How to benefit from guided meditation?

Adoration in Glenard University Residence

Called to More will be launching very shortly a series of meditations given by Fr Gavan Jennings. Perhaps you have prayed with guided meditations before or perhaps it is your first time listening to one, but whatever stage you are at, it’s always a good time to reflect on how to benefit from one.

What is Meditation?

Meditation, as the word implies, involves meditating. It has become a very popular practice in a fast-paced society where people seek peace and calm. There are various ways of meditating, but here I’m only referring to Christian Meditation, and in particular to the practice of meditation in the tradition of the Catholic Church. The key difference in all these forms of meditation is that as Catholics, we are not only meditating with ourselves, but we are meditating with Our Lord, and more importantly with Him truly present in the Eucharist.

Meditation is prayer. Broadly speaking, there are two forms of prayer: vocal and contemplative. An example of vocal is saying prayers already in existence - the Our Father, the Hail Mary, etc. Contemplative prayer is when you pray, not so much with your lips but with your heart, in your own words. Naturally when we say vocal prayers, we try to pray contemplatively but the distinction is that contemplative prayer on its own is not a practice with set prayers. It centres on a personal conversation with Jesus Christ.

How to pray with the help of a Guided meditation?

When it comes to guided meditation, it is helpful to have a couple of tips and tricks that can help you get the most out of this experience.

1. Avoid passivity

   With anything that is guided, it is very easy to be a passive recipient. We can be simply listening to it on our way to work in the morning, but getting distracted with the traffic or a passing cyclist. We may think we have prayed but we haven’t really. A little bit maybe… It’s hard to quantify but listening to meditations are not the same as listening to music or any other podcast, you need to try to be fully engaged and direct your attention towards Our Lord to truly benefit from this resource. So for example, hoovering and listening to a meditation is not really meditating. When meditating, do nothing else but that.
   

2. Direct your attention towards Our Lord

   Meditating is about contemplating Our Lord and conversing with Him. It’s about having that real relationship with Him in contemplative prayer. Guided Meditation helps you focus your attention on Him: to learn about Him, to learn about yourself and meet half-way in true friendship. Engage your heart in this process. Truly open up and be with Him, as if He was your only friend. If you approach your meditation like this, you will notice a big difference.
   

3. Use your surroundings to help you focus on what you are hearing

   The best place to listen to guided meditation is in front of the Tabernacle in a Church. You’re probably thinking: what if someone sees me with my earphones/airpods in the Church? Maybe just use one earphone, so it’s not so obvious. But honestly, it is the best place!
   If you can’t be in a Church, go a room where you know you won’t be disturbed and sit in a comfortable chair (not too comfy in case you fall asleep!). Some people put a YouTube video on their laptop with live Perpetual Adoration so they can see Our Lord, which helps to focus better.

   And lastly, use a pen and paper to jot down the ideas that come to you during the meditation. Not like as if you are taking notes in a class, but rather focusing your mind on the key ideas. Sometimes externalising them on paper can help visualise your thoughts better.

Conclusion

The practice of meditation is a life-changer. Much like the gym, it takes constancy to see the difference. It’s great to have the resource of audio-meditations at your finger-tips, but do try to intersperse it with your own contemplative prayer without any guidance. Your greatest guide is the Holy Spirit and He works marvels, especially in silence.

Resources

Beloved offers in person meditations in Dublin, Galway, Cork and Belfast. To find out more, visit our events page.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Chapter on Prayer.
The Catechism may feel a bit heavy to read, but the Chapter on Prayer is excellent and for anyone wanting to learn to pray better, it is definitely worth the read.

Little by Little by Called to More, Fr Colomba Jordan
How to Meditate (As a Catholic)

Pope Francis in his catechesis on prayer speaks about what it means "to meditate" in our prayer. Link