Meditation?

Question

I'm interested in learning more about meditation but I find it challenging to practice meditation at home as there is never any silence to take advantage of. By the time everyone is quiet and in bed, i'm exhausted and end up going to bed too. I find background noise distracting but I'm wondering if silence is required for meditation. Can a person eventually master the art of meditation to the point where silence is not necessary? If anyone meditates seriously and regularly, I would be interested in talking to you about it.

Answer 1

purify the mind first very important ,vegetarian diet /pure food ,then concentrate on the point between the eyes or the heart visualizing om ,this should steady the mind and make it calm concentrating on your breathing.when the concentration reaches the point as when you are absorbed in a good book then you begin meditation the thought less thought state. this may take many life times and is very serious you should meditate for liberation of the soul and not for material benifit the pursuit of such is called creative visulization not meditation.yoga/meditation unites the supreme soul with the individual soul like a cup full of sea water rejoining the sea

Answer 2

Meditation should be a commitment, and not really something you do when you have spare time.

Theoretically, you should be able to meditate if WW3 were going on outside, but that concentration level is a long way off for most of us.

I've been taught to meditate in the early morning (before the sun rises). People are asleep, no phone calls or knocks on the door, yesterday's problems are forgotten and today's have not yet arrived. Plus, when you show up at work, you'll already have been awake longer than anyone else, so you'll have a jump on the competition. But that means get to bed before "Letterman". =)

As to "How" to meditate, do your research, and get instruction from someone who's an expert in the field. Trying to meditate on your own, or from books might be counter-productive.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Well, I think that meditation is very psychologically soothing. It may bother you when there is a lot of noise around as it bothers most people. I don’t think this is something that will go away with time as you “master” meditation. It’s just part of your personality. Try taking a long bath; shut the door (lock it maybe), turn the lights off, light some candles and just start thinking. That’s all meditation is. Everyone does it, it’s just a matter of how often and how you go about practicing it. Hope this helps :)

Answer 4

I know that when you hear noises and your families voices during meditation, your mind will respond (out of habit). It does make it difficult to focus on your meditation. It is still possible to get through it. I have two practical suggestions.

1. Just focus on your breathing and posture. I don't know if you do a visionary or mantra style of meditation. If you do your mind is focused on those thoughts. Any noise creates competition for your focus. But, if you focus on your breathing and posture only, there is no opposition. the noises are not competing because your breath and posture don't require a response from your mind. Your mind responds automatically, when your breathing deepens your brain chemistry changes and you become focused ad relaxed.

2. If you have to, buy ear plugs. You won't find this suggestion in any ancient texts. They didn't have the same circumstances we have today. Whatever works. Eventually, don't use the ear plugs.

Answer 5

At first noise is a distraction but after a while you can meditate in a train station without any trouble. It is hard to get control over your mind and that is what meditation is. I enjoy 'walking meditation' the most, that is where as you walk outdoors you get in a meditative state. Maybe you would like that...

But if you can meditate for 5 minutes you will eventually get more mental discipline.

Answer 6

I find ear plugs help quite a bit. There is a brand called Hearos and the ones that are blue seem to the best, I've purchased them at Walgreens. If those alone don't work, try them in addition to some noise blocking headphones (JVC makes a decent pair. I bought mine on Amazon for about $50) and a background noise cd - like a thundering rainstorm or ocean waves...nothing you'd be distracted by, just soothing background noise. Good luck!

Answer 7

While a quiet, peaceful place is important to your own inner peace, we are creatures of our environment and meditation is actually, by definition...to think upon! We can change our thoughts at will in any time or place. It is not the beneficial quiet time, which helps to locate our peace centre, but it is a way to begin. When washing dishes, dusting, any mundane task, instead of allowing the mind to wander (usually to negative places) put a picture of your peaceful place in your mind and see if it can't help you to focus a bit. Then when a peaceful time is available you will have found a peace centre to go to.

Answer 8

since absolute silence is difficult to find in big cities, it is not a precondition to meditate.

the more you concentrate in the object of your meditation (breath, heart beats, inner trip, a virtue -patience, compassion) the less you will hear background noise.

plus, if the purpose of your mediation is achieving mindfulness even backgroun noise is part of the present moment, so you should englobe it in your experience.

more important than the outside noise is learning to quiet the inside noise of thoughts running throug unawakened mind.

keep trying, if you persist, you shall prevail. guanteed ;)

Answer 9

I trick I use; when I caught myself thoughtlessly thinking, I put my attention on where thought comes from, that is can I find thought before I begin to think again. It works great through out the noisy of the day.

Answer 10

the secret is practising until a time that the world could be falling apart round about you .. yet you remain in your silence...
i promise this does get easier to do
i have 3 kids and a hubby ( who is noisier than the kids ) ... yet i love my inner quiet
just keep at it and good luck xx