This is my second post in a series about meditation and tools that can help you (here is the first). Several months ago, I told a friend about how I was meditating almost daily and how much I loved it, but that I needed something more, like an app that let you choose what kind of meditation you need. For example, if you’re PMS-ing and you need a coping app, or you need to steel yourself for a difficult meeting happening today, or you want to be more mindful with your children. “There should be an app for that,” I said.

Well. There is one, and it came out of the universe for me to try.

OMG. I Can Meditate! is a guided meditation program available by subscription. There is a beginner level, in which meditation expert Lynn Goldberg coaches you through learning how to meditate.

I started using this app to meditate in the morning about a month ago. I have confidence in the fact that there is a distinct guided meditation for every day beginning with day one week one. I can’t be consistent and do it every single day, so I’m still only on week three, day 6. However, I have used the app enough times that Lynn’s voice has become familiar and comforting. In each segment her soothing voice guides you through relaxation techniques and using your “attention muscle” to focus on quieting your mind.

I began this project with the intention of keeping a daily meditation journal. I got as far as day one and then lost my focus. I decided to be kind to myself and just use the app as it fit into my life. That proved to be successful not only with reviewing the app but also with keeping up with the daily meditations themselves. If I miss a day, I don’t kick myself, I just pick it up again the next day. Now every morning when I wake up and come downstairs, pour myself a cup of coffee, get settled on the couch looking out over my beautiful backyard, and start my meditation before everybody wakes up. It’s quiet time just for me and I love it. I suppose I could do this without an app, using some music a candle etc., but having the guided meditation at my disposal makes me do it. It’s easy, it takes the thinking out of the whole process, and makes it more likely that I will simply just do it.

The app has a very long list of features, and weeks and weeks of recorded guided meditations. There are special meditations for kids, for stress, for helping you fall asleep, and more. So far I’ve only used the daily meditations.

Because it is a new product, it is susceptible to design flaws. I found the app clumsy to get started with, and every now and then the next meditation in the plan will take a very long time to download. And at six in the morning when I’m ready to do my meditation, and it’s not downloaded, my attention will wander and I will check email or Facebook. The opposite of meditation. The app also holds some intrinsic wisdom about you and your readiness for certain meditations. For example I wanted to try one of the relationship meditations, but it told me I wasn’t far along enough in the process to use that one. However, the developers seem to be working overtime – tech support was quick to address my concerns, and since I started using it the app has been updated at least once.

You can try the app for free, but if you want to continue after the first meditation the cost is $9.95 a month, or $5.00 a month if you pay for a whole year in advance. While there are plenty of free meditation apps out there, for that price you get some good value in Lynn’s recordings. I would recommend this for somebody who needs help learning how to meditate. I still don’t even know how to meditate. And I’ve been trying for a very long time.

OMG. I Can Meditate!

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