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It is never quiet

MoonIzAMooreMoonIzAMoore
in Buddhism Basics
When I started studying and doing meditation which was about a week ago, I realized that there is never any queit time. I have a two year old, a dog, and a snoring caregiver. My caregiver is my daughters' father. I wanted to be able to meditate at least twice a day. Once without chanting and once with. Do to the noise, I am only able to meditate once a day so far but I do it everyday. Any suggestions on blocking out the noise? I really have no where in my home to go that is quiet and I am almost bed ridden so going out isn't really a option. I also live in the city so I can't go outside and meditate either.

Comments

  • shanyinshanyin Novice Yogin Sault Ontario Veteran
    I used to wear those yellow foam earplugs. They aren't 100% effective but maybe you can find some that are.
  • lamaramadingdonglamaramadingdong Veteran
    I sometimes use a recorded thunderstorm or the sound of a waterfall on my ipod to cover distracting sounds.
  • sovasova delocalized fractyllic harmonizing Veteran
    The city, depending where, can be very peaceful early in the morning. Rise with the sun and the only sounds you might hear are cabs, buses, and birds in the early day.

    Happy sitting :D!
  • MoonIzAMooreMoonIzAMoore
    Oh thank you so much @shanyin. They use them when you get an MRI. Where do you buy them online? Amazon maybe?
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Gentle Man Veteran
    MoonIzAMoore said:

    Oh thank you so much @shanyin. They use them when you get an MRI. Where do you buy them online? Amazon maybe?

    Gun shops, hunting supplies. So yes, maybe LL Bean or Herter's online.

    MoonIzAMoore
  • shanyinshanyin Novice Yogin Sault Ontario Veteran
    I don't know. My dad used to bring them home from work. Maybe if you have some money you can invest in a more effective form of earplugs, sure you could google it. Glad it helped!

  • blu3reeblu3ree Veteran
    Haha my houses walls are paper thin. Yet there seems to still be peace. It will never be completely silent even if you retreat to a cave there will be sounds of the body. Ambient noise is everywhere its easier to accePt it than to fight it.
    sovaMoonIzAMooreInvincible_summerchela
  • MoonIzAMooreMoonIzAMoore
    @larma, (I can't copy and paste). I have an older IPhone which is not loud enough but I could put the sounds on the Droid and hook it up to the surround sound. Thanks. @sova, I owned two pit bulls. They were both given to me. I did get rid of one but refused to put her down. Because of my pit and all the neighbors dogs, outside is like a kennel. Lol. Ty.
  • MoonIzAMooreMoonIzAMoore
    A cave would be great for me. Noise makes me shake. Shaking makes it harder to concentrate. I think you could get those earplugs at the hardware store which is down the street. I forgot we used them when we did construction too.
  • ZeroZero Veteran
    MoonIzAMoore said:


    Any suggestions on blocking out the noise?

    Meditation can be done anywhere - try it even with the noise - if you cut out the noise and that seems better then great but if not then do noisy meditation - the noise outside is nothing compared to the noise inside! Happy exploring...
    Theswingisyellowriverflow
  • TheswingisyellowTheswingisyellow Trying to be open to existence Samsara Veteran
    edited February 2013
    It's wonderful that you meditate everyday. Keep meditating. In meditation when you lose the focus of your mediation, simply come back to it, again and again. Continously pushing away other sounds will become exhausting and distracting and your meditation will feel like a drudge. Rather keep coming back to your breath (or whatever your meditation focuses on) and in time the focus on these external noises will become less and less. I will say it is surely easier to meditate in a peaceful or calm environment, but in time I have found I can meditate in almost any kind of surrounding. Keep going and I think you will find it gets easier. Also, I would add, try to do your meditation in the off hours, maybe after everyone's gone to bed or early before everyone gets up.
    I wish you the best,
    Todd
    blu3reeInvincible_summer
  • blu3reeblu3ree Veteran
    Theswingisyellow said:

    It's wonderful that you meditate everyday. Keep meditating. In meditation when you lose the focus of your mediation, simply come back to it, again and again. Continously pushing away other sounds will become exhausting and distracting and your meditation will feel like a drudge. Rather keep coming back to your breath (or whatever your meditation focuses on) and in time the focus on these external noises will become less and less. I will say it is surely easier to meditate in a peaceful or calm environment, but in time I have found I can meditate in almost any kind of surrounding. Keep going and I think you will find it gets easier. Also, I would add, try to do your meditation in the off hours, maybe after everyone's gone to bed or early before everyone gets up.
    I wish you the best,
    Todd

    The time of 3-6am is good for spiritual growth. At least for me it's very quite and seems like waves of loving consciousness flow into the earth very prominently at that time. Maybe I'm just to attached to it either way most people aren't driving around.
    Theswingisyellow
  • TheswingisyellowTheswingisyellow Trying to be open to existence Samsara Veteran
    @blu3ree; agree early morning mediation is pretty awesome :thumbsup:
  • MoonIzAMooreMoonIzAMoore
    @zero. That is how I have been doing it and was wondering if it was a better way. @theswingisyellow, thanks for the encouragement. I hope with practice, I can meditate anywhere. I do focus on my breathing and when the noise distracts me, I return to that focus. Thanks everyone. I feel better. The off hours when most people sleep is when the snoring starts. You can here it outside. He snores so loud that he wakes up with the roof of his mouth swollen.
    blu3reeInvincible_summer
  • Invincible_summerInvincible_summer Heavy Metal Dhamma We(s)t coast, Canada Veteran
    Just to re-iterate what's been said: just keep sitting with it, and you'll learn to see the noises are the same as any other noises - phenomena that arise and fall. The sound of birds or a choir singing is the same way.

    And if the snoring causes his palate to become swollen, he should probably get that professionally examined! :confused:
    Theswingisyellow
  • BhikkhuJayasaraBhikkhuJayasara Bhikkhu Veteran
    blocking out the noise will get you nowhere.. that is force... will power.. negativity.

    let the noise in, observe it, know it for what it is, watch it come and go...

    “He drew a circle that shut me out-
    Heretic , rebel, a thing to flout.
    But love and I had the wit to win:
    We drew a circle and took him In !

    draw a circle around that noise, give loving-friendliness to it, and allow it to do what it does naturally.. then you will find your peace.
    Invincible_summerTheswingisyellow
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Gentle Man Veteran
    Straight_Man said:


    Gun shops, hunting supplies. So yes, maybe LL Bean or Herter's online.

    Also Walmart.com has them I think.

  • lobsterlobster Veteran
    You can get noise cancelling headphones. Playing Buddha mantras on a headphone loop will soon inoculate you against background sounds, which are as mentioned always initially distracting, just there or painful, dependent on how you approach noise.
    I have meditated in silent temples surrounded by construction work on new wings. However my temple is between by ears not outside anymore . . .

    Good luck and scream if you need help. Probably won't hear you but someone will . . . :thumbsup:
  • ToshTosh Veteran
    The best ear plugs are the wax ones impregnated with cotton wool. The brand I use are Quies; I purchased my last lot from e-bay. You warm them up in your hands, the wax gets soft, and they mould into your ear perfectly.

    I usually get up early, before the family to meditate and I also meditate at 11.00 pm when they go to bed.

    At other times a sign on the door helps:

    photo DSCF3320_zps0f84022f.jpg

    I've found that inviting them in keeps them out!
    Invincible_summerblu3reeDandelion
  • footiamfootiam Veteran
    edited March 2013
    MoonIzAMoore said:

    When I started studying and doing meditation which was about a week ago, I realized that there is never any queit time. I have a two year old, a dog, and a snoring caregiver. My caregiver is my daughters' father. I wanted to be able to meditate at least twice a day. Once without chanting and once with. Do to the noise, I am only able to meditate once a day so far but I do it everyday. Any suggestions on blocking out the noise? I really have no where in my home to go that is quiet and I am almost bed ridden so going out isn't really a option. I also live in the city so I can't go outside and meditate either.

    You are not to block the noise; just note it. But if you insist, get some earplugs.
  • MaryAnneMaryAnne Veteran
    When my kids were younger I had no choice but to wait until they were all in bed for the night and then I would retreat to my room, put the headphones on, and relax and/or meditate depending on my needs at the time.
    Having a scheduled (reasonable!) bedtime for my kids left me some time between 9 and 11:00 to myself and for doing my own thing every night, which is what every parents needs to stay sane, IMO.

    Once my kids got a little older I would still use that hour or two in the late evening for my time of meditation or recharging, etc. I would hang a sign on my bedroom door as well-
    "IF YOU'RE NOT BLEEDING AND THE HOUSE IS NOT ON FIRE - DON'T KNOCK ON THIS DOOR!" And they didn't.

    I told them what I was doing in there, I explained I would be listening to chants or meditation music of some sort with headphones on and would not be able to hear them until I was done. I gave them instructions to answer the phone and tell whomever called for me that I was "busy" and could not come to the phone but would call them back in about an hour or so. Worked out well for several years that way.

    One just needs to make the time for what's important.

  • chelachela Veteran
    I have 2 1/2 year old and we co-sleep. I try to wake up early (5:30) to get some meditation in, but many times she wakes up either when I get out of bed or soon afterwards and cries for me to come back. It's very difficult to get time to do ANYTHING, but when I had her, I wanted to try attachment parenting. It worked- we are very attached. I have older kids (the oldest is almost an adult) and I was very distracted while they were young. I was a single parent, working full time and going to school part-time. I wanted to do things differently and more mindfully this time. It's a big sacrifice, in many ways. But it's okay-- I see the benefits every day, and I have grown in many ways because of it. I just go with it and try not to fight it. This is life. Most days I meditate for a short period of time (15-20 minutes), some days I don't get any in. But I always reserve Sunday for Sangha and long meditation. Your child won't be little for very long.
  • howhow Veteran Veteran
    edited March 2013
    @MoonizAMoore

    It is never quiet!

    Yes but be thankful for it for death may be only the true quiet to be experienced.

    Meditation is allowing all phenomena to be just what it is without our habitual fiddlings
    making us ego slaves. Wishing that externals could be different for meditation is a common miss-understanding of what meditation is.
    Many monasteries are located near highways because a practise is supposed to develop a complete engagement with life, not the avoidance of it.

    My advice would be to simply allow all the sound ( as well as whatever is discerned by the eyes, nose, tongue, body & mind) there own unfettered birthing, life and eventual passing.

    in gassho
    lobsterInvincible_summer
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