supplementing meditation with music?

thumbnail
Dai Orion Gold, modified 10 Years ago at 10/15/13 3:58 PM
Created 10 Years ago at 10/15/13 3:58 PM

supplementing meditation with music?

Posts: 7 Join Date: 10/15/13 Recent Posts
Hi all,
New to DhO here. Read through MCTB and stuff. Completed a goenka retreat a few months ago that sent me into A&P. I didn't know what it was so I freaked out ended up shutting it down before A&P peak. Been hovering between M&B and C&A since then and I tend to get a lot of energy-like phenomenon with tinglings / energy flows etc. A lot of times it's like tension knots dissolve into vibrations and drain out the arms/legs. Just some background to see where this question is coming from.

Anyway,
I haven't been able to find any information here on music and its effects.
I ask because often after a good meditation session some types of music can untangle the knots very quickly, like the meditation loosens it and the music drains it.

Obviously one shouldn't meditate all the time to music as it messes up concentration, but it seems useful in general.
Are these all low-level distractions from the main insight techniques that will fade or become insignificant with progress, or has anyone found occasional music doses to be helpful along the path?

Thanks!
M N, modified 10 Years ago at 10/16/13 4:03 AM
Created 10 Years ago at 10/16/13 4:03 AM

RE: supplementing meditation with music?

Posts: 210 Join Date: 3/3/12 Recent Posts
I ask because often after a good meditation session some types of music can untangle the knots very quickly


Can you describe theprocess in more detail? Like, what do you mean by knots, how do you feel them in the body, how they interact with music,and whatever else that you noticed on a phenomenological level.

In the past I have used music as an insight practice, but I never really used in the untangling knot process...
thumbnail
Dai Orion Gold, modified 10 Years ago at 10/17/13 2:31 PM
Created 10 Years ago at 10/17/13 2:31 PM

RE: supplementing meditation with music?

Posts: 7 Join Date: 10/15/13 Recent Posts
Thanks, I have heard a lot that music is distracting for insight but sometimes it seems natural so your confirmation is very helpful.

Ah yes it's a bit hard to explain I had hoped it was the "standard" vibrations everyone's familiar with.
I don't mean knots as in untying the knot of dualistic perception, I think I have a ways to go for that.
Its more like a cramp, in that it is a collection of tense muscles, but it doesn't hurt so much as it feels restless or anxious, like Restless Leg Syndrom. The feeling kind of repels my attention, like looking into a bright light. If I "stare" hard enough, it's like breaking through some sort of barrier and the vibrations come flowing out and down to the arms or legs. the stream itself feels more like hot/cold (so hot that it's cold?) fluxing liquid pinpricks but not necessarily painful unless it's very intense. The best analogy I can give is the draining feeling in the bladder during urination.. but with asleep limb tingling. However, surrounding the stream are the more macro-scale vibrations. I'm really bad at converting to hertz but I'd say it's between 5-10hz, with the individual pinpricks going much faster.
Tom Tom, modified 10 Years ago at 10/17/13 5:12 PM
Created 10 Years ago at 10/17/13 5:06 PM

RE: supplementing meditation with music?

Posts: 466 Join Date: 9/19/09 Recent Posts
A successful DhO member named Trent wrote this in an old post here: http://www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/598077http://www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/598077

Holosync is a type of music that has binaural beats in it.

Trent:

Yes. I used holosync (specifically) for around 50% of my sits from pre-stream entry to arhatship. I used level one and level two most of the time pre-anagami. Around the time I reached anagami, I switched to using two and three for most sits. I tried and analyzed four through eight but did not find them to be better or worse than the lower tiered ones; so I just stuck with two and three. Maybe worth noting that I sometimes would just listen to one track (30 minutes or an hours worth), then took my headphones off for the rest of the sit. I found that worked better for some stages / cycles than did continual listening for the whole sit.

Breadcrumb