Tips for a noisy meditation

General discussion of issues related to Theravada Meditation, e.g. meditation postures, developing a regular sitting practice, skillfully relating to difficulties and hindrances, etc.
User avatar
TheNoBSBuddhist
Posts: 1614
Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:06 pm
Location: Loch Lomond, via the High AND Low road....

Re: Tips for a noisy meditation

Post by TheNoBSBuddhist »

(....'Vawes'...?) :?
:namaste:

You will not be punished FOR your 'emotions'; you will be punished BY your 'emotions'.



Image

Pay attention, simplify, and (Meditation instruction in a nutshell) "Mind - the Gap."
‘Absit invidia verbo’ - may ill-will be absent from the word. And mindful of that, if I don't respond, this may be why....
walkart
Posts: 136
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2013 6:13 pm

Re: Tips for a noisy meditation

Post by walkart »

TheNoBSBuddhist wrote:(....'Vawes'...?) :?
I'am sorry, i meant "waves".
User avatar
TheNoBSBuddhist
Posts: 1614
Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:06 pm
Location: Loch Lomond, via the High AND Low road....

Re: Tips for a noisy meditation

Post by TheNoBSBuddhist »

Thank you.
I even looked it up, just in case.
(I'm a complete doofus, so you never know... )
:namaste:

You will not be punished FOR your 'emotions'; you will be punished BY your 'emotions'.



Image

Pay attention, simplify, and (Meditation instruction in a nutshell) "Mind - the Gap."
‘Absit invidia verbo’ - may ill-will be absent from the word. And mindful of that, if I don't respond, this may be why....
greeneggsandsam
Posts: 92
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 6:43 am

Re: Tips for a noisy meditation

Post by greeneggsandsam »

Thanks for the advice dhamma friends.
manas wrote:
greeneggsandsam wrote:Unfortunately due to some circumstances outside of my control, I often have to deal with a lot of background noise during my meditation, such as, people talking, lights being switched on, arguments, tv, etc etc.

Any useful tips on how to not get distracted by such noise??

I have a feeling someone might suggest walking meditation, so besides that as I do prefer sitting, especially with a lack of a flat path and some cold weather.


:anjali:
HI greeneggs

just get up early in the morning, say an hour before everyone else. This has always worked well for me.

kind regards
manas
:anjali:
Yes, I think this is the easiest way around it... I usually meditate at night when everyone is asleep, because I am terrible at waking early :zzz:

This just happened to be the case I tried sneaking in an afternoon meditation when no one was home, and ten minutes in the bombs started dropping , people talking right next to me as I am trying to meditate. :o

and to the rest of the replies I take note that noise is something to be equanimous about, as goofaholix mentioned it does help in establishing a calm mind.

I think it was ajahn chah who once said that monks should come to the forest to get away from distractions until they are firm in their practice and can better handle the distractions of the cities...

So, until I have unwavering equanimity I think I will just try and bear it or better yet try and adjust my schedule.

:anjali:
If you think nibbana is better than samsara, then you've missed the point - Ajahn Sumedho
User avatar
TheNoBSBuddhist
Posts: 1614
Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:06 pm
Location: Loch Lomond, via the High AND Low road....

Re: Tips for a noisy meditation

Post by TheNoBSBuddhist »

Obviously your living environment is completely unknown to me...
My room has a door with a small window in it....the family I am with, know not to "disturb" me when my door is closed and I have drawn the little curtain over the frosted window (which is not see-thru in any case....)
At other times, if the door is closed, and uncurtained, they knock. Most of the time, I leave it wide open....

Can you not try to discuss these distractions with them, reach a compromise, ask them to not disturb you, or go to a separate place in the house where you can sit quietly and not be assailed too much by their noise?
:namaste:

You will not be punished FOR your 'emotions'; you will be punished BY your 'emotions'.



Image

Pay attention, simplify, and (Meditation instruction in a nutshell) "Mind - the Gap."
‘Absit invidia verbo’ - may ill-will be absent from the word. And mindful of that, if I don't respond, this may be why....
walkart
Posts: 136
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2013 6:13 pm

Re: Tips for a noisy meditation

Post by walkart »

greeneggsandsam wrote: Yes, I think this is the easiest way around it... I usually meditate at night when everyone is asleep, because I am terrible at waking early :zzz:
The difficulty in the waking aerly is the path between bad and shower.

Also your difficulty is may be the result of not respecting the sleeping cycles. One sleeping cycle is about 1h30, so if you wake up in the middle of the last cycle - it's trublesome.

So, to wake up in a better way you have to do it after 1h30 or 3h00 or 4h30 or 6h00 or 7h30 or 9h00 of sleeping etc. Not between.
greeneggsandsam
Posts: 92
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 6:43 am

Re: Tips for a noisy meditation

Post by greeneggsandsam »

walkart wrote:
greeneggsandsam wrote: Yes, I think this is the easiest way around it... I usually meditate at night when everyone is asleep, because I am terrible at waking early :zzz:
The difficulty in the waking aerly is the path between bad and shower.

Also your difficulty is may be the result of not respecting the sleeping cycles. One sleeping cycle is about 1h30, so if you wake up in the middle of the last cycle - it's trublesome.

So, to wake up in a better way you have to do it after 1h30 or 3h00 or 4h30 or 6h00 or 7h30 or 9h00 of sleeping etc. Not between.
that is very interesting, I will try and be systematic with my cycling!
TheNoBSBuddhist wrote:Obviously your living environment is completely unknown to me...
My room has a door with a small window in it....the family I am with, know not to "disturb" me when my door is closed and I have drawn the little curtain over the frosted window (which is not see-thru in any case....)
At other times, if the door is closed, and uncurtained, they knock. Most of the time, I leave it wide open....

Can you not try to discuss these distractions with them, reach a compromise, ask them to not disturb you, or go to a separate place in the house where you can sit quietly and not be assailed too much by their noise?
Unfortunately, I don't have enough room in my bedroom to meditate, it is very small. I live in a crowded house and unfortunately I am the only practicing buddhist, so they don't see the point in what I am doing, and yes I have tried to explain and ask for compromise but so far has proven unsuccessful :shrug:
If you think nibbana is better than samsara, then you've missed the point - Ajahn Sumedho
User avatar
TheNoBSBuddhist
Posts: 1614
Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:06 pm
Location: Loch Lomond, via the High AND Low road....

Re: Tips for a noisy meditation

Post by TheNoBSBuddhist »

Do you live with family, or is it shared accommodation with fellow tenants....?

The former is bad luck, :console: the latter could be changed.....
:namaste:

You will not be punished FOR your 'emotions'; you will be punished BY your 'emotions'.



Image

Pay attention, simplify, and (Meditation instruction in a nutshell) "Mind - the Gap."
‘Absit invidia verbo’ - may ill-will be absent from the word. And mindful of that, if I don't respond, this may be why....
User avatar
Weakfocus
Posts: 77
Joined: Wed Aug 14, 2013 3:07 pm

Re: Tips for a noisy meditation

Post by Weakfocus »

greeneggsandsam wrote:Any useful tips on how to not get distracted by such noise??
Use earplugs. There are many different types, some are more comfortable than others, some are cheaper than others.

I use cheap reusable/washable earplugs for all my sittings since I live in an extremely noise polluted enviornment, they have worked well for me.
walkart wrote: Also your difficulty is may be the result of not respecting the sleeping cycles. One sleeping cycle is about 1h30, so if you wake up in the middle of the last cycle - it's trublesome.
Good point. Sleepytime might be beneficial for those planning to wake to alarms.
User avatar
Mkoll
Posts: 6594
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:55 pm
Location: USA

Re: Tips for a noisy meditation

Post by Mkoll »

walkart wrote:
greeneggsandsam wrote: Yes, I think this is the easiest way around it... I usually meditate at night when everyone is asleep, because I am terrible at waking early :zzz:
The difficulty in the waking aerly is the path between bad and shower.

Also your difficulty is may be the result of not respecting the sleeping cycles. One sleeping cycle is about 1h30, so if you wake up in the middle of the last cycle - it's trublesome.

So, to wake up in a better way you have to do it after 1h30 or 3h00 or 4h30 or 6h00 or 7h30 or 9h00 of sleeping etc. Not between.
Interesting, I didn't know that. Can you give a link or source for that information?
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
walkart
Posts: 136
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2013 6:13 pm

Re: Tips for a noisy meditation

Post by walkart »

Mkoll wrote: Interesting, I didn't know that. Can you give a link or source for that information?
Actually i have not any link, i read it in a book.
User avatar
Mkoll
Posts: 6594
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:55 pm
Location: USA

Re: Tips for a noisy meditation

Post by Mkoll »

A book is a source. What book?
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
walkart
Posts: 136
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2013 6:13 pm

Re: Tips for a noisy meditation

Post by walkart »

Mkoll wrote:A book is a source. What book?
In that book it's not much developped. This book talk about efficace learning, and don't exist in english.

Actualy it's said that sleeping cycle is aboout 1h30 (90min). That per night we have about 6/5 or 4 cycles, and if we want to sleep less we can delete one or more cycles. And this cycle period is due to our ancient forest mode of life, where it is dangerous to sleep for a long period and it's safer to sleep by short cycles.

It's all that i know. :thinking:
User avatar
VinceField
Posts: 207
Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 2:03 am

Re: Tips for a noisy meditation

Post by VinceField »

Mkoll wrote:
walkart wrote: Also your difficulty is may be the result of not respecting the sleeping cycles. One sleeping cycle is about 1h30, so if you wake up in the middle of the last cycle - it's trublesome.

So, to wake up in a better way you have to do it after 1h30 or 3h00 or 4h30 or 6h00 or 7h30 or 9h00 of sleeping etc. Not between.
Interesting, I didn't know that. Can you give a link or source for that information?
This is indeed accurate. A simple google search will provide an abundance of sources, many scientific, others experiential, confirming this. My years of personal experience experimenting with my sleep cycles as a means of inducing out of body experiences and lucid dreaming have confirmed this without a doubt. Steven LaBerge comes to mind as one of the pioneers in sleep and dream research, perhaps check him out. ;)
User avatar
Mkoll
Posts: 6594
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:55 pm
Location: USA

Re: Tips for a noisy meditation

Post by Mkoll »

Very cool. So it sounds like 6 or 7.5 hours is a good amount for a full night's sleep, depending on how much sleep your body needs. 9 hours is likely to be too much.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Post Reply