Guided or Silent Meditation?
The number one question most new meditators have
One of the most common questions raised amongst new meditators is “should I do guided meditation or should I do silent meditation?”
The answer?
Yes.
This is very much one of those questions where if you asked 50 different meditators they would each have a different answer that they would likely swear by.
“You should do it this way.” “You should do it that way.”
Straight up? It comes down to preference, experience & what you are looking to get out of the practice.
Guided meditation is a GREAT way for someone with very little practice in anything “mindfulness”/“meditative” to get started.
Personally, I only very briefly dabbled into guided meditation and that was very early into establishing a practice. Currently, I do not use it myself nor have I for a long time.
That doesn’t mean that this is the way that YOU have to do it though.
In hindsight, it likely would have been easier to grow a CONSISTENT (KEY) practice if more guided meditation was utilized early on.
A massive roadblock to meditation that many would be practitioners face is the fear/hesitancy associated with sitting by yourself in silence.
Guided meditation removes this roadblock. You got a soothing (usually, sometimes they are creepy ngl) voice & usually gentle music/nature sounds to GUIDE you through a meditation.
You are not “by yourself”
A lot of people like guided meditation because of the large number of variety there is in terms of types out there. On the internet you can find ENDLESS amounts of guided meditations. They range in topic, focus & purpose so it isn’t very hard to find one for you.
Looking for a meditation to help resolve trauma? Youtube
Meditation to spur focus? Youtube
Meditation for creative energy? Youtube
It takes out part of the “work” behind meditation. This is especially useful for a beginner who does not yet know how to swim in the murky waters of their own mind ocean yet.
Fighters Final Thoughts?
At the end of the day, it does not hurt to try them both. For many, I would say starting with guided is great.
As stated earlier, I do not personally use guided meditation.
Why don’t I?
You are not going to always have a guide in life. Someone to walk you through the challenges you face.
So you need to be prepared to face hardships alone. To walk on your own two feet without a crutch.
Silent meditation builds your level of comfort with yourself because you have no other option than to do so.
You come to realize you are not alone.
You are with you.
Stay blessed Brothers & Sisters,
Fighter (link to twitter)
P.S. Want to learn introductory breathing/mindfulness (basis of a meditation practice)? I can help with that: Daily Practice - Consult Call