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Startled by sounds
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Hey all,
I have been doing mostly breath-based meditation for about 3 months now, and it has been excellent. One thing, however, that I wonder about is that I can get briefly startled by any sudden sounds (ex. the cracking sound of wood expanding on the floor where I'm sitting). The sounds that can startle me aren't even that loud... They are simply unexpected and I am jarred out of my focus on the breath.
This doesn't ruin my meditation or anything: I get back on track immediately. But I wonder if there is a way in which I should be handling these startling sounds when they arise. I assume that eventually I will be less startled by odd sounds...?
Thanks.
I have been doing mostly breath-based meditation for about 3 months now, and it has been excellent. One thing, however, that I wonder about is that I can get briefly startled by any sudden sounds (ex. the cracking sound of wood expanding on the floor where I'm sitting). The sounds that can startle me aren't even that loud... They are simply unexpected and I am jarred out of my focus on the breath.
This doesn't ruin my meditation or anything: I get back on track immediately. But I wonder if there is a way in which I should be handling these startling sounds when they arise. I assume that eventually I will be less startled by odd sounds...?
Thanks.
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Very typical thing to happen. When the mind becomes subtle and sensitive, even small noises can produce this effect. The underlying reason is that somewhere deep in the unconscious mind still lies the watchful ego that feels threatened by all kinds of things, including noises.
When you hear a noise, just make a mental note: "Aha, cracking noise." and be done with it. When you feel startled, just make a mental note: "Aha, a little flash of fear." and continue.
If the startling effect is persistent, then you might want to tell your ego what a wimpy coward it is, give it a mental mental kick in the backside and throw it out.
Cheers, Thomas
Mine's been hanging around for way too long.
Tenacious little buggers aren't they?
The ego flourishes in the dark, in the nooks and crannies of the subconscious mind. It cannot exist in the bright light of awareness. That's why mindfulness is so useful. It's like having permanent lighting. Whenever you shine awareness on the ego (which is mara), it scurries away. Or if you are lucky, one of its cousins, delusion, dies a quick death. Unfortunately, the mind is a vast place with plenty of hiding space, and as you said it's a persistent bugger...
Cheers, Thomas
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow—
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an India-rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.
He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I awoke and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little Ego, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed!
With sincere apologies to R. L. Stevenson.
The bolded bits are quite pertinent, I feel.....