Monday, May 24, 2010

Day 11

I'm trying to conduct an experiment this week.

I've noticed, during my meditation attempts that while my mind has a tendency to float off to other things without my really noticing, when I try to draw back into the moment and to watch my thoughts, my mind is at its most quiet when I'm striving to be aware of what I'm hearing.

It's fairly quiet in my apartment and I'll hear the muffled sounds of neighbors getting ready for their day and the birds singing (and this time of year: not so quiet). At that hour of the morning there is not a lot of sounds of traffic - which paradoxically makes me more aware of it. I don't like the sound, especially while trying to meditate, because it makes me feel rushed and I think of the drivers busy on their way to work.

It occurred to me, that if just listening to the sounds of traffic wound me up, then perhaps one way to calm myself down would be to limit the noise in my life and embrace more quiet. So this week I'm:

  • not watching any television (not all that hard, as I usually only watch on the weekends)
  • not listening to music (except when running on the treadmill or while cleaning the apartment
This is harder than I thought. I've already turned the radio on in the car a couple of times before I remembered my experiment, and turned on music at work.

But I'm curious to see how it goes...


5 comments:

  1. Good luck Heather - I'm interested in seeing how it works for you. I think I'll try a little experiment myself...

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  2. Man, that would be impossible for me. My music is like an extra appendage! So do it for the rest of us!

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  3. I'm with Jess on this one. I couldn't survive without my tunes. On the other hand, I've been doing the KFB without any music playing around me and it gives me a whole different perspective. I'm feeling more in tune with my body.

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  4. That DOES sound like an interesting experiment. Keep us posted!

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  5. Great idea to shut off the television! I'll admit, sometimes I have to turn this on to get me through the planks, but all the ads and vapid noise get me all worked up and frustrated!

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