Guided or Silent meditations?

[SpiritTony]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been meditating for 6 weeks now sometimes once, twice or maybe three times a day if I can fit it in. All varying from 20/45 minutes a time. I started off meditating on my own then I tried experimenting with the guided meditations. I feel sometimes as if with guided meditations/relaxed music I feel more present but at the same time I do enjoy the stillness of a silent meditation.



To my understanding I think it comes down to personal preference with whatever you feel comfortable with but I cant help but think when I have my guided meditations it might stop me crossing over into my super higher consciousness because there is always something there which brings me back to my body/senses if that makes sense.

What’re your guys takes on this?

Thanks

[FallingLeaves]

Originally Posted by SpiritTony

What’re your guys takes on this?

I don't think there is one 'right' way to meditate.

i meditate different ways at different times.

[inavalan]

Originally Posted by SpiritTony

Hi everyone,
...
What’re your guys takes on this?

Thanks

Reading about the amount of time you put into this at your young age, I wonder ... Why are you meditating? What do you want to achieve this way? Who advised you to spend 40-135 minutes a day meditating?

[SpiritTony]

Originally Posted by inavalan

Reading about the amount of time you put into this at your young age, I wonder ... Why are you meditating? What do you want to achieve this way? Who advised you to spend 40-135 minutes a day meditating?

Why not meditate? I don't see anything wrong with wanting to become more present with myself and to find a better understanding of myself. There are other things to come out of it but I’m taking it one step at a time. Also, I didn't realise there was an age restriction on meditation? Regardless of your age, if you feel comfortable in a space with yourself and you feel it benefits you does it really matter? No one advised me to do this amount of meditating, I do what I can when I can because I enjoy the time by myself…

[SpiritTony]

Originally Posted by FallingLeaves

I don't think there is one 'right' way to meditate.

i meditate different ways at different times.

I appreciate this, I suppose everyone has different end goals and reasons whenever and however they decide to meditate. Thank you for your reply.

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by SpiritTony

...I do what I can when I can because I enjoy the time by myself…

I love that. You may have never thought about meditation this way,
but a I do... its like taking time to slip under the covers any time of the day to be with your 'significant other'.
It's like taking the time to set up your blanket and lay on the beach soaking in the warmth and sounds...pure enjoyment.
Been doing this for many many decades. (I do rem at first I didnt think this way...
that monkey mind was nuts! I laugh now about it.)

[SpiritTony]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

...You may have never thought about meditation this way,
but a I do... its like taking time to slip under the covers any time of the day to be with your 'significant other'.
It's like taking the time to set up your blanket and lay on the beach soaking in the sun...pure enjoyment.

Yeah I do too remind myself of this concept sometimes! I follow someone called Dr Joe Dispenza I love all his work and he mentions looking at it as a ‘date with the divine’ and that when you truly are devoted to whatever it is you may want you will bring your all to the ‘date’ and show up as a noble being! I suppose this is kinda along the lines of what you have just mentioned

[Still_Waters]

QUOTE 1 EXCERPT:

Originally Posted by SpiritTony

I started off meditating on my own then I tried experimenting with the guided meditations. I feel sometimes as if with guided meditations/relaxed music I feel more present but at the same time I do enjoy the stillness of a silent meditation.
To my understanding I think it comes down to personal preference with whatever you feel comfortable

As you pointed out, "it comes down to personal preference".

In my formative years, I loved the guided meditations, group meditations, and/or meditations with relaxed music or nature sounds.

Now, I personally prefer the "stillness of a silent meditation".

You're on the right track as "it comes down to personal preference" and that can easily change from time to time.

(For your information, I wrote the introduction to the meditation book of one of the revered sages of India and there are many different meditation techniques to practice ... until one no longer needs them. One should choose the meditation technique with which one is most comfortable, as you duly indicated. That can change in time.)

[iamthat]

To add to the previous responses, everyone is different and what works best for some people may not suit others.

There is nothing wrong with guided meditations or meditation on relaxing music, especially if you just want a calming and relaxing experience, but my personal feeling is that these methods have their limitations. They may be easier in terms of having something pleasant to keep the mind occupied, but to a certain degree our attention is focused outwards and not inwards.

If you want to embrace a more yogic practice then some kind of silent inwards meditation may be more effective. In the eight steps of Raja Yoga as advocated by Patanjali the fifth step is pratyahara or the withdrawal of the senses, leading to concentration, meditation and union.

Peace

I've never used guided meditation nor meditated to music, however on occasion I do practice mindfulness of sound using Tibetan Singing Bowls. Here's a playlist I created with some good tracks of pure Tibetan Singing Bowls without any enhancement like HemiSync. Sound replaces breath and aside from that it's the same technique with just a different object of attending.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...zUW-wKgrAMfKE-