I can see what you mean. For me, the value of guided meditations is in reminding you when you're lost in thought. They can help to refocus your attention when you otherwise wouldn't have. As for getting 'better', I'll agree that it's not a race, but naturally, when you practice something repeatedly and consistently, you increase your skill in that area. Mindfulness is a skill that is exercised trough meditation.
Glad you dug it, thenewgreen, and thanks for the post, vile. In my experience, guided meditations (whether app or audio file or live) can really go one way or another. Some create that extra layer ooli is talking about, making it even harder to escape the thought-snarl, and some surgically detach you from it. Not sure, but probably that style which functions best for one depends upon one. Sam Harris's deployment is some of the most effective I've experienced, personally. It makes good sense to me, though, that guided meditation COULD work wonders for the one meditating, whether beginner or experienced. As near as I can science my way through this, when it works, it works by engaging the language centers of the brain. These same language centers might otherwise be spooling out an endless torrent of thought, drama, narrative, analysis, and all the rest of that which obscures the bliss of being in the present moment. The guided meditation, if executed deftly, occupies these centers without arousing criticism or accelerating the thought stream. In this sense, in my opinion, it performs the same primary function of the mantra, which drives other words off the tongue/mind by occupying that space, and thereby prevents more complex thought-forms from building in the mindspace. It's much the same principle by which drishti organizes vision and focus in yoga. Anyhow, that's how it all shakes out for me. I frequently meditate in silence, but as silence is so hard to come by, and also for their many wonderful properties, I frequently meditate to the accompaniment of the singing bowls -- and if the mantra/guide feels absent, toning works well too. Here's a few tracks I have really benefited from: This guy does some great composite crystal singing bowl tracks: Emile de Leon gives you 70 minutes, all 7 chakras! Don't really know if others share these leaps I've offered, but I owe my extrapolations to a great segment on Radiolab concerning language and bliss, and numerous conversations with my behaviorist colleague. Happy transcending.
The main problem I have with guided meditation is that it seems like a "crutch" for your mind. Of course it depends why you want to meditate. If you want to de-stress a little or to relieve yourself from the bombardment your senses get from everyday life, then they are probably a good resource for you, and these days I'm sure you can find one or several that are suitable for you. I started meditating because of an internal desire. It grew over a period of about 3 years and got so strong I was compelled to do something about it. I researched and practised with plenty of techniques and groups that teach meditation. There weren't any guided meditations at that time though, but I'm kind of glad for that because I had to struggle with lots of different ideas from a wide variety of sources. I eventually realised the reason I wanted to meditate is to understand my own mind in all its infinite glory. For my needs those guides don't help at all. I also think if your reason to meditate is similar they will probably hold you back. I really like your explanation of how they work, although it's different from my point of view. I'm also aware that I've learned a different model of how the mind and meditation work so our perspectives are different. That's good though, there is no single answer here I think, which is why you see so many different ideas, opinions and experiences.
This _is_ really good and instructive, so much so that I have to ask follow up questions. There are surely many different types of meditation, and I think that not just the means, but also the goals, can be widely divergent. From some things you've said, it sounds like this is the case with our respective experiences/intentions, and so I'm curious. In particular, you mention that your goal that became clear was the understanding of your mind. The purpose of my chosen style of meditation is not any kind of learning, or gaining knowledge, (although discoveries do invariably occur) or in the doing of anything, in fact. Rather, it is an active pursuit of non-doing, to borrow from the Taoists (I think). The non-doing is not the end in itself, but rather, is the vehicle to transcending the sphere of the self, to tapping into the state where my self is indistinguishable from the what-else-that-there-is. And this all sounds rather abstract, of course, since I'm trying to say it, but the experience is really that of bliss, of deep connection, and resolution. So, yes, it does facilitate relaxation and de-stressing, but that is really just an inevitable consequence of tapping into sources/underlying realities, as I have experienced it. But what I want to ask you is this: what kind of knowledge of the self can be harvested in your style of meditation? And what, if you are willing to discuss, are its methods? Regarding the crutch, I think that's apt. However, I would also like to point out how incredibly useful crutches can be for those with atrophied muscles/lack of skillsets. Training wheels might be another apt metaphor. They get you going fast enough so that two wheels is all you'll ever need thereafter. The important thing is remembering to take them off when they start to become a hindrance, rather than an aid.
I didn't mean to imply there's anything wrong with guided meditation. Like you say, they can be extremely helpful, just don't rely on them and throw the baby out with the bath water. You mentioned yoga and so my meditation is a yogic style which uses a mantra, (with some other techniques too). I did promise not to share the method or techniques though, sorry. Not because they are sacred or secretive, but to avoid distorting them by my own misunderstanding or lack of "book" knowledge. What I can share though is that what I've learned is based on some important ideas. The key idea I think is that we are aware of our own existence - we can use our mind to observe itself. If you follow that idea down the philosophical rabbit hole you end up with what the yogis call self-awareness. You put it very well - "the state where my self is indistinguishable from the what-else-that-there-is". The question then is, who or what is that self, really? For me the reason for meditation is trying to answer that question. Part of the process are 3 preparatory steps - to withdraw your mind from the physical environment, then from the body and finally from itself. Then you begin your meditation in earnest. That's why I think guided meditation is incompatible, because it is rooted firmly in that first step. I was careful to phrase my goal as "understanding my own mind" somewhat sneakily because I don't want to put anyone off with terminology or the inevitable philosophical debate about what the mind or the self is. I do like those musings though, but they can be esoteric and abstract and no-one needs that as their introduction to meditation. Since you've obviously thought deeply about those topics, I'll be frank. The desire that grew within me is not for mundane knowledge, but self-awareness or self-enlightenment. I think our aims are probably more similar than they might appear, just framed with different terminology and a different perspective. "the vehicle to transcending the sphere of the self." - whatever that hell that actually means :)