Here's the rub, no matter what you won't be able to completely clear your mind. On one shape, form, or fashion, there will be a thought going on. The most you can do is learn to limit them to at least one conscious thought then learn to make that thought be what you want it to be and keep your focus on that. Learn to keep that one thought consistent and unchanging. Meditation is not all about trying to clear your mind. In fact, many meditations use one or more train of thoughts to do the meditations.
As for music, I won't deny the purpose of music in meditation, but using an outside source of music to keep you from thinking of music is a bit pointless. Simple because when a person hears some thing the mind repeats it in less than a second after what was heard was heard. Close enough for the difference to be easily unnoticed, but if you start to pay attention, you will notice that you do mentally repeat what you hear. It's part of your mental wiring for how your brain processes what is heard. So with that in mind it can very well make no difference to audio mental or tag along to your mental music. Either way it is mental. But some may find the effectiveness of audio music, which is just fine. Do what works for you.
Try visualization. Pick an image or a scene in your mind and hold that image. Listen to music if it helps. Become a part of the image if you like. If thoughts come, let them. See if they fit into the image or scene you're holding on to. If they dont, let them breeze over.
Some people who have focus problems in sitting meditation try other alternative active meditations such as, yoga and tai chi. I like the use of tai chi it's great.
Google Silva Life System. There is a free introductory lesson. On their site. This is the meditation method I started with when I was 13. I highly recommend.
Meditation is like a muscle the more you do the stronger it gets, you will gte it one day just focus on your breathing then your ont be worried about your mind, you dont have to clear you mind. meditation is not about stilling the mind.
There are no dumb questions in this community. All queries from all members are valid and worth our attention. We all learn from each other.
Meditation is hard at first because we are not used to sitting still and vacating our mind of random thoughts. It is a slow and sometimes tedious process where you have to be relaxed and at the same time focused so that those arbitrary thoughts do not keep coming back.
Many people associate meditation with Yoga, Buddhist or Zen practices and feel that they cannot do it because they are Christians or belong to other types of faith. Others believe that mediation is unrelated to the practice of the Craft thus it is not essential or just a waste of time.
I have no experience with ADD but may I suggest you start with breathing exercises, such as the one below:
1. Sit with your back against a wall, legs crossed, shoulders relaxed, keep your head and chin up.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Breathe in, count to ten in your mind, and breathe out.
4. Breathe in, count to nine in your mind, and breathe out.
5. Breathe in, count to eight in your mind, and breathe out.
6. Continue this breathing exercise until you get down to one.
7. Open your eyes.
To do this you must concentrate on the breathing. By doing this your mind will be focused on breathing rather than in any random thought (sounds outside your home, TV, computer, kids playing, barking dog, etc.) Do this for at least five minutes every day. Find a nice, quiet spot and keep coming back to that same spot to meditate.
You may also go to YouTube and find videos on guided mediation. They are very useful for those who are having a difficult time disciplining their mind. Also, listening to a friendly and soothing voice calms their nerves and allows them to focus.
Mediation, like everything else worth doing in life, takes practice. You will feel odd at first but trust me, the more you practice, and the more time and energy you dedicate to it, the better you'll become at it. And the benefits you'll gain will greatly improve your Craft and the way you handle the output/input of energy.
