What you’re looking for is an audio file you can download and listen to on your IPOD or your computer, something that will guide you through a scripted “meditation” so that you can get some relief from whatever is stressing you out.

Am I right?

Ok, let’s get this straight from the start. I’m going to provide you a download, and it’s going to be free, and it’s going to deal with meditation and stress management, but it’s not what you think it is.

What I am going to do is download information directly into your brain on what meditation really is, and why “free guided meditation downloads for stress” are a contradiction in terms!

I’ve already written on why meditation is beneficial for stress management, and I’ve even written an article on how to meditate. Check them out for background and context.

This article is specifically about “free guided meditation downloads for stress” and how they represent a fundamental misunderstanding of how meditation really works …

Meditation is the practice of quieting the mind.

The goal of meditation is to train your mind, which in your every-day life is constantly processing a stream of sensory information and generating a stream of thoughts, to slow down.

This is achieved, as described in my article on how to meditate, by limiting the amount of sensory input your mind takes in along with minimizing the amount of self-generated thoughts your mind produces.

In order to do this, at least at first, you concentrate your mind on observing a single process to the exclusion of all others – typically your breathing.

The “free guided meditation downloads for stress” which you will find all over the internet train you to do exactly the opposite!

Typically the recording is of some nice soothing music, with a pleasant voice telling you how you should “close your eyes, relax your muscles, and imagine yourself floating softly in a sea of warm water, the ocean breeze caressing your skin as you feel your worries evaporate away …” or something along those lines.

Well guess what – that may be an attractive fantasy, a pleasant fiction, but it is not meditation, and the benefits from a stress management perspective are minimal at best.

What is just described to you is a perfect example of escapism. It provides an environment in which stress and its effects can be ignored, which is just another word for encouraged.

That’s what I mean when I say I that I don’t teach stress reduction or stress relief.

You’ll accomplish one thing with “free guided meditation downloads for stress”, and it’s called wasting time. Meanwhile, the stressors in your life will continue to grow until you deal with them head-on.

Meditation is a truly powerful tool stress management, but don’t fool yourself into thinking that a pleasant voice on an audiocassette recording can get you there.

Meditation is a skill, but before you can learn it you have to understand what it is.

If you are truly interested in learning how to profoundly transform the stress in your life with meditation, pick up a copy of my book THE STRESS VACCINE™ today. There is simply no better resource available anywhere for learning how to use genuine meditation as a tool to effectively combat stress.

Does Meditation Benefit Stress Management?

How to Meditate for Stress Management

The Psychological Effects of Stress

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