HowTo: Have a deep meditation in an unsupportive environment?

[4bsolute]

Dear Ones,

 

the dream of every pracitioneer: Being able to meditate in the middle of a city, during day...

 

Okay maybe half-extreme for "the beginning"...

 

Any tips on getting in a deep meditation in an unsupportive environment?

 

No, I do not want to suffer, but I want to meditate where I want to meditate and this is currently in my home. I can also go into the woods if I want to do so, but that is not part of this question. I live in a rather large village on the country side, in an environment with lots of families and their kids. Cars drive by my house every 10-15mins. Children play occasionally in the afternoon, which can get quite loud but doesnt really disturb me since they broadcast "joy"most of the time

 

Is anyone in a similar environment and mastered how to deal with such noisy circumstances?

 

I am asking this particularly because when I get into deep meditations at night, where no one is outside, every crack of a doorframe, bed, whatever gets So loud like a bang of a thunder or an explosion! And the triggered soundwave is felt in me like being temporarily in the beginning a dimensional shift. Hard to describe. Like a mind-shift ...becoming... that sound. Maybe you know what I mean...

 

Any idea? Seeking the emptiness, the void in all those sounds?

 

Being sensitive in such an environment is tough sometimes, but it works itself out somehow... no baby-monk tears haha!

 

Kind regards

Edited June 16, 2013 by 4bsolute

[ChiDragon]

You meditate with your heart but not your mind. Concentrate on your breathing, when you inhale that you are inhaling; when you exhale that you are exhaling and think of nothing and hear of nothing. However, you want to hear all the sounds in your environment and let them pass by you. Let the sounds be natural to you then they will become voided.

Just like that how you have stated and you knew already.

Cars drive by my house every 10-15mins. Children play occasionally in the afternoon, which can get quite loud but doesnt really disturb me since they broadcast "joy"most of the time

 

 

Edited June 16, 2013 by ChiDragon

[Cheshire Cat]

 

 

Is anyone in a similar environment and mastered how to deal with such noisy circumstances?

 

Yes.

There are two ways to deal with this:

1) to persevere. With time, your concentration will be really strong;

2) become adept in cursing and hexing;

[4bsolute]

You meditate with your heart but not your mind. Concentrate on your breathing, when you inhale that you are inhaling; when you exhale that you are exhaling and think of nothing and hear of nothing. However, you want to hear all the sounds in your environment and let them pass by you. Let the sounds be natural to you then they will become voided.

 

Just like that how you have stated and you knew already.

 

Thank you, this seems to happen gradually... just like I have witnessed today, I forced way too much and have to step back to let things unfold naturally. This wisdom seems already be inherent and wants to find propper application at a certain moment in my life.

 

Perfectly understandable what you have written, especially the part with becoming voided. A hint that I really needed.

 

Yes.

There are two ways to deal with this:

1) to persevere. With time, your concentration will be really strong;

2) become adept in cursing and hexing;

 

2) must be a joke

 

Thank you.

[Songtsan]

View every sound as a 'dharma sound' reminding you to get back to your work...therefore, instead of those sounds becoming distractions, they become reminder sounds that you have a purpose, then you will start to embrace those sounds instead of labeling them as negative in your mind. Embrace everything as mind - know that it is you as surely as the thought 'I' is you. Everything is your mind. On the outside those sounds are just vibrations of air molecules - it is your brain that gives them the quality of 'noise' thus the noise is you and only you. So the question is, will you view your own self as a distraction?

[Flolfolil]

go into a crowd so big it makes you nervous, it will aid you in withdrawing your attention to your body

[Songtsan]

...or make your meditation object the most distracting thing that you become aware of...practice relaxation techniques in the most non-relaxing of situations.

[JustBHappy]

As long as your immediate environment is safe, it doesn't matter. Sure for long term retreats where your getting really deep into it, the environment becomes a factor, but not for the daily practice of a layperson.

I've been there, I used to think and believe exactly the same thing. Like everything else, it's simply a thought. If we water it and feed it, it will grow and consume us. If we focus on our object of meditation instead, then all the distraction in the world will not matter. It all comes down to where we place our attention. Even deep deep in the mountain caves there will be distractions and our mind can make them just as big as the ones in the city. It all comes down to focusing, and resting upon the meditation object, the environment is not terribly important.

When your mind becomes aware of a "distraction," simply rest right there, relax, and let go of all resistance. Then gently guide yourself back to your object of meditation. There is a point of relaxation where nothing will bother you, nothing will have the power to grab your attention. It's all about relaxation. The fact that your being sidetracked, and agitated shows that there is too much tension and not enough relaxation. Let go of the strong focus, the forced attention, and put your attention into always letting go, relaxing further and further. The mind will come back and naturally rest where you have asked it to. I stress again that for westerners, the biggest obstacle is not lack of concentration, or focus, its the lack of relaxation and letting go. Once you become habituated to letting go and relaxing, the unsupportive environment will no longer be an issue.