed, and inwardly focused. You can also reach that state while moving, so, if you prefer try meditating on the go, simply bring your attention to how your body feels, watch your inner dialogue without judgment, and focus on your breath.

• Choose a designated time to meditate, working your way up to 20 minutes a day. Set an alarm on your phone for the same time each day to get into a routine. Experiment which time of day is best for your schedule – morning, midday, or evening.

• Don’t judge your meditation time! One day you may feel completely relaxed and in the flow and the next you won’t be able to focus. Know that even if you don’t feel the connection in the moment, the process is having a positive effect on you.

Meditation is to your mind what a shower is to your body. You wouldn’t go without bathing and once you feel the benefits of meditating, you won’t go long without that either. It’s basic self-care that unfortunately most of us weren’t taught when we were young. But, it’s never too late to start experiencing the value of a meditation practice – every minute you put into it will pay off in spades!

About Kristin Metheny:

Kristin Metheny is an intuitive, who assists people in connecting with their inner guidance, the truest source of happiness. Kristin teaches that we really can have it ALL. Our souls tell us we are meant to be prosperous, feel great, and live a balanced, beautiful life.

Kristin’s passion is to assist everyone in living their dreams – on purpose and completely fulfilled. To that end, she teaches intuitive arts and meditation classes and offers intuitive readings and coaching.

Kristin has been on her path, studying intuitive arts, since 2002. She holds an M.A. in Social and Organizational Learning.

Kristin leads a Guided Meditation with Intuitive Guidance class at the Telluride Yoga Center, Fridays at 11:00 a.m., and is a guest teacher at conferences, including the Telluride Yoga Festival and Teluride First‘s Integrative Wellness Summit.

For more information and to download Kristin’s free Grounding Light meditation, visit www.wisdomworking.com