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stillness
Canada
34 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 25 2008 : 3:05:17 PM
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Hi all,
Does anyone else tend to get music stuck in their head very easily?
I try not to listen to music anymore because if I do hear some music it tends to get stuck in my head for days and I cannot stop it. It can be really annoying, it just runs in the background behind everything.
Does anyone have any advice for making it stop?
I am wondering if maybe it is associated with inner purification in some way, as a few times music I haven't heard in a long time has come up. |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Mar 25 2008 : 3:23:52 PM
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Hi Stillness,
Welcome to the forum.
This topic was discussed here: Melodymania!
Hope this helps.
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Edited by - Shanti on Mar 25 2008 3:24:10 PM |
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stillness
Canada
34 Posts |
Posted - Mar 25 2008 : 4:52:31 PM
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| Thank you! I searched and couldn't find anything. |
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Lila
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - Mar 25 2008 : 5:07:35 PM
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I read the other thread, but didn't think it was that helpful.
I have various experiences. I tend to hear music a lot in my head. I notice I don't have this experience while I am working, where I do a lot of thinking. At other times as I am driving or going about my day I will hear music in my head.
What I find most interesting is sometimes this is music I have never heard before. Other times it is a song I have heard on the radio or VH1.
I have also at times had the song playing in the background in my head during meditation. As I have switched to following the AYP suggestions for deep meditation I notice I don't hear it as much.
Not sure if that helps at all. |
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LittleTurtle
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Mar 25 2008 : 6:08:41 PM
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This happens to me a lot lately and yes it does seem to be a product of meditation. I found that for the time being at least I had better listen to music that I really like!  |
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stillness
Canada
34 Posts |
Posted - Mar 25 2008 : 7:56:54 PM
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I've had this "problem" for a few years actually.
I am a musician so it's probably built into me.
Lila, I hear music I've never heard sometimes too, especially at night when I am going to sleep. When I am in control of it I like it a lot, but I would like an "off" switch. :)
I think it is related to the throat chakra somehow. I have noticed lately that my internal voice (such as the ego talking) comes from my throat chakra. When it's happening energy is kind of "stuck" there and if I consciously relax it my mind goes quiet, and energy flows properly in my body then. |
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anthony574
USA
549 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2008 : 11:21:08 AM
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I know you said my thread wasnt helpful, but I experience(d) the exact thing. I too am a musician and am very sound-oriented. I hear music more deeply and complexly and also have a near inability to block out sound - which I think is a big [art of it too.
I think as we become more aware of our thoughts it is natural to notice that webhave songs stuck in our head more. We also expect stillness and it becomes more annoying.
Honestly, I have experienced this for years and years and I find the best thing to do is to not think about it. You really have to detach yourself from what you
re hearing. In the yoga sutras it talks about how you essentially give a thought-object "weight" when you think and attach to it. To just let it flow without attachment it seems to go away.
I think it is throat chakra too. I have always assumed I have high activity in that area as well.
I reccommend you re-read my Melodymania thread, I really do think it is very similar. |
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jillatay
USA
206 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2008 : 2:49:23 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by anthony574
I reccommend you re-read my Melodymania thread, I really do think it is very similar.
Me too! Tell us Lila what is not being addressed? I find that sometimes just putting the thought into the right words can answer the question by itself or at least make it easier to get to the answer.
I have the music and sounds a lot too and it has become a part of my path now. I also at times have seen a stream of inner visual images flow out and for years I have looked for the explanation to this phenomenon. I sometimes feel driven to find others with the same experience because it is so amazing and has led to profound insights.
Keep us informed of your progress.
Love to all,
Jill |
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2008 : 12:25:30 AM
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It's repetitive mind. We all have it to some extent, and when repetitive mind really takes over, it can give rise to severe depression or OCD.
It can be unlearned. Just gently take the mind off the song, again and again, whenever you catch yourself repeating the song. Do so without impatience, the way you return the mind, again and again, to mantra. Consider it a mindfulness exercise.
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Edited by - Jim and His Karma on Mar 28 2008 12:26:33 AM |
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thimus
53 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2008 : 05:39:50 AM
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Well, when I start reading about this problem, Kurt Cobain's "my girl" ( song of leadbelly) was back in my head ! I would say : dont be too much upset : this "music" is,in my opinion, speaking to you, you resonate with it : in stead of trying to get rid of : play it on an instrument, give it attention. I assume that the music, the tune in your head is not a silly one, but as the songs in my head : there is power in them.
After a while the tune will go ( "my girl" was in my head for a few weeks), until ... you read something about these tunes in the head and it comes back ( lucky its weaker then before). |
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Lila
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - Apr 01 2008 : 2:28:15 PM
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I find the music phenomena fascinating. I do not have any formal music training, but every now and then when an original song comes into my head, I think I should find some way to record it.
I believe there is a collective consciousness from which all creations evolve. My theory is that as we meditate more, we can tap into different aspects of the collective consciousness and music is just one of those ways.
Anyhow, the music doesn't bother me, so I am not necessarily looking for solutions, but was just commenting that when I read the other thread it didn't seem to offer solutions for how to make it stop if one wanted to.
Namaste,
Lila |
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Apr 02 2008 : 10:52:32 AM
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quote:
Hi all,
Does anyone else tend to get music stuck in their head very easily?
I try not to listen to music anymore because if I do hear some music it tends to get stuck in my head for days and I cannot stop it. It can be really annoying, it just runs in the background behind everything.
Does anyone have any advice for making it stop?
Hi Stillness,
I went through a period a year or 2 back where I was very sensitive to music and songs often got "stuck" in my head. My initial solution was to avoid music for a while, but they still "played repetitively" in my mind when I got exposed to some songs.
My resistance to experiencing this certainly perpetuated it and the solution I used is perfectly described by Jim here:
quote:
Originally posted by Jim and His Karma
It can be unlearned. Just gently take the mind off the song, again and again, whenever you catch yourself repeating the song. Do so without impatience, the way you return the mind, again and again, to mantra. Consider it a mindfulness exercise.
The simple procedure of bringing my mind back to my current activity, whatever that may have been, caused the songs playing internally to fall away and I haven't been troubled with it since.
Good luck with it. |
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Divineis
Canada
420 Posts |
Posted - Apr 02 2008 : 8:17:37 PM
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quote:
My resistance to experiencing this certainly perpetuated it and the solution I used is perfectly described by Jim here:
quote:
Originally posted by Jim and His Karma
It can be unlearned. Just gently take the mind off the song, again and again, whenever you catch yourself repeating the song. Do so without impatience, the way you return the mind, again and again, to mantra. Consider it a mindfulness exercise.
The simple procedure of bringing my mind back to my current activity, whatever that may have been, caused the songs playing internally to fall away and I haven't been troubled with it since.
Good luck with it.
I think the above can be very helpful, though if it doesn't really work for some, I'd like to add another element. Instead of going straight to "resisting" it in a way or trying to ignore it, I think it's good to go into it. Sorta like, accept it first, and then accept that you can change your focus, and then move on to doing whatever you want to do.
I try to do the same thing when meditating. I'll do my best never to resist my minds distractions, just watch the habit, shine the light of awareness on it, just as I'd watch the mantra.
Sorta like, just as you lose the mantra, you can lose the thought, neither are "above" the other... though of course, it helps to have a focused mind. To me focus just comes through pure 100% acceptance, that's it that's all. |
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Apr 02 2008 : 9:53:06 PM
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Divineis, there's no "resistence" in what I suggested. I'd never advocate resistence! It never ever works.
In fact, the best possible attitude, as you gently call the attention out of this loop and back to the reality at hand, is one of loving acceptance. Not "Bad mind! Stop that!". More like "Yes! Pretty song! And now to the present moment....". Over and over. Not correcting and conquering, more like love and acceptance....and now to the present moment.
Same in meditation when you're off mantra. "Ah, indeed, isn't that thought/feeling/memory/fear/itchy nose lovely! And now mantra." You don't say any of that, of course, or even think it. It's just a question of attitude: It's all good! And now mantra. And now mantra. And now mantra. And now mantra. And now mantra. All smile, no frown.
I hope that makes sense. It may be one of those things where if you understand, you don't need to be told! :)
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Edited by - Jim and His Karma on Apr 02 2008 9:58:12 PM |
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Apr 02 2008 : 10:37:24 PM
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Hi Divineis,
Resistance, as mentioned above, will only serve to empower the mental habit of the music replaying in the mind.
It is possible to accept and then turn the attention to what is at hand in front of us, without resistance and as Jim mentions, it is just as we do when returning to the mantra during meditation.
With consistant favouring of the task at hand with your attention, the music will lose its momentum and fall away as thoughts fall away as we favour the mantra in meditation.
Energy flows where attention goes.
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Divineis
Canada
420 Posts |
Posted - Apr 02 2008 : 11:03:18 PM
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| yeah, no worries, i'm not at all against what you guys said earlier. I just know "be present in the moment" sort of sayings, at first, can tend to make one an enemy of the mind. The sayings not wrong, just clarification is needed for some people :). |
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thimus
53 Posts |
Posted - Apr 03 2008 : 05:26:54 AM
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I allways wondered about the “magic” of music ( a lot of music, not all, some is just noise)
30 years ago I came upon the book “der harmonikale Symbolik des Alterthums” by the autor Albert freiherr von Thimus . A work written around 1860.
Unless you have a lot of time and mental energy, dont start studying it. Its a book about the secrets of music in the times of Pythagoras, Lao tse, the ancient Epytian culture, the old Semitic culture etc. In short : music is made up by male ( arithemetic) and female (harmonic) numbers, major and minor. To understand mentally is allmost impossible, but someting deep in us does it : they say it is our soul that calculates without doing an effort.
Then to say music is just like a mental repetition or like a mental repetition, its much too simple. Unless its something like “obladi oblada “ ( this is not a bad song but I dont find much magic in it ).
Then what when its in your head, say when you are in bed? You only suffer when you resist and start mental compaining. As Eckhart Tolle would advise : be present, go into the body, start feeling hands and feet, belly..... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Apr 03 2008 : 12:54:23 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Divineis
I just know "be present in the moment" sort of sayings, at first, can tend to make one an enemy of the mind.
Totally true! The phrase "be here now" is a lovely sentiment, but it presumes you're somehow missing the now. Which is impossible. It's always now, wherever you are. It's not a train rushing by that must be jumped on!
That logical hiccup does, as you say, result in futile resistence and comical self-annoyance. "Dammit, I just missed NOW!"
NOW I will return to mantra. NOW I will choose to direct my mind to my present environment rather than lapse into another endless replay of "Love is a Many Splendored Thing". |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2008 : 12:54:06 PM
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Hi Everyone,
I know this thread is pretty old, but I have a quick question in regards to this topic. I too am the type of person who easily gets music stuck in his head, (I am a musician as well and often hear songs I've never heard, as well as getting "radio" songs stuck in my head) and I was wondering if anyone has tried attaching a mantra to the tune instead of trying to drop the song, or embrace the song....What if you took the approach I often take to walking, which is: with every step I take I inwardly repeat the word "stepping". It helps to keep my mind off of erroneous thoughts and helps me stay silent inside. Could one not take the same approach and turn the song stuck in ones head into a mantra repetition thing? Probably not good to use a powerful mantra like "I AM" or anything, but what about just repeating the word "singing" or something along with the tune stuck in ones head? Are there some downsides to doing this that I am not seeing?
Love,
Carson |
Edited by - CarsonZi on Nov 04 2008 1:00:44 PM |
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Richard
United Kingdom
857 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2008 : 3:04:31 PM
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HI Carson
I too am a musician and I actually like having music stuck in my head.
If I get bored with a tune I just change it.
It doesn't effect my meditation at all I love music so its not a problem |
Edited by - Richard on Nov 04 2008 3:05:32 PM |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2008 : 3:20:21 PM
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Hi Richard,
That's kinda the approach I am going for here....Not resisting the music, but directing it to a higher purpose. I am just not sure if I need to worry about self pacing if I use a mantra like "singing" or even "la la la" with the music in my head.
Love,
Carson |
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Richard
United Kingdom
857 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2008 : 3:38:20 PM
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How about just enjoying the music. Different tunes, different types of music can alter your mood and your whole outlook on life music is very powerful just let the music be its great  |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2008 : 3:46:03 PM
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I have always had a really hard time with that. Once I start hearing a song repeatedly in my head (whether made up or from hearing it on the radio) I have a very hard time not analyzing every aspect of the song. Can't seem to just enjoy music anymore. Have to figure out the time signatures, the key, how to harmonize the vocals, what I would have done differently with the production, how I would have EQ'd sections differently, etc etc etc. Have a VERY hard time liking any music anymore as well. I actually have stopped listening to music as much as is possible. Will hear random songs in passing, or will end up writing songs in my head, but I never listen to music intentionally anymore cause I end up over analyzing everything and hating it all.
Love,
Carson |
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arzkiyahai
93 Posts |
Posted - Nov 05 2008 : 12:26:43 AM
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It happens sometimes to me too. I thought I was alone, when I discussed I saw a lot of people had these issues, even the people who were not involved in meditation,
For me, the melodymania issues arise when I do not have much peace of mind. (I am pretty sure I have no melodymania issues at all those times when mind was at peace with the aid of meditation.)
I have noticed that the songs come in my mind with relation to scenario about either what I am thinking (or maybe I am just overanalyzing it) or .. I have noticed that from my thought - mind takes one of the word and comes up with a song that starts from that word?..
All in all I know I am overanalyzing it. I, also like Carson have stopped listening to music.
Thanks for the topic. :) |
Edited by - arzkiyahai on Nov 05 2008 03:29:35 AM |
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jillatay
USA
206 Posts |
Posted - Nov 05 2008 : 12:04:05 PM
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Stillness requires that we make a place for it in our lives. While we are living an "ordinary" life we are really doing more than that. We are living ordinarily fully awake, which is exraordinary isn't it.
I think it is a good thing to stop listening to a lot of music because it can be overstimulating. Then we have to process all that sense input. When a song is stuck in my head now, I know it isn't because I just had a lot of sensory overload. NLP I believe, teaches that we each have a dominant sense, some visual, some kinesthetic and some auditory. I think this phenomenon of music in the head happens to those who have strong auditory dominance. Then many of our inner promptings come in the form of sound. Happens to me all the time and is a source of great guidance.
Love to all,
Jill |
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Balance
USA
967 Posts |
Posted - Nov 05 2008 : 1:35:44 PM
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Just a thought here from my experience. The songs don't have a rigidity of presence and repetition here anymore. It may be due to not seeing it as being "stuck in the head". Does the music really "stick in the head"? Or is the music free to be anywhere? If I see it having a location like "in the head" then I think that may be at the root of the problem.
Happy listening to all the music, or not |
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music stuck in head!
