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jasis
Germany
27 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 13 2011 : 11:39:38 PM
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Hi All,
This is a general issue/"feature" I have had for years. Often a snippet of music or song - maybe something I heard on the radio or youtube - will repeat itself endlessly in the back of my mind during the day. During daily AYP practice, this background "music" will tend to subside into silience as I favour, i.e. spinal breathing or the mantra during SBP or DM respectively. However, once I continue with the day, there it is again. It can sometimes be quite frustrating. I dont have much in the way of background chatter in the form of words but in the form of these endlessly repeating music snippets. In the morning, when I wake up, I tend to lie very still in order to remember dreams etc and I noticed that the background music usually starts once I start to move (get out of bed etc).
I am not "stressing" over this, as this "music" seems to have been a constant companion for as long as I can remember and I do my daily AYP practices with no expectation - like brushing the teeth - but it would be great to know if others have this "feature" too and if there is anything one can "do" about it? (Even though a doing would be of the mind)
I'd very much appreciate your intuitions and experiences please.
Jasis.
NOTE: I posted this under "Other systems and alternate approaches" as it pertains generally even though I am an AYP practioner. |
Edited by - jasis on Oct 13 2011 11:51:49 PM |
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AumNaturel
Canada
687 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2011 : 10:30:01 AM
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It happens to me as well, and I think it may be pretty common (Robert Bruce even mentions it in one of his books, friends often report having songs stuck in their heads).
AYP has related advice which might also apply for this: "discordant energies...don’t focus on them for the purpose of not strengthening them...give attention to the things that enhance our quality of life, and witness those things that do not when they demand our attention" (paraphrased, Lesson 372).
"...the mind cannot be tamed by supervision, only by redirection of attention into more productive channels" (paraphrased, Lesson 375), which might inform this case by saying the more we advance the easier it might become in dealing with this sort of mental intrusion since our minds will naturally be attracted to that which we cultivate, including the bliss provided by resting in inner silence (paraphrased, Lesson T17).
A lot of entry-level workplaces do have repeating music blasting all day, and it can even get to the point of actually hearing it when exposed to other noise like being in the shower. I find the type of music also seems to make a difference in what sticks and what does not; a lot of pop music for example is deliberately composed in a way that resembles how children find odd things to repeat out loud over and over. I try to avoid that kind of environment and that kind of music, and that seems to help shut it off, naturally. A final method I try is to never pick up parts of songs to play in your head, but instead to just enjoy them when actually listening to them until the song stops. |
Edited by - AumNaturel on Oct 14 2011 10:31:22 AM |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
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jeff
USA
971 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2011 : 11:42:32 AM
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As Shanti's past threads describe, ongoing music or running vocal dialogues in the mind are very common. It is often helpful to make the "unconscious" activity conscious.
As an experiment, try focusing on the music thread for a minute and just listen to it. Try to give it your "full" attention and see what happens. You can also do the same type of thing when you get angry. Try to watch yourself when you are angry.
Have a good weekend.
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woosa
United Kingdom
382 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2011 : 3:03:12 PM
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I asked Yogani this a few weeks ago - because I was at wit's end - and he kindly gave a response.
"You know, I have had a full-on brass band playing in my head for the past 30 years, and I hardly notice it anymore. :-)
Well, only kidding, but it is not far from the truth. There is always something sensory we can pick up and fixate on within ourselves. It is not the thing itself that makes the difference. It is our perception of it, and how we manage our attention in particular. So should you "just be with it," or "just favor" whatever is going on in your life instead? Sure, you know the methods. The music is there. So what? The suggestion is to easily favor life, like the mantra. This too shall pass. The music may not stop, or whatever happens to be in our ever-refining field of sensory perception. But our fixation/identification will pass as we advance in practices.
You know, practices gradually make us more sensitive to everything going on in and around us. And as part of the process we learn to move beyond and operate within stillness. It is one of those spiritual paradoxes -- we become more in the world (super sensitive), and less of the world (super beyond it all). Sometimes one part moves a bit ahead of the other -- sensitivity (noise/energetics) or separateness (silent witness), but in the long run it balances out.
The guru is in you.
Yogani"
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jasis
Germany
27 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2011 : 01:34:25 AM
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Hi All,
Thank-you for the comprehensive responses and links! Seems I am certainly not alone in having mental jukebox I will try "search" before "post" next time (makes mental note, Oh no! More mental notes hahaha)
Completely agree with you AumNaturel "...the mind cannot be tamed by supervision, only by redirection of attention into more productive channels" - the act of making an effort to stop something simply enforces the duality (do or dont do). I found this with drinking alcohol. Before I came to AYP I sometimes wished to "quit" drinking alcohol. After I started AYP, I simply chose other options in life which had the same effect - I dont drink anymore - but without any concious effort on my part.
This is one effect I see more and more coming from my AYP practices - I am simply far more accepting, of myself, of others, of the world, as we are, with no need to try to change anything. Changes happen, when and if they happen. I become more an observer. The paradox is that I feel so much more connected with everthing and see more and more positive changes happening and all without trying... It really is divine
The inner smile widens
Anyhow, back to the jukebox - dum di dum |
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Internal dialogue manifesting as repeating music
