Hi Karmit,

thank you for your questions.

#1 I personally have never been a fan of guided meditations (they didn’t work for me), but that does not mean they can’t be helpful. If they help you calm your mind, then they work for you. In the beginning you have to ‘help’ your mind to relax and there are several ways to do this: guided meditations, binaural beats, mantra’s, … Whatever works for you. But it is kind of like riding a bike with training wheels. At some point you have to make the switch to ‘regular meditation’, because this will take you to the next level and give you much more benefits.

Another great tip that I forgot to mention in the previous posts, is to make meditation a ritual. What I mean by this is that you always meditate in the same room. Make sure it is clutter free, you can even decorate it. Put on some relaxing music, burn some incense and make sure you sit comfortably. By doing this every time you meditate, you are conditioning your mind. After about a week you’ll notice that the moment you smell the incense or hear the music, your brain is triggered and already goes into a state of relaxation. It knows what is going to happen. Also, make sure that nobody will disturb you and turn off your phone. This time is just for you, to spend some time with the person you (should) love the most, yourself! 🙂

So, yes it is ok to listen to music. But after a while you should be able to meditate everywhere without ‘attributes’. If you go on a vacation, don’t think: I can’t meditate because I’m not in my special room and I don’t have my music and my incense. Meditation is all about what goes on inside out of you, not the things outside of you. So, while it is nice to have a room and a ritual that help you relax, don’t focus to much on that. Don’t make them requirements for your meditation. Learn to meditate everywhere. And when you have been meditating for a while and are getting better at it, try meditating on the train or some other place where it is noisy and where there are a lot of people. If you can shut out the noise and everything that goes on around you in a situation like that, you’ll really know how to relax.

#2 Good question. I have not had much experience with walking meditations, so I may not be the right person to answer this question. But I’ll give you my opinion anyway 🙂 I believe you can be mindful in any situation, no matter what it is that you are doing. But in some situations it will require a lot more practice than in others. Actually, in ‘most’ situations it will take ‘a lot’ of practice. When you are doing a very slow walking meditation on an empty beach, it is very easy to be mindful. To stay mindful during an entire average day with the kids, the family, your job and all the other things that come on your path on a daily basis, will require a lot of practice. But it can be done.
So, can you be mindful while walking at a normal pace? I believe you can. I know of a walking meditation that is designed specifically for everyday use (meaning: while walking at a normal pace). Instead of focusing on every sensation that goes on in and around your feet, you focus on the alternation between the left and the right foot. All you have to do is be aware of the left-right-left-right motion. Give it a try and see how it goes.
I hope this answers your question.

And yes, it’s a Wayne Dyer quote. Thanks for clearing that up! 🙂

Guy