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YogaIsLife
641 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 14 2008 : 5:40:05 PM
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Hello,
I have a small "problem". Recently my life circumstances changed and I found myself living in another country adapting to new circumstances. This was not something unexpected but it is something of a challenge. I was used to a routine and meditation was a very important part of it, bringing me many positive results such as more calmness, a very noticeable lost of the bite of fear and frustration and anger inside, more stability and clarity.
The problem is that I was in a very confortable situation for the past 5 months, when I started AYP. I actually stoped everything I was doing and took a break (a kind of a retreat in a place I felt confortable and safe) to heal me from a breakdown, depression, instability. AYP and deep meditation in particular was fundamental for this and I owe my recovery to this.
Now I re-engaged in "real" life and I know it is a challenge but I had to try, having found so many good results from meditation. The thing is that I felt that if I had that space for myself, that half-an-hour twice daily just for myself I would be ok. The "problem" is that now I am living in a student residence and, although my colleagues are not very noisy for now, there is naturally some movement in the halls, with doors banging, conversations, etc. Noises I was not used to. And furthermore I always had a tendency to feel threatned by unknown and uncontrolled situations, quite unreseonably, but still the fear and anxiety were there. Meditation the past months helped me enormously with this and I feel it can continue to do, if I can keep my routine.
The problem is that I am afraid again. I am afraid I don't have my "little space" just for myself and frequently, when in meditation now, I hear the noises of people around and feel shaken inside and I get a bit irritated and my meditation does not go as I was used to. I wanted to know what your advice/opinion would be on this. I know it is possible to meditate in a noisy environment but it is not advisable. Should I try to ignore the noises or regard them as distractions to go back to the mantra from? But what about the unpleaseant feelings of unrestlessness that arise and seem not to go away? Better to meditate like this than none at all? Maybe this is more a problem of inner conditioning of my mind...but still, the feeling of insecurity are still there and are unpleaseant, they were actually the catalysts of my depression...
Thank you for the opportunity in sharing. |
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Scott
USA
969 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2008 : 6:10:38 PM
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To solve the problem in an immediate way:
Some headphones: http://www.provideosound.com/ex-29-bk.html
If you like relaxing music or nature sounds in the background those headphones are good for it. If it doesn't block out enough sound for your situation, then try using earplugs on the inside of the headphones...otherwise if you don't listen to music, you could just get ones used for target shooting or heavy construction which would be much cheaper.
Of course, later on you'll be able to withdraw more fully from all sounds.  |
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Manipura
USA
870 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2008 : 8:57:15 PM
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Hi YIL. Scott's solution is a good one, but there will always be something that bugs you, so try using this as an opportunity to let life's annoyances into your daily meditation. You're going to have to do it sooner or later, unless you move to the mountains and live in a cave, and even then, there will be some dripping stalactite to distract you from bliss. I think it's a mistake to think that "it" - life, meditation, and so on - should be any other way than exactly how it is, with all its annoyances. They are our greatest teachers.
My suggestion is as follows: Instead of succumbing to the irritation or fear, try to trace it to its source in your body. You'll prob. end up at a chakra, and then, once you isolate it, explore the sensation, trying not to label it. Just see where it takes you, and if your interest in the investigation surpasses the irritation that you're feeling, you'll know that you've made some spiritual progress. One thing's for sure - the unpleasant feelings you have are a gift, if you choose to explore them. |
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Jo-self
USA
225 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2008 : 10:23:42 PM
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YogaIsLife:
I had a situation where I could not meditate. Instead of stopping I simply meditated for a very very short time period, like a few minutes, and I even did this while standing. Gradually, I started to sit again, then to increase the time period. Now I'm "normal". So, I did a very gradual desensitization/self-pacing.
Not sure if this would work for you, however, the short time period would give your type of sensitivity time to gradually favor the inward stroke rather then the external stimuli. If there is stress or anxiety being created, there is no loss in scaling back.
And yes its true, outside noise is no barrier to meditation. Some of my best meditation times were while riding the packed New York City subways.
--- jo-self
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YogaIsLife
641 Posts |
Posted - Oct 15 2008 : 04:15:53 AM
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My friends,
Thank you so much for your advices, they are very good. Scott, how did I not think about that? When we are somehow stressed or anxious we don't even think about the simplest solutions...
Manipura, yes that is very good advice and I thought about it. It is hard though. You know what I mean, when the feelings are very strong, like a wave, it can be hard to remain present. What you suggest would be ideal to do but maybe I won't be able to do it at this stage. I can though do what you suggest plus what jo-self suggests (very good advice as well, thank you), to cutback on meditation time and don't dwell on the irritation feelings for too long, going little steps at the time.
To summarize: I will try a bit of everything until I find my confort! :)
You know what, just the fact that I wrote the post yesterday helped me to feel a bit more secure in a way. It is great to be able to find support, and this forum is great for that. Thank you all for the help and opportunity. I feel blessed. |
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yogani
USA
5241 Posts |
Posted - Oct 15 2008 : 12:07:11 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by YogaIsLife
My friends,
Thank you so much for your advices, they are very good. Scott, how did I not think about that? When we are somehow stressed or anxious we don't even think about the simplest solutions...
Manipura, yes that is very good advice and I thought about it. It is hard though. You know what I mean, when the feelings are very strong, like a wave, it can be hard to remain present. What you suggest would be ideal to do but maybe I won't be able to do it at this stage. I can though do what you suggest plus what jo-self suggests (very good advice as well, thank you), to cutback on meditation time and don't dwell on the irritation feelings for too long, going little steps at the time.
To summarize: I will try a bit of everything until I find my confort! :)
You know what, just the fact that I wrote the post yesterday helped me to feel a bit more secure in a way. It is great to be able to find support, and this forum is great for that. Thank you all for the help and opportunity. I feel blessed.
Hi YogaIsLife:
Also, remember that the instruction is to regard external noises just like internal thoughts and sensations occurring naturally in deep meditation. When we realize we are off into them, we just easily favor the mantra again at whatever level is comfortable. Thoughts, sensations, noises, mantra and stillness can be occurring all at the same time. We just gently favor the ever-refining mantra, and we will find more abiding stillness emerging in our life over time. And the many happenings occurring in our environment will have less sway over us.
If there is rising tension during deep meditation that makes it difficult to ease back to the mantra, then we can just be with that tension for a while, and our attention will naturally be drawn to a physical sensation somewhere in the body, and it will unwind by our attention easily observing it. Once it does, we can ease back to the mantra again. We keep our meditation time the same, including any use of the procedure just mentioned.
All the best!
The guru is in you.
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mikkiji
USA
219 Posts |
Posted - Oct 15 2008 : 1:00:50 PM
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According to my teacher, the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: "Noise is no barrier to meditation--even in a noisy marketplace, we can think, and if we can think, then we can think the mantra. Take a neutral, cordial attitude toward any outside disturbance but always 'favor' the mantra. If you find you have been off the mantra and thinking about something else, then easily return to the mantra."
Simple and effective...
Michael |
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pahool
4 Posts |
Posted - Oct 15 2008 : 4:16:27 PM
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White noise can be helpful to block out external noise, played over speakers or on headphones. There are plenty of places to get white noise recordings. I occasionally use this website to produce white, pink or brown noise:
http://www.simplynoise.com
Sometimes I use it, sometimes I don't. I am getting more used to meditating with the distractions, but I am still pretty easily distracted. The white noise definitely helps me to go deeper in a noisy environment.
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jillatay
USA
206 Posts |
Posted - Oct 15 2008 : 5:53:20 PM
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I also had to move back to a noisy city after a long retreat but found a little trick that worked for me. Of course it helped that I already knew there was the Silence so it might not work if you haven't found it. But here is what I did. I would focus my attention about 4 to 6 inches in front of my face and listen very carefully to that spot. There was no sound originating there so I could definitely "hear" the silence even in the midst of the loud noise of a busy city. And how wonderful to know you can always find a silent spot!  |
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YogaIsLife
641 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2008 : 5:34:32 PM
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Thank you all so very much for the helpful advice, thank you.
I followed Scott's advice and bought those ear protectors used in construction :) I tried them once and they worked! It is actually quite soothing as I listened much better to the internal sounds, breathing, etc.
But still I think what Yogani and Manipura say is right and I am trying to use no artifact and just be aware of disturbances, try to stay with the feeling and come back to the mantra when I can. It can be tough as sensations can be like waves or torrents that shaken me but I think it might be worth the effort. I realise this to be a psychological thing, as when something does not goes exactly like you wanted it to be, but it is a good exercise in trying to accept what it. Let's see how it goes. I am glad in any case I have the earphones if I feel I need them, they seem to work fairly well. |
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external noise while meditating
