AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

General discussion of issues related to Theravada Meditation, e.g. meditation postures, developing a regular sitting practice, skillfully relating to difficulties and hindrances, etc.
Rob427W
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AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

Post by Rob427W »

Good freakin' night, man. You want to talk about anger / annoyance / maybe hate?


I think tonight might be the first night that I've had to stop my sit early, because of my father's loud television -- at least since I've been back from Jack Kornfield's retreat.


So, while I deal with the anger -- is there something you folks might suggest for the noise...better word, sound?

I'm thinking earplugs, but then you have to deal with the annoying sound of your breath, which becomes very loud.


Maybe I just need to move out. I am 22.


...yikes. :weep:
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Cittasanto
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Re: AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

Post by Cittasanto »

Try practicing Metta? or focs on what you want to focus o instead of what ou mind wants to?
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Ben
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Re: AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

Post by Ben »

Hi Rob
Definitely move out. Get your own place. I highly recommend it.
However, I think you'll find you'll take your annoyances with you.

Before you move out, you may want to support your meditation practice by getting some earplugs. Something that I use is an ipod and play sound files of my teacher reciting suttas in pali. It provides a nice meditative ambience, blocks out most distracting outside noises and is a convenient time piece. I've used that set-up to meditate while commuting on rural trains.
Another recommendation is to meditate very early in the morning and after your father has gone to bed for the night - when its a bit quiter.

If you can support your practice in this way then you'll find over time that you'll start to let go of your annoyances.
All the best

Ben
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pink_trike
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Re: AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

Post by pink_trike »

Until you're able to find a quieter place to sit your practice can be to note "sound" and note mind's reaction to sound without engaging with either of them - just observe sound and mind's reaction to it....this can be your entire practice for as long as those are the circumstances you find yourself in.

Observe the difference between hearing and listening.
Vision is Mind
Mind is Empty
Emptiness is Clear Light
Clear Light is Union
Union is Great Bliss

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zavk
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Re: AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

Post by zavk »

Hi Rob

This might be of interest: http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2305" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
With metta,
zavk
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BlackBird
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Re: AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

Post by BlackBird »

TV blares when we're eating meals, I've actually been told more or less to stop muting the television during the ad break - "You always do that, it's annoying."

People are funny.
Situations require patience.

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mikenz66
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Re: AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

Post by mikenz66 »

Hi Rob,

PT's suggestion is good:
pink_trike wrote:...just observe sound and mind's reaction to it....this can be your entire practice for as long as those are the circumstances you find yourself in.
However, my experience is that it's difficult to LEARN to do this when the sound is REALLY ANNOYING. You might try training yourself by actively focussing on sounds while it is relatively quiet, and while some of the sounds are pleasant. Notice how, for example, the birds and the wind don't bother you, but the traffic and TV do...

Metta
Mike
Rob427W
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Re: AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

Post by Rob427W »

You guys are really wonderful.

Only about a week here, and I've received so much. :clap: :hug:


I'm going to contemplate all your suggestions well.


Off to bed for now. Nite, folks. :smile:
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pink_trike
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Re: AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

Post by pink_trike »

mikenz66 wrote:Hi Rob,

PT's suggestion is good:
pink_trike wrote:...just observe sound and mind's reaction to it....this can be your entire practice for as long as those are the circumstances you find yourself in.
However, my experience is that it's difficult to LEARN to do this when the sound is REALLY ANNOYING. You might try training yourself by actively focussing on sounds while it is relatively quiet, and while some of the sounds are pleasant. Notice how, for example, the birds and the wind don't bother you, but the traffic and TV do...

Metta
Mike
Yes, excellent suggestion.
Vision is Mind
Mind is Empty
Emptiness is Clear Light
Clear Light is Union
Union is Great Bliss

- Dawa Gyaltsen

---

Disclaimer: I'm a non-religious practitioner of Theravada, Mahayana/Vajrayana, and Tibetan Bon Dzogchen mind-training.
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mikenz66
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Re: AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

Post by mikenz66 »

Hi Rob,

Perhaps I should add that it's only after several years that I'm no longer bothered by the relatively innocuous bells that the Thais like to hang around the grounds of our Wat to ring in the wind...

And I recall Ajahn Tiradhammo mentioning a monk who left a monastery that he was staying in in Thailand in the 1970s, with the complaint that: "I can't meditate here, the frogs are too noisy!".

So don't feel bad if you can't be equanimous about the TV right away... :meditate:

Mike
PeterB
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Re: AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

Post by PeterB »

During the course of most weeks I move between a very quiet house in a small village with just one road in and out, and an apartment near London. I was interested to realise that the adjustment that I had to make was the reverse of what I expected. The sound of traffic when at the apartment is constant and consistant, a hum. After a while I had to make a conscious effort to hear it. The sounds around the house are natural but random, gulls,magpies, the wind in the trees, peasant folk dancing by torchlight ( I made that bit up )..and its those sounds I have to adjust to after being away. Its all in the mind.
Having said that 22 is a good age to move away if finances allow, also Rob, have you asked dad to turn it down a bit ?
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Get up early in the morning to meditate — I bet your dad is not watching TV at 5:00 am.

In the evenings, go out for a walk.
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cooran
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Re: AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

Post by cooran »

Ben said: meditate very early in the morning and after your father has gone to bed for the night - when its a bit quiter.
Elegant and simple - thanks Ben. I'm having the same problem with the loud T.V. and, also, with having to listen to a full CD of Kamahl which my mother uses every single evening as a means of lulling herself to sleep. Listen to, say, One Hundred Children - I do every single evening as it is on the album my mother plays loudly as she has a hearing impairment - as well as about 15 others.
http://www.emusic.com/album/Kamahl-Imag ... 01674.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My brother takes the dog for a walk at 4.30 a.m. and turns lights on and rattles cups before doing so. So .... I wait until he has gone, and try to meditate for the 45 mins. he is away.
It will be a while (up to a year) before I can move. :(

Of course, their excellent qualities far outweigh my dosa because their way of living doesn't match my wishes - so I have to learn to watch my own mindstream and judging mind. Still can't get away from the "So-precious-I" after all these years. :cry:

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PeterB
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Re: AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

Post by PeterB »

I find that in my case the " so precious I " can always find a reason why THIS particular situation is simply too much to ask..The trouble is THIS particular situation has a habit of recurring under a series of guises..
ashtanga
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Re: AHHH, THE FREAKIN' NOISE!

Post by ashtanga »

Definitely move out. Get your own place. I highly recommend it.
However, I think you'll find you'll take your annoyances with you.
:rofl:
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