Is Guided Meditation VR REALLY That Good? Quest 2 App of the Year Review

#ExploreWithQuest
Guided Meditation VR is the 2021 App of the Year on the Oculus Quest 2 - and in this video I take you through all of it peaks and valleys to give you a glimpse and let you judge for yourself if it's worth checking out. As you know, I love focusing on mental health and there are SO MANY amazing Meditation apps out there in the virtual world - I love checking them all out so YOU can make the decision!

[cubicleninjas]

Thank you so much for the kind words and passionate feedback! ❤️

Regarding the meditations, we asked meditation teachers to interpret their approach to VR to best align with their practice. While we know how to make apps, we didn't feel comfortable telling the experts how to do their work. Sometimes they recommend closed eye sections. Sometimes they ask ask a user to lie down. Other times they ask for movement. It sounds a bit odd at first, but we think this allows the beauty of their vision to shine through.

Additionally, our aim is to showcase that meditation comes in many forms. There is no one right way, just different approaches. So we really embraced the personalities and styles of our teachers, while avoiding too many rules. It would have been easy to shine these up, but in our opinion, this character is what makes exploring the different teachers and meditation types compelling.

The awkward sample you shared is one of the world's most famous meditators! We love her personal, undited style - but it definitely isn't for everyone.

We're currently re-recording two sessions based on community feedback. These are the Sleep and Anxiety. But we're always open to more feedback at

Next month, we have a massive update hitting with a new environment and some exciting features!

It's been jaw dropping to watch VR meditation go from idea to a healthy ecosystem of apps. However people look within, we're happy they're taking the time to prioritize it, and we're hopeful it brings bright days into their life! 🥳

[mattspadesoundandvision]

Awesome review! Good to see videos from a year ago like this one are still holding up and helping. Cheers!

[Darkbirdy]

I have been meditating off and on since I was 8 (that was 40 years ago, FWIW.) I've tried so many different methods, from scanning to visual guided to moving to just 'empty mind'. Different meditations work better for different things. I've found that 'relaxation' based meditation (where you're enjoying a nice scene) works great for becoming more aware of the current moment - mindfulness of your environment. It also physically relaxes you and is a great way to break out of a thought loop (where an idea or incident gets stuck in your head.)

My favorite type is still eyes closed or something with a really simple focus. And the truth is, VR would be perfect for that. You're already wearing a blindfold, and it is a blindfold and earplugs that give you (at least gives a developer) the power to choose what gets through, from nothing to everything. It fully takes control of your two most easily distracted senses. And what I'm talking about would be incredibly easy to create, because the point would be fewer graphics.

First, give the option on white (or brown, or 'nature' noise) or the actual guided meditation. I'd actually love to see this on PCVR so that I could combine the visuals with something like Headspace.

Consider these options:

#1. Everything black. A white sphere. That's it - just a white sphere, about the size of a golf ball, floating motionless in front of you. Perhaps even let the user customize the color of the sphere.
#2. As above, but it pulses at a set rate - say, 60 BPM.)
#3. As #1, but a simple candle flame. Just the flame.
#4+. Lots of variations of this are possible. The idea is to have something simple to focus on.
#5. This would work best with guided meditations, but imagine simple, relaxing scenes. Now, as the meditation progresses, elements fade out, one by one, until there is nothing left but the blackness (this would be the VR equivalent of a scanning meditation technique I learned years ago.

[GwenHembrock]

Thanks. I just decded to look at Guided Meditation VR and I did a search and your video popped up! I knew you'd say it straight. I'm not an experienced meditator. I bought Tripp and Nature Treks and like them both well enough. I'm not impressed with voices in your video and their unpolished delivery, but I like the wide variety of environments. Now I'm going to go look at your comparison video that you mentioned.

[Takamine]

Love it. Great info. Thanks so much!

[craigallday]

I couldn’t get into this but I love Tripp

[ETHANWHATSUP]

At the end of the video his regular voice is much more pleasant. He starts off with an annoying kirk/Heston impersonation but it fades out.

[Tarapeutic]

good sell, I would like to try this one! edit: oh, I kept watching. Never mind LOL
Sounds like it's completely unpolished.

[NameRequiredSoHere]

I agree with you about the voices. The British woman on the anxiety meditation-- the best you can say is that she is mouthing the words. She seems totally bored. Beautiful graphics, but the "phoned in" meditation totally on this and other meditations, totally wrecks the experience for me. What were they thinking?

Another issue that is common to a lot of the VR apps, is the "Windows 8" approach to using the interface: It's so intuitive, who needs instructions, right? Wrong!

I was thinking of using the visuals while listening to meditation from another source (Sam Harris, maybe?), but I think I'm going to try to get a refund.

[leonkonigstein]

if someone is wondering how an ayahuasca experience is looking like this game here is the closest thing I´ve seen so far

[ZageZealot]

Hey bud do you have video on VR choices for 2021 ? I only have a PS VR but I wanted one for PC, I was wondering which one should I go for, thanks!