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Guided Meditations - Bodhipaksa

The narrator has a soft, calming voice that gently takes you through each meditation, stage-by-stage, and makes the whole process fairly simple. It begins with the classic meditation on the breath (27mins),  Mindfulness of Breathing. Also includes a meditation to nurture Loving Kindness (compassion for yourself and all others) and a Walking Meditation. This is Amazon's best-selling meditation CD - not surprising considering the superb customer reviews it gets. The meditations are Buddhist in origin but no spiritual beliefs are involved and, as Buddhists have been meditating for nearly 3,000 years, they know a thing or two about how to meditate. Guided Meditations for Stress Reduction is also worth a look.

mp3 download $11.95 from Wildmind Buddhist Meditation. CDs: US$14.95 from Wildmind + shipping: US - $2.50; Can approx $3, UK approx $5. Or from Amazon.com; Amazon.ca; Amazon.co.uk.

Breathing Peace - Richard Farmer

A simple yet effective method, ideal for beginners. The session begins by setting up a comfortable, balanced posture and relaxing the whole body. Then, with the out breath, the emphasis is on releasing and letting go. This sets up a state of receptivity for the in breath, so that with it you experience each new moment as it comes.  The Peace of Stillness. 24 minutes. Track 2 is a meditation for the heart, 22 minutes.

mp3 download £5. CD £10 (plus £1.50 p&p) from Living Dharma Tapes. . E-mail, t +44 (0)1989 740 590.

Learn to Meditate Kit - Patricia Carrington

A comprehensive course teaching 'Clinically Standardized Meditation', which was developed purely as a relaxation technique. An instruction manual and four audio tapes guide you step by step; the emphasis is on making meditation as easy as possible ( sample) with advice on adapting the technique to suit each individual; much of the course is devoted to overcoming problems that might occur. I am not a natural meditator and had made several previous attempts to learn, but using this course I was finally able to establish a regular and satisfying practice. Not cheap, but well worth it if you have problems learning meditation.

Only used copies area available, but cheaply, e.g. from Amazon.co.uk . CD set US$55, tapes set $50 + shipping from EFTupdate, or used from Amazon.com, Amazon.ca.

Vipassana Meditations - Ram Dass

If you have done some meditation before you might enjoy these practices of extended focus on the breath  Vipassana. The recording also includes a short mantra meditation and a Q&A session.

mp3 download £5. CDs £10 (plus £1.50 p&p) from Living Dharma Tapes. Add £2 for tapes (plus £1.75 p&p). E-mail, t +44 (0)1989 740 590.

Beginning Meditation Class - Jim Malloy.

Each of these four simple meditations uses a different element as the focus for your attention. The first uses the breath; you are gently guided into the meditation (sample), then continue for about ten minutes with music playing and the occasional gentle reminder to bring your attention back to the breath if it has drifted off - then the exercise is brought to a close. All the meditations have a similar format; one uses a mantra as the focus, another uses the light on the inside of your closed eyelids, while a fourth, Spiritual Sun, focuses on the more spiritual aspects of meditation. Includes a booklet with tips and information to get you started; e-mail support is also available. 56 minutes in total, on CD.

mp3 download, inc. pdf booklet $15. $19 inc. shipping to anywhere in the world from World Wide Online Meditation Center. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Guided Meditations - Diana Lampen

These ten short stilling practices use classic meditation techniques such as using a mantra and meditation on a candle flame; some of the relaxations also use imagery (imagine you're a bird riding a thermal...). A good way to try out different techniques and ideal if you just want a short relaxation, sample.

CD £8.50 (tape £6.50) - both inc. p&p worldwide from The Hope Project (look for 'Yoga tape list').