Text-based guided meditations?
October 18, 2019 6:04 AM Subscribe
What are some good texts/resources for starting/guiding a meditation when I don't want to listen to audio?
I like meditation. It does lovely things for my peace of mind and my focus on a day. But I do like tools like Headspace as a way of "clearing space", so to speak, for me to do this thing.
Problem is, sometimes the jump to guided audio feels like a bridge too far. Sometimes I'm in public, sometimes I don't have headphones, sometimes I just don't want to deal with somebody else's too-slow starting pace. I'd love something text-based: something focused and compelling, something I can read a short chunk of, close, and then contemplate as I ease myself into my flow.
I've used Ursula K Le Guin's translation of the Tao Te Ching recently, and love its poetry and its peaceful enigma, but it's a bit short and a little too intriguing for me to want to meditate to. Marcus Aurelius's Meditations is a bit too rooted in concrete concepts to really work. Thich Nhat Hanh has a lovely flow, but again, is a bit too advice-y and not dwell-y enough—sorry for the poor phrasing, but a part of my problem is that I'm struggling even to articulate what I think I'd like. (Perhaps poetry?)
I'd love to hear from people who have a similar relationship with writing and meditation. Let me shamelessly steal your wisdom and insights, please!
I like meditation. It does lovely things for my peace of mind and my focus on a day. But I do like tools like Headspace as a way of "clearing space", so to speak, for me to do this thing.
Problem is, sometimes the jump to guided audio feels like a bridge too far. Sometimes I'm in public, sometimes I don't have headphones, sometimes I just don't want to deal with somebody else's too-slow starting pace. I'd love something text-based: something focused and compelling, something I can read a short chunk of, close, and then contemplate as I ease myself into my flow.
I've used Ursula K Le Guin's translation of the Tao Te Ching recently, and love its poetry and its peaceful enigma, but it's a bit short and a little too intriguing for me to want to meditate to. Marcus Aurelius's Meditations is a bit too rooted in concrete concepts to really work. Thich Nhat Hanh has a lovely flow, but again, is a bit too advice-y and not dwell-y enough—sorry for the poor phrasing, but a part of my problem is that I'm struggling even to articulate what I think I'd like. (Perhaps poetry?)
I'd love to hear from people who have a similar relationship with writing and meditation. Let me shamelessly steal your wisdom and insights, please!
Oh, and in terms of poetry, a lot of meditation classes or books I've encountered seem to like the poems of Rumi, so you could check those out. You sound like you're already pretty into the world of meditation so you've probably already encountered them, and for all I know they might be so common as to be considered cliched, but you could take a look if you haven't already.
That, and Love after Love by Derek Walcott, a similar favourite for meditation classes/books.
posted by penguin pie at 6:53 AM on October 18, 2019
That, and Love after Love by Derek Walcott, a similar favourite for meditation classes/books.
posted by penguin pie at 6:53 AM on October 18, 2019
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posted by penguin pie at 6:44 AM on October 18, 2019