How do you meditate without a guide, just music? What’s the goal? I feel it gets me more anxious because I know I’m doing it wrong :(

Start with a gentle mind. Remember there is no right or wrong when doing this. You’re simply noting your thoughts and letting them pass like clouds through the sky. The more you observe the less anxious and busy your mind becomes.

I simply focus on breathing. This sounds easy but in fact it is not. You will have multiple thoughts and you will create theories about your meditation and mind which you will abandon after a while. There is no wrong way to meditate this way. In Zen they praise beginner's mind because it does not know what to expect so there is not much of bias.

Theres no right or wrong way honestly. In your mind is where you can be yourself, you can focus and ground. I personally use a guided 8-9 minute meditation, and stay quiet and let my mind wander after the guided meditation has ended. Sometimes its 2 minutes. Sometimes its 20. There will be days where you need more time than others. Dont be discouraged or feel you arent doing it right. As long as you re enter your mind and feel a little bit more whole after you're done, you've done the thing. If it helps, focus on your breath by saying 1 as you breathe in, and 2 as you breathe out in your mind. Or "in & out". Whatever works.

Why are you trying to meditate with just music in the first place? I'd probably switch to meditation with a guide. Maybe I'm biased since I always do guided meditations, but not sure why you are doing a version of the exercise that makes you more anxious – apart from obviously the opportunity to challenge yourself but I already find meditation challenging enough as it is 🙂 I'd assume any non guided meditation you'd do it similarly, focusing on your breath, doing body scans. So you can try doing those. Otherwise I'd choose what works for you – which may be guided. Please note I meditate everyday but I am not knowledgeable on the practice and reasons to do one versus the other.

I think that’s something that comes with practice so if you need a guide for now that’s fine! When I’m antsy and meditation is a struggle I sometimes do some easy yoga and focus on breathing too. Sometimes the added movement makes it easier for me to focus. I figure it’s better than nothing since both yoga and meditation focus on the breath and quieting the mind

I've been meditating for years now. I started with guided meditation and eventually got to a point where I just wanted silence. I find that hearing things like birds and wind makes mediation interesting.

I don’t go unguided yet. I downloaded simple habit, and they take you through the meditation. It is really focusing on your breath at first just trying to get your mind in line with you intentions for the day.
Download an app that helps guide you through and don’t overthink its. If your trying, you’re doing it right

I think there is no wrong in this. And how do you so sure about you doing it wrong? İf you ask me just get relax and try to focus on music that's it. İf you have any thought you know this is normal just let them go without judging yourself.

I always meditate using the one giant mind app which is 98% music with guidance on the way in and out. It works brilliantly.

If you’re a beginner into meditation, a guided meditation is always the best way to start. When you feel confident enough to meditate by yourself you can move to a “solo” meditation. There’s no rush on this transition, both of them work in the same way. Choose what makes you comfortable. Just trust yourself and have a great time with your meditation.

The goal is certainly to do it without music. I love the idea to make the mind „as big as possible.“ Also there can be enough audible information in your surroundings that you can treat just like it was music 🙂

I don’t think there’s a wrong way to do it. When I’m without a guide, I tend to count my breath – in for four, hold for six, breathe out for eight, or just counting slow in/out breaths. Counting individual slow breaths is helpful to put a definitive “limit” on things without a timer. Meditating without parameters can be super anxiety-inducing for me, so taking 20 or 30 slow breaths and really focusing on the breathing (or counting through each breath if my mind is really amped up) helps.

There is no wrong when it comes to slowing down your mind. I like to use an app to help me based on what I want to focus on or what my goal is during that time.

I always do the guided meditation 🧘‍♀️ the goal for me is to calm down and relax my body and my mind. Don’t give up. You have to give it sometime to work. You have to do it more than once a day or once a week.

focus on your breathing. there is no right and wrong in meditation, it is about self awareness and being present in the moment.

There’s no wrong way to meditate! I like to count breaths, or just think “I am breathing in” and “I am breathing out” – recognizing that every time I recognize I’ve been thinking about other things, I’m training my attention to remain focused on the original goal. Be as non-judgmental as you can. I also use Waking Up, a San Harris app you can get free access to if you email him, or Simple Habit, because I do like the guided meditations.

For me meditating is to be able to listen more onto my thoughts and see where they take me. The music gives me the ability to tune out the rest of the world and focus on me. I don’t know if I am doing it right cause I believe that there is not right way it is different for everyone

For me, meditation is not about mastering anything… It's a practice, not a mastery. Sometimes I get goal oriented, but I remind myself that goal setting is not presence, and goals are just another thing I can observe during meditation. The purpose isn't to strive – it's to notice that a part of you is striving for a particular experience. Just notice that and see what happens.

The goal is the same as if you were doing a guided meditation. There is no wrong way to meditate. If you sit down for 20 mins thinking about your day, you are still taking time to sit down and reflect. Thoughts are going to occur when you meditate and the purpose to meditation is to realize that you are having those thoughts and come back to your breath. A tip for meditating in silence would be that it might be helpful to have a chant to do during your meditation. It will help to keep your mind focused and not wandering as much.

No right. No wrong. Just be. I meditate without a goal. It’s purpose is to help me understand where I am and where I am going. As an observer.

Whenever I find myself enmeshed in a thought I simply smile at it and let it go. Another will take it place soon enough. :):)

Noise canceling headphones are key for me. The more silence the more I connect inwardly.

I use the app simple habit! I also love headspace, but I feel like there is more on simple habit. If you focus more on your breathing than anything, you'll be fine! Hope this helps!

If you feel like you are meditating wrong without a guide, why not use a guide until you know what makes meditating easy for you?

There’s no “doing it wrong.” The point of guided meditation is to teach you how to be present and learn to live in the moment. But the point of meditation in general I’d say is to just give yourself some time to breathe and check in with yourself. It gives you a chance to relax, maybe gain some calm. So if taking a few minutes and listening to music calms you, then do it. But when I’m not doing a guided meditation I listen to relaxing music (usually with no words) or the sound of singing bowls.

Most of the time I do use guided meditation. However I generally do shorter during the day meditation without. Then I try to follow the sequence wich had been built during the guided meditation. Without music generally just trying to maintain a focus and counting the breath for a few minutes. I think the goal is up to you for why you meditate. Buy general it is for me about reminding myself and letting myself focus on what i should be doing. The meditation helps for me to clear away for a minute all of the spinning thoughts and get a space of mind to be conscious about my actions

Don’t put pressure on yourself! Experiment with different types until you find the one that feels right. Meditation is meant to sooth, become more more mindful and expand the opposite of stress. There is no wrong way to sit quietly.

I don't meditate without a guide. I use the ones on this Fabulous app. It allows you to be okay with your mind wandering. It's perfectly natural for your mind to wonder. The point is to notice your thoughts and to redirect. Or even be thoughtful about why those are the thoughts you're having. You don't even have to sit a certain way. I started out in the bath tub, laying back. But, now I find it uncomfortable so I use a chair. My back hates me if I sit on the floor with my legs crossed. There is no "right" way. Meditation is what you want it to be. Definitely use the guided meditation stuff on Fabulous or look up beginner meditation on YouTube.

No just sit and breathe and slowly you'll get more used to the silence. It's a habit. And it will solidify. No music needed. Just sit and breathe.

I started out just listening to sounds and focusing only on that. It really helped to focus my attention and ground me in one sense. In the end, as long as you are paying attention to your mind and watching the thoughts that are arising without getting caught up in them, you are meditating.

I use a meditation app called Calm. Another good beginner meditation app that helped me out a ton, in the beginning, is called Head Space. 🙂

I don't think that there can be a 'wrong' way to meditate. There are many meditation apps and Michael Sealey on YouTube is a veritable treasure trove.

Think of an inspiring quote, or just one word, and soak it in, one word, one thought, one feeling at a time, until you feel content and full of the goodness it contains.

I think you should always start with what’s easier for you. I can’t meditate with just music or silence cause I fall asleep or get more anxious. So I prefer to be guided and in moments where I have that little time like when I’m driving or on bed to have a rest. I think the focus is not becoming a Buda or so, but to be able to control your breathing and through that be able to control your feelings.

My goal is not to avoid thoughts but to acknowledge them and then let them go. With music I find my thoughts wandering, but I acknowledge that each time and then try to focus back on my breathing. Guided meditation is helpful but usually gives me a sense that I am just following orders instead of freeing up my mind's space.

I normally meditate without music, but with a guided voice. I’m using headspace to meditate most of the time. I think the goal is to learn to be aware of the presence in your daily life, and also to improve relationship with others. Whenever you notice that your mind is wandering around, just take a note of that and gently bring it back to the present.

I'm also a beginner to meditate. When I meditate, I take a deep breath from nose and then a slower exhale from mouth. That makes me calm down and focus on current time.

To meditate is to clear your mind from distractions. To do this I get comfortable and focus on my breathing. Counting each breath.
To start- exhale completely. Inhale to the count of 4, hold it for a count of 4, exhale to the count of 5. Then repeat.
It takes a minute to get the rhythm. Eventually it becomes easy and you realize you were in the moment, with yourself, breathing….just being. 💕

Firstly, doesn’t exist a right or wrong meditation method, if you’re focusing in the present moment. My favorite meditation method is simple breath and focus in my sensations or in one thing that’s is around (I love do it in parks when is the time of rush … you easily can see people running to eat , to go to work or going back home without noticing/ appreciating the others around them or the simples things in their path like a simple butterfly.