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Hi Charlie,

Just wanted to ask you another quick questions – and a random one at that.

I know a few people listen to music while meditating (e.g. Enya, Kitaro, etc.). Personally, I find it a lot better without music, I do wonder if it might help when you’re in a place that is simply just to noisy (beside a construction site maybe – without construction workers yelling things). So I wondering, do you ever find yourself in this situation and what do you do? Do you ever have music playing in the background and if so what music do you prefer?

Thanks,

Gyrating Rhythmic Overtures Of Volume. YOLO!

Hi GROOVY

I like to listen to music as a preparation for meditation but not during the practice. I love music and it makes me feel very relaxed but it also takes me to into being really appreciative of the sounds and textures of it. I think that this could possibly be a meditative experience but in most cases it's just a really enjoyable form of musical appreciation.

If I'm in a noisy place I take one of three possible approaches. The first is to simply allow myself to be aware of the sound and then return to my technique. This may happen over and over again but after a few repetitions of losing my technique and returning to it I feel my mind settling into a meditative state regardless of the outside noises. It's quite nice and when you practice this way it makes you feel like a black-belt meditator. The second approach is to use noise blocking headphones. I favor the in-ear earbuds with built in earplugs. Some people like the active noise-canceling sets but I've never found one that I really love. Lastly if the sound is something that I absolutely cannot block out I will use the earbuds plus a nice app called soundcurtain on my iPhone. It makes the sound of a simulated thunderstorm, wind or water and dynamically changes the volume and sound as the outside noises change.

Give these methods a try and let me know what you think.

Charlie

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