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windh
Sweden
12 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 23 2009 : 07:13:34 AM
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Hi everyone.
I´ve been going on and off in meditation, but I feel that I really need to get back ON on a daily basis.
the problem is this; I live in a flat, and it is rarely absolutely quiet in the house (or in the street).
It is not very noisy, but I feel that I am very sensitive when it comes to sounds during meditation (for obvious reasons). I tried using earplugs, but it made the whole thing impossible. The rushing blood in my head and breath totally ruled out any go at a good Ayam-mantra.
I´ve been told to try and meditate whilst listening to music (mellow) and that´s what I´m currently trying. (Listening to Jane Winthers "Healing Bells")
Does anyone have a good tip on how to get "better" with "real" noises in meditation?
Many thanx in advance.
/Johan |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2009 : 07:45:12 AM
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Hi Johan,
This is a problem faced by many... esp. in the beginning. I always like to suggest, treat the noise like a thought distraction, if it takes you away from the mantra, gently go back to it. The more importance you give the noise with judgements and frustrations, the more prominent it gets. If from the beginning you can just stay with the mantra through noise, after a few weeks/months you will not even realize there is any noise around you. It comes to a point where you can be sitting in a crowded mall or in a train and be able to go inward and enjoy the silence, no noise can disturb your meditation. 
However, if you feel it's impossible to do this right now, here are some topics where noise has been discussed and maybe you will find something useful here.
external noise while meditating
earplugs
cotton, earplugs
distractions
Meditation with distractions
PS: I personally would not recommend music, you are trying to take your awareness inward, but external music and/or mantras playing in the background may keep you more toward the surface. Someone suggested playing some sort of "white noise".. that may be OK. But still if you can do without the external crutches, it is always better IMHO. |
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kaserdar
91 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2009 : 07:53:14 AM
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Hello windh,
This will change with time. I'm a beginner too and have been through the same with noise problems. I too tried listening music and having ear plugs. Then i realized i shouldn't fight with noises and accept them like every other things happening during meditation. Isn't it all about? When you realize you are off the mantra because of a noise come to back to the mantra. So i kept doing this.
And i can tell you that with the progress i made, i dont hear the noises any more or they don't catch my attention.
Wish you the best |
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windh
Sweden
12 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2009 : 08:38:01 AM
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OK, thank you so much for your encouraging answers!
I shall continue like it is meant to be.
/Johan |
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Akasha
421 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2009 : 09:03:45 AM
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Hi Johan,
Meditation and music don't really go together,as you're going inward as Shanti says.
Maybe some 'white noise' is what you mean, to drown out any annoying external stuff that you find disturbing to your concentration.
Ear-plugs i would'nt really bother me with either ,but that is just me.
If you're in the clunky stage of 'ayam' i advise you to just stick or persevere with it. There can be a certain amount of discomfort - i'm thinking emotional here( like in my case) but it is well worth it, in the end, and the long run.Like more than a few heavy weights are lifted off your chest, kind of thing.
For me i had a lot of energy issues so i certainly could'nt sit in siddhasana (without experiencing a painful stiffnes in the sternum area of the ribcage afterwards) so i did it on a seat. Thankfully these issues have all calmed down a bit.I recently used a belt to stretch the hamstrings as i had tightness/energy distrubrance down th left handside of my body.
But the more you plug away it the easier it gets.The discomfort and the pain slowly and gradually dissolves.
You could be in the clunky stage of ayam- for me it was a transtional moving of my usual focus from my breath( spent 4 years at this) to the mantra over about 3 weeks.I just could'nt curl that mantra off my mental tongue, if you get my drift.The voice-box would want to try and articulate it. This is normal and shall pass too,like everything else.
Regarding noise i would treat is as a sign you are making very good progress.Eventually an inner world you never rthought you had will open up and you'll gain some distance from all the distractions.
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Edited by - Akasha on Sep 23 2009 09:07:55 AM |
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windh
Sweden
12 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2009 : 09:19:22 AM
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Thank you Akasha.
As a matter of fact I did reach inner silence, in the very beginning of my meditation, about two years ago. It happened once, and has never been as good since. But there was a big crisis in my life shortly after, and I got knocked of the track.
I am resuming it now again, though. Hoping to find that great inner peace again. |
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Yonatan
Israel
849 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2009 : 12:18:21 PM
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Hi Johan,
At first when I started meditating with IAM I was also very sensitive to sounds, and still am during meditation but now it just happens every once in a long while. What helps me is to think of it as a "favoring" of the mantra, and not pushing it with the mantra and pushing away other things, you will get to a point where the mantra can exist while many other things exist with it like noise, and thoughts. It depends on how much importance and attention you give to the other things, and with practice you'll learn to let go of the other things while favoring the mantra..
My 2 c |
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YogaIsLife
641 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2009 : 12:40:17 PM
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Hi. I had the same problem (I started one of the topics mentioned by Shanti above!). I haven't had a problem with it since except until recently again which goes to show this too goes in cycles. And I haven't really changed places much, it is truly an inner state that makes external noises more or less disturbing to our meditation at a given time or period of time.
What I do find, however, is regardless of your sensitivity to external noises, I find it crucial to have a quiet and undisturbed space and time for your meditation. This is a place where you feel confortbale and relxed and don't feel 'threatened' by any distractions. This is the fundamental condition I think, one that allows you to relax into meditation. If you look closely this is a mental/emotional state, actually independent from the objective ammount of noise outside.
This is interesting to notice in its own right - and that too is spiritual progress. |
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Akasha
421 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2009 : 1:53:53 PM
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quote:
But there was a big crisis in my life shortly after, and I got knocked of the track.
Really sorry to hear that windh.I hope the track is a bit more comfortable for you at the moment.
If we treat every step as a baby step , then that mountain becomes a hill.
Steady practice and gentle surrender....
I don't think anyone is alone here in life's ups and downs,knocks and bashes
quote:
never been as good since.
Slow and steady always wins the race long-term. |
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grihastha
USA
184 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2009 : 3:07:36 PM
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Hi Windh,
Like most people here, sound used to bother me at first (three small kids tearing the house to bits outside my meditation room door, not to mention chainsaws, supercharged engines and the odd gunshot - and I live in the country!).
Anyway, the phase of being distracted by noises didn't last very long, looking back on it. In fact I started to find noise quite useful. I discovered I could use it to keep myself from being caught up in my thoughts, just by being present to everything around me without clinging.
I'm not using the Ayam at the moment - too much energy for someone in the middle of moving house and continent - but just in my very ordinary Dzogchen-style meditation I don't find sound distracting at all these days, no matter where I am. So don't worry - this too shall pass!
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Problems with noise
