I'm about to start a regular meditaton schedule. I was wondering if music would be beneficial. Also any other advice would be appreciated as well. Thanks.
I would be a fool to limit what meditation is and how to do it for all people. Some meditations do involve playing music, as in Chod, and some in dancing as in Vajra dance and Sufi twirling. So song, and dance can be tools. However, usually music isn't necessary, and yet, often it's recommended that one practice near streams and so on, and so as such the alpha wave producing nature of some sounds is probably beneficial. That said, to answer your question better I personally would need to know what sort of meditation you are doing, and how long you have been practicing. As one progresses in meditation one withdraws from the engagement of the senses. It's called pratayahara which means withdrawl of senses from their objects. It's the fifth iteration of Patanjali's 8 fold yoga. Therefore, though one can use one of the senses as a focal point, and even in this way use music to gain awakening awareness, still, the activity of the senses will eventual subside as one becomes more dynamically engaged within to awakening, and so one shouldn't become attached to a technique which will stop functioning at a certain point. Moreover, the best forms of meditation are ones with the fewest amount of props so that they can be taken anywhere with you. I hope this is of benefit. Take Care
I wouldnt reccomend it, the tendency would be to get involved in the music and lose the whole point of the meditation excercise. The idea of meditation is to withdraw the senses, therefore any sensory input would be a distraction. However, music before meditation is veyr very helpful. It puts you in calm mindset, when the mind is calm then it is drawn inward that much more easily. Experiment, find what is besft for you. God bless.
NAMASTE I listen too Bhajans or Chanting before Meditation to get my mind in a better place and ground me.But as far as while you meditate i would say no.It is not good.You need a place inside and out that is quite.It is harder to focus when there is outside noises going on.
thank you all for your replies. I will take them to heart and use music to prepare but not during. Thank you again. I am a beginner in meditation. I have meditated only a few times. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
I've also heard that music distracts the mind from clearing itself. If you absolutely PREFER to have music though, I would reccomend using music with an indefinite tempo or rhythm. Improvisational music without a set beat is probably the best thing to use so you don't concentrate on getting into it too much.
i sometimes listen to music when i meditate, but always at a low volume. usually like mellower music, or trance/techno. if the music is at low, then it mellows you out almost, and makes an obe more enjoyable. louder music can make the meditaion and/or obe more intense, sometimes unenjoyable
i dont believe music would be benificial for youre meditation, especially seeing youre starting out. Perhaps it could be helpful to help you wind down before meditation, i supposse we all find out our own niche and how we like to do things.
exactly. personally, i prefer ambient music when im meditating, but various things can help cause strange experiences. the battle of evermore by led zeppelin makes for unique meditation/obe's
Again... I would prefer ambiant music if I listened to music while meditating... No music lets you feel deeper into yourself so your not focused on sound at all...
Ambient music is good, but I also really like certain types of world music, especially Ravi Shankar, and a rather obscure artist named Marina Raye who plays the native American flute.
