Meditation and Guided Visualization
What is the Difference
I have been offering meditation classes for some time and I am often asked about the difference between meditation and guided visualization. Although both require a relaxed mental and physical state, their goals are quite different. In this writing I will explain the similarities and differences between the two.
Guided visualization is the mental creation of a specific scenario that is unfolded in a deeply relaxed state. The goal of guided visualization is to help us to assemble the necessary elements for making our mental creation true in our physical world. The human mind is wonderful at creating in the physical world what we see and experience during guided visualization. An important part of guided visualization is the feelings generated by witnessing the desired outcome as we mentally unfold it. During the process we are relaxed and then guided to an opportunity to interact with our chosen visualization. We can see and feel what our vision will be like as if it were already true, in a sense we trick our mind into feeling what our vision will be like before it happens. Our mind, having this believable vision reinforced begins to take the necessary steps to look for the elements needed and to begin to assemble them towards making our visualization come true. With guided visualization we have a very active mind, while we work consciously and subconsciously to create what we have visualized.
Meditation, although enjoyed in a similarly relaxed state, takes a quite different path. I often liken mediation to taking a different fork in the road of relaxation. As in guided visualization we have calmed ourselves mentally and physically, but with meditation instead of focusing our minds on a specific scenario we purposefully empty our minds of all thoughts, meditation being an absence of thought. This relaxed but clear-minded state may seem foreign to us in our fast-paced culture but it is the essence of the inner peace that we seek with meditation. Like anything new to us, as we continue to practice clearing our mind we become more and more proficient at it and with practice it becomes easier to achieve this thought-free state. Ultimately, we find calmness and peace in our lives even if it begins slowly and only in small amounts. Before, during, and after this calm state of mind we are unencumbered by thoughts, dreams, or complex mental processing, we have the opportunity to rest completely. Unlike the various stages of sleep where we are processing our experiences through dreams, with meditation we rest much more completely both mentally and physically. From the relaxed state of meditation we will awaken truly rested and recuperated. A common misnomer is that meditation is a trance state. My experience is that while enjoying meditation I am very present. Unlike a trance, I am able to hear and sense my surroundings quite clearly.
Although both guided visualization and meditation begin with a relaxed state, meditation can be a much more complete form of rest, liberated from thoughts, worry, or work. Meditation is a quiet restful state whereas guided visualization is a mentally active state. Both can be used to help us reach our objectives. Guided visualization helps us to see, feel, and plan our goals while meditation is complete rest that helps us relax and ready ourselves to create those goals.
