The imagination is one of the most powerful and dependable ways to calm.

If you imagine you're calm, you'll soon be calm - it's as easy as that.

Not surprisingly, the imagination is used by most traditional meditation practices. Tai Chi calls on the imagination to describe its many movements - for example, "grasp the swallow's egg". In Hindu meditation, the chakras represent different parts of the body - the crown chakra, for example, represents our connection to our father, authority and God.

Another popular way of using the imagination to produce meditative effects is through guided imagery - following either a spoken commentary or a simple hypnotic script.