Meditation in some for or another is arguably a crucial practice for living our best lives. It is to our minds and hearts as physical exercise is to our bodies. Our body needs movement for health, and our mind needs periods of non-attached observation and stillness. It is a time when we stop controlling outcomes and suppressing emotions and allow life to unfold and our feelings to release so we can restore equilibrium.
I won’t go so far as to say that everyone should meditate, but I will say that I think the vast majority of therapy and coaching clients would benefit from it, and I do recommend that just about all of mine try it.
For that reason I’ve compiled this list of meditation resources for people who want to give meditation a try but aren’t sure where to start.
This list is based on resources that I myself have tried. If you have a suggestion for a teacher, app, book, website, etc that you like, please leave it in the comment section and I will try to check it out!
I intend to add to this list over time.
Websites and teachers
Dharma Seed is a voluminous repository of spiritual talks and guided meditations.
Jeff Warren’s Youtube channel has meditations called the “Do Nothing Project”; his style resonated most with me of all the teachers on the 10% Happier app.
Gil Fronsdal leads meditations at the Insight Meditation Center YouTube channel
Tara Brach is a prolific and popular meditation teacher. There is a cornucopia of material on her website.
Vinny Ferraro has a unique, sometimes lighthearted, sometimes deeply compassionate style of guiding meditations. Some can be found on his website. Others can be found on www.dharmaseed.com.
Eckhart Tolle’s youtube channel occasionally has guided meditations that have a feel of part meditation, part hypnotic suggestion, part lecture. He uses the label of presence to describe what to aim for in meditation.
Dandapani talks about “concentration” and has a lot to say about how it relates to, and is cultivated by, meditation. He teaches how concentration is behind our ability to live our best lives. Dandapani’s youtube channel.
Wes Nisker guided several meditations at a retreat I attended. He has a way with facilitating mental spaciousness.
Rick Hanson is a meditation teacher and neuroscientist, and I have found his metaphors and ways of explaining the mind and mental health to be clear and helpful in the past. Rick’s youtube channel.
Books
True Meditation by Adyashanti is a short audiobook that I found useful for understanding the difference between meditation and meditation-like practices that can be counterproductively goal and outcome-oriented.
Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind (Shunryu Suzuki) is a classic book on Zen that has instructions for meditation. I have read this book several times. It is one of those books that has many profound, quoteworthy lines throughout.
Videos
2023-03-11 | How to Enter the Present Moment | Eckhart Tolle
A meditative talk in which Eckhart Tolle explores the happiness that comes from the cessation of striving and dropping the pursuit of a life without problems.
2022-05-26 | The Meaning of Meditation | Dandapani
2022-09-27 | Guided to Presence: 20 Minute Meditation | Eckhart Tolle
2015-09-02 | “The Dawning of Curiosity” | Adyashanti explores the essence and power of true meditation…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeKDDP8jiPs
2022-09-23 Guided Meditation: Awakening to Oneness – The Unity of Being | Rupert Spira
Apps
If you prefer the convenience and efficiency of an app, there are many good options these days and increasing all the time. They can be free or require a paid subscription. Here are several that I have tried myself or have heard good things about:
10% Happier. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.changecollective.tenpercenthappier
Insight Timer (free). https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spotlightsix.zentimerlite2
Medito (free). https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=meditofoundation.medito
Headspace. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.getsomeheadspace.android
Waking Up. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.wakingup.android