Using meditation CDs

[relaxmind]

As you no doubt are aware, there is a wide assortment of different "relaxation" recordings available, and many people use these for meditation purposes. But there's so many of these things, it is hard to sift through all the material to find the most suitable recordings.

From the older material--going back to the vinyl LP days--I like a lot of the recordings on the "Environments" label. They released recordings of different types of rain, birdsongs, wind and snowstorms, all kinds of stuff, and generally speaking, it was all good. They had such an assortment that the listener could pick and choose favorites from the many subtle variations. For example, a favorite of mine was "Gentle Rain in a Pine Forest," which was very soft, with strange birds calling occasionally in the distance.

I have a CD by Indigo Dreams which has different tracks, and each features soft, pleasant music, mixed with insect/animal/rainforest sounds. It is nice to have on in the background when relaxing or meditating.

Do any of you have particular favorite recordings for meditating?