Epic Meditations (Lisa Wagner)

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I sat down with Lisa Wagner to talk with her about her CD of guided meditations, Epic Meditations. I hope you enjoy reading the conversation as much as I enjoyed speaking with her. To hear more, make sure you click on the images above for samples of her work on iTunes.



1) What is Epic Meditations all about?
It’s a CD of 11 guided meditations, each with a very specific purpose. In general, guided meditations use imagery and verbal cues to guide the listener through the experience, usually with the intent of relaxation, renewal or spiritual growth. The meditations on my CD guide the listener to a very specific experience, like releasing resentment, facing the truth about oneself, feeling empowered by choice, etc.


2) Why did you decide to create this project?
The inspiration for this CD was a perfect experience of synchronicity. I had several different thoughts and dialogues going with people, and then one day it all came together and I was just lit up with the idea. I was feeling open to starting something new, and wanted it to be something I would feel passionate and excited about. I wanted to try to find a way to share some of my thought processes, and some of the information/advice that seems to come up often when talking with other people. All my life, people have responded very positively to the sound of my voice, and one day it just hit me - guided meditations.


3) What is your hope or goal that people using these meditations will gain for their lives?
My intention for these meditations is that they help every listener improve the quality of his or her life. It can seem tempting and reasonable to connect the circumstances of our lives to the quality of our lives, but I believe it is more about our intentions, thoughts and perceptions, shaping the quality of our lives. Two people can encounter exactly the same circumstances, and yet have very different experiences. I’m hoping that by helping people connect to their inner voice, their personal truth, their ability to perceive they have a choice, etc., they will deepen their understanding about how their thoughts shape their reality and the quality of their lives.


4) If there is someone that doesn’t normally do this type of thing, is it really for them or is it just for people who already meditate?
No experience is required. Every listener is guided through the whole process. I start off guiding you through a few deep breaths, and then towards the stated intention of the meditation. Some of these meditations are only a couple of minutes, and some are several minutes. The longest ones are 12 minutes.


5) Do people need to use these meditations every day or is this an occasional thing that they can do in their life?
Some of them could be helpful on a regular basis. I have a short meditation titled “Quieting Your Mind.” It’s only a couple of minutes and I guide the listener to quickly and easily quiet the mind. There are lots of times when this would be helpful. My hope would be that eventually people can achieve the same result not only on their own and without the meditation, but within just a moment. Practicing how to get there with my meditation, teaches people how to get there in a few minutes on their own. My hope is that they eventually get there with a breath - in seconds. Each meditation can be used as needed, whether it is once, occasionally or on a regular basis.


6) What has meditations such as this or the other forms you mention on your website done for your own life?
Okay, that is question I really could spend hours answering, and I feel like this CD is just the tip of an iceberg. I guess the simplest answer is this - meditation brings more clarity. There are lots of ways to meditate. In addition to all the more structured techniques that are taught and discussed, even just day dreaming, watching it rain, staring at a flower can be a meditative experience. Allowing the mind to quiet, and then being willing to know what comes into the space, whether it is a feeling or a thought, can provide great clarity. I feel that a big part of why I make most decisions easily is connected to my ability to very quickly quiet my mind and allow my intuition to clearly be known. Being able to connect to a sense of what is important to me, what is best for me, to understand my intention, to know the truth of the moment … these contribute to my life consistently coming together in a joyful and fulfilling way. What I want to do through this first set of meditations, and the others to follow, is to help people enhance that inner connection by helping them to consciously experience it and acknowledge it.


7) Does the meditation put me in a hypnotic trance where someone really won’t be aware of what’s going on?
Not at all. While people may feel relaxed by the sound of my voice, and guided to let their minds wander in the directions I suggest, this is not hypnotherapy. It’s not trance-inducing in anyway. This is about focusing the mind on a particular area of life, an issue/concern, or just quieting the mind. Listeners will know they are in control the whole time.


8) Where can people purchase this? Can they download it or buy the cd?
It is available for download on iTunes. Search either by Lisa Wagner or Epic Meditations. There are also direct links on my website: www.epicmeditations.com, and I will update my site once the physical CD is available for purchase. I had intended that all 11 tracks be available as single downloads for 99 cents. Most of them are, but 3 of them are “album only.” I didn’t know until just recently (after it was released and on iTunes) that any track over 10 minutes is made album only on iTunes. I have 1 track that is just over 10 minutes, and two that are just over 12 minutes, so they are album only. The other 8 meditations are 99 cent downloads.


Closing comment
Thanks so much for your interest in my work, Don, and giving me this opportunity to share it.

Health Of Our Nervous System

Have you ever considered just how important the health of your nervous system is to you? It regulates so much in our present lives and it sets up conditions and events for the future of our body systems.

Most likely we have all heard about how outside events and influences can become energy trapped in our bodies. If this energy is not discharged from the body, it will continue to hold residence within the cells, nervous system and our brain. While it may not show any visible signs immediately, some event or trigger will eventually trigger the energy and stir it up like a tornado or hurricane stirs up the ground it passes over.

There are two parts to the Autonomic Nervous System. One is the sympathetic branch which takes over when you are going through stress, illness or injury. The parasympathetic branch is in control when you are relaxing, sleeping or in a state of stillness. It is often called the rest and repair state.

Both of these parts of our nervous system are important to our health. One without the other is an imbalance. However, if we stay “activated” in the stress side of our nervous system more than in the rest and repair state, our bodies are being continually broken down. We need the rest and repair to keep our bodies in a state of optimal health.

Consider this example: You are walking through the woods and a tiger begins to follow you. Your body will pick up a state of fear thereby bringing about an increased breathing rate, heart rate, and muscle tension while your digestion, immune system and other non critical systems slow down. As the danger builds, the more your body prepares to either fight or flee. It is completely biological. Then when the danger has subsided, your body begins to slow back down and your breathing may come back to normal, your heart rate will slow down and muscle tension will change from the fight or flight mode to a more relaxed state. This is how the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems work together.

The only thing is, if the energy of the “event” such as being followed by a tiger in the woods is still located within your cells and your brain, then it begins to take up residence. This one event may not be enough to even cause a long term reaction within you but if the event had a stronger emotional connection with you, then the effects of it would begin to build. As these events build up within your body, the energy is stored until you find a way to discharge it. And that stored energy is “potential energy”, which holds the opportunity to bring about true rest and repair in your body or hold you hostage into the future.

There is a National Geographic video of a polar bear that is shot by a tranquilizer gun so the researches could give it some aid that it needed. When the tranquilizer began to wear off, you saw the bear begin shaking violently. After the shaking stopped, you could witness the polar bear taking a deep breath and then another as his body sank down into a more restful state. The bear was discharging that energy which he had stored up from being chased and tranquilized. It was a healthy thing for the bear to do, and it was automatic because animals just know how to do this. It is normal for them.

So realize that while there are times for us to be in an alert mode and endure stress, that we need to find a calmness in our life and allow ourselves to have that time of meditation, rest and repair. Sometimes it involves removing the tigers of our past, our present and our future from our lives but when we do this, we give so much to ourselves.