Meditation Audio Guides & Apps
I've recorded a free set of audio guides for you to use in practicing mindfulness meditation within a Christian framework. These are based on the tradition of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), while weaving in Scripture and acknowledgment of God's presence as part of what we might choose to attend to in the moment. You can access these meditations through the following sites:
Other free guides for mindfulness meditation are available across the web. While many of these guides are similar in content and structure, they vary in tone and presentation. You may find it helpful to listen to a variety of guides to determine which is the best fit for your style and desired focus for meditation. Here are a few examples to get you started...
Gregory Bottaro is a doctoral-level psychologist who authored The Mindful Catholic: Finding God One Moment at at Time. He recorded these audio guides to correspond with the book, and they can also be used independently for the application of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction principles within the context of Christian faith.
Mark Williams is an ordained minister and the co-author of Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World. These brief meditation guides correspond with his book, but can also be used as stand-alone guides for learning the basic techniques of mindfulness. I like them because they are straight-forward, peaceful, deep, and brief.
Headspace has created a series of lovely mindfulness meditations, ten of which are available as part of this free app. You can experience a sample here.
A range of free meditations is provided on The Mindfulness App, including a variety of lengths and the option of guided, silent, or personalized.
Smiling Mind is a non-profit organization that has created a series of audio guides and other tools to support your meditation practice. Resources are available for age seven through adult, and can be identified based on age group. A free app is also available.
While the Koru meditations are created with college students in mind, mindfulness meditators of any age can benefit from the calming and curious tone of the practices.
Insight Timer is a popular meditation app providing a customizable timer feature. The app also includes many prerecorded guides from a wide variety of meditation traditions - you will want to search carefully for those that are consistent with your faith approach.
Sharon Salzberg and Dan Harris team up in this 6-minute video to provide a lovely mindfulness meditation guide, with helpful explanations before and after.
Richard Sears provides a variety of basic mindfulness practice audio guides, shared in a straight-forward but relaxing manner. His guides related to lovingkindness and embodying love are easily practiced within an awareness of Christ's presence.
Ron Siegel's meditations are in-depth and varied. If you are interested in meditations specific to pain, cravings, or particular emotional experiences, you will find them here. Also, full versions of many classic mindfulness meditation practices are offered here, including the Raisin Meditation and the Body Scan.