Questions: LF9 issues and improving Meditation

[xkyh]

Hello,

I have several questions regarding Lifeflow, specifically LF9.

1.
I use an Ipod and a pair of high-end headphones to play the entrainment tracks.

What I have found is that with LF9, with its background music of 'spacey-sounding singing crystals', there appears to be a peculiar but regular sound that seems to me to be out of place for the track. It sounds vaguely like a cross between a handphone buzzing on silent mode, and the sound of a CD being played. It plays at constant intervals, so I believe it is not an issue with my headphones or my ipod. Has this been noticed by other users, or is it a peculiarity in my own recording? It is not particularly loud or jarring, but when I'm meditating to the track, it can get very noticeable. Is there a purpose to the sound, i.e. is it part of the entrainment beats, or...? I suspect that the reason for my disturbance by the sound is because of the relative 'space' that the LF9 track contains as compared to the LF10 track, which has a fuller sound. In LF10, because there appears to be 'so much going on' in the track, it is harder to notice individual sounds without paying particular attention to them.

2.
The relative volume of the 'beats'.

As compared to LF10, LF9 seems to have a higher background music to 'entrainment beat' ration (which I suppose is the pulsating beat that can be discerned amidst the background music). Which is to say, the background music seems to be relatively louder to the entrainment beat such that I need to turn up the volume higher than I usually do in LF10 in order to hear the entrainment beat at the same volume I am accustomed to in LF10. What i want to know is if others have observed the same thing, and if the volume at which the track is played in anyway affects its effectiveness. is there a minimum volume for the track is effective, an optimal volume, or a point whereby extra volume is extraneous? i understand this sounds like an incredibly superfluous question/issue, but I do not want to play the entrainment track too loud as I want to safeguard my hearing and since I am doing this daily (sometimes twice daily), I don't want my hearing to suffer as a result.

3.
Regarding my different experience for LF10 and LF9

I have been doing mantra meditation (or what I think is mantra meditation) to LF10 for about two months, and it has been slightly less than a week since i switched to LF9.
However, I have noticed that the levels of 'peace and happiness(?)' i experience while meditating to LF9 is less pronounced than that of LF10. Since doing LF10, I have experienced great leaps in areas such as stress management, emotional health and stability, and confidence. I am currently serving in the Army, and I started meditating to LF10 during a period of high stress in my working environment (haha, the things I had to do in order to sneak in 20 minutes of meditation in private while in the middle of work or operations... ^^), so I have no doubts that it is meditation and LF that has resulted in those positive changes, since they were so dramatic. There was plenty of 'upheaval' during the first few weeks of meditation, lots of emotional issues brought up and addressed during meditation sessions, and a feeling of progress after each session (insecurities, conflicts with superiors, colleagues and the men under me...more deep-seated complexes...etc).

Which brings me to the issue I have been wondering about: In the two weeks or so (can't exactly remember) the upheavals diminished in frequency and intensity. So, at the present moment ( assuming I don't suddenly acquire new psychological issues), most of the time I meditate (or attempt to meditate, since I probably suck at it), I do so in a strange limbo of relative inner peace and random floating thoughts. In fact, where I used to experienced waves of relaxation, now I just feel like I'm deepening the state I am in by a slightly greater degree, and I don't feel I am 'improving' in my meditation practice at all. Just putting in the hours, t'is all. Please understand that I KNOW (on a deep level) and am intensely grateful that I am in a much better place internally than i was just two months before (dramatic, I know), I just don't like feeling that I am stagnating, and I am wondering if I'm doing something wrong, or if there is something I can be doing better to progress in my practice.

Another closely related issue to my diminishing returns is also the fact that I have a generally better experience with LF10 than with LF9. Since I'm only close to about a week into LF9, I am not certain if its because my brain hasn't fully acclimatized to the entrainment of LF9, or if this is simply the normal course of events: i.e. I am supposed to feel different at different tracks and it is nothing to be concerned about. I have experimented, and will continue to experiment with both tracks, but just yesterday I hit up LF10 again, after finishing my LF9 session, and easily sank into the more pleasurable state that I had grown so familiar with LF10 over the last 2 months. So I think my differing experience has to do with the nature of the tracks. What LF9 does when I meditate to it is actually to make me very 'present', but it is a presence that does not necessarily bring with it a feeling of happiness or peace....just....sheer presence. Thoughts reduced in intensity, a feeling of being 'empty' (in a good way) of emotions, as well.

Is this supposed to happen?

4.
Becoming better at meditation

If possible, I would also like tips on how to improve my meditation ability. i currently do mantra meditation as taught in the 'Discovering Meditation' course, but I feel like I'm doing the same thing over and over and I'm afraid that i would not reap the full benefits of the LF course without improving my own technical understanding and application of meditation. Is there any resources or guides (without stepping into information-overload land or contradiction between different modes of practice) to deepen my practice? A lot of posters on this forum practice breath meditation, and I don't know if I should continue with mantra meditation or jump-ship and try breathing-based meditation to see if I can reap more benefits from it.

Conclusion
I just want to add on closing that Lifeflow is the BOMB. I am currently in a mental headspace that I could not have imagined possible for a long time. Much thanks to Project Meditation for the product, and also for having a community that made it easy for me to decide to try out the product, and for the easy to follow advice for beginning meditation practice espoused by so many members of the community.

[Itlandm]

I take number 2 and number 4, please!

2) It is enough that the beat is heard by your subconscious. It need not be loud so as to be hammered into your brain - it works by being constant while the rest of the soundscape is constantly shifting. So keep the track pleasantly soft, and you should be fine. The beat, if you can even identify it, should be barely audible. You don't need to be aware of it, it is picked up by very deep parts of your brain.

4) You feel like you are doing the same thing over and over? That's good! The point of all the techniques is to do the same thing over and over so as to do nothing. When you come to the point where you do nothing anyway, you don't need the technique, whatever it is. Changing techniques is not recommended since this means you start focusing more on them again. They should simply be a scaffolding against the outside world (which in this case includes your thoughts and emotions) while the silence inside is being built, or rather grown. People who frequently change from mantra to breath to counting to chanting will be constantly building a new scaffolding instead of letting the silence inside be completed. So not recommended unless the current technique is very distracting to you.

I like to say that the state of meditation is similar to waiting for a close friend to speak, if he wants to. Your thoughts are not wandering, you are fully present, and you feel no need to break the silence. When you are in that restful silence, there is no need to return to your mantra, until your thoughts wander again.

[M L K]

Welcome to the community, xkyh. It is quite a testament to Michael's work that you have been able to do so well with LF under such challenging circumstances. I wish you continued success.

And Itland, I know you don't really need to hear this, but I just want to say that I am always happy when I see that you have posted, because your comments always have at least one very valuable tip or potent metaphor for me. Today I find two such metaphors. Thank you. m

[GilesC]

Originally Posted by xkyh

Hello,

I have several questions regarding Lifeflow, specifically LF9.

1.
I use an Ipod and a pair of high-end headphones to play the entrainment tracks.

What I have found is that with LF9, with its background music of 'spacey-sounding singing crystals', there appears to be a peculiar but regular sound that seems to me to be out of place for the track. It sounds vaguely like a cross between a handphone buzzing on silent mode, and the sound of a CD being played. It plays at constant intervals, so I believe it is not an issue with my headphones or my ipod. Has this been noticed by other users, or is it a peculiarity in my own recording? It is not particularly loud or jarring, but when I'm meditating to the track, it can get very noticeable. Is there a purpose to the sound, i.e. is it part of the entrainment beats, or...? I suspect that the reason for my disturbance by the sound is because of the relative 'space' that the LF9 track contains as compared to the LF10 track, which has a fuller sound. In LF10, because there appears to be 'so much going on' in the track, it is harder to notice individual sounds without paying particular attention to them.

2.
The relative volume of the 'beats'.

As compared to LF10, LF9 seems to have a higher background music to 'entrainment beat' ration (which I suppose is the pulsating beat that can be discerned amidst the background music). Which is to say, the background music seems to be relatively louder to the entrainment beat such that I need to turn up the volume higher than I usually do in LF10 in order to hear the entrainment beat at the same volume I am accustomed to in LF10. What i want to know is if others have observed the same thing, and if the volume at which the track is played in anyway affects its effectiveness. is there a minimum volume for the track is effective, an optimal volume, or a point whereby extra volume is extraneous? i understand this sounds like an incredibly superfluous question/issue, but I do not want to play the entrainment track too loud as I want to safeguard my hearing and since I am doing this daily (sometimes twice daily), I don't want my hearing to suffer as a result.

In answer to question 1 and 2, turn the volume down.
The purpose of the entrainment tracks is to be played in the background whilst you meditate. The ears are able to pick up on the entrainment beats without it being so loud you can easily hear them. Also, when meditating, place your focus on the mantra and not on the sound of the tracks. If you find yourself listening to the tracks, you have been distracted from your meditation practice (don't beat yourself up about it, we've all done it, it's normal), so just use that recognition to allow yourself to come back to your mantra and continue meditating. It'll take practice but it'll become easier with time.

3.
Regarding my different experience for LF10 and LF9

I have been doing mantra meditation (or what I think is mantra meditation) to LF10 for about two months, and it has been slightly less than a week since i switched to LF9.
However, I have noticed that the levels of 'peace and happiness(?)' i experience while meditating to LF9 is less pronounced than that of LF10. Since doing LF10, I have experienced great leaps in areas such as stress management, emotional health and stability, and confidence. I am currently serving in the Army, and I started meditating to LF10 during a period of high stress in my working environment (haha, the things I had to do in order to sneak in 20 minutes of meditation in private while in the middle of work or operations... ^^), so I have no doubts that it is meditation and LF that has resulted in those positive changes, since they were so dramatic. There was plenty of 'upheaval' during the first few weeks of meditation, lots of emotional issues brought up and addressed during meditation sessions, and a feeling of progress after each session (insecurities, conflicts with superiors, colleagues and the men under me...more deep-seated complexes...etc).

Which brings me to the issue I have been wondering about: In the two weeks or so (can't exactly remember) the upheavals diminished in frequency and intensity. So, at the present moment ( assuming I don't suddenly acquire new psychological issues), most of the time I meditate (or attempt to meditate, since I probably suck at it), I do so in a strange limbo of relative inner peace and random floating thoughts. In fact, where I used to experienced waves of relaxation, now I just feel like I'm deepening the state I am in by a slightly greater degree, and I don't feel I am 'improving' in my meditation practice at all. Just putting in the hours, t'is all. Please understand that I KNOW (on a deep level) and am intensely grateful that I am in a much better place internally than i was just two months before (dramatic, I know), I just don't like feeling that I am stagnating, and I am wondering if I'm doing something wrong, or if there is something I can be doing better to progress in my practice.

You're not doing anything wrong.
The fact that your issues are diminishing shows that the meditation is working, so that's great. The thoughts that you are not 'improving' are thoughts created by your mind, and are not true. Recognise that it's just the mind creating chatter, and let it go. You're doing just fine. It's the mind that fights against the deepening peace and awareness, and tries to make you believe that it's not right, but you know in yourself that it is right.

Another closely related issue to my diminishing returns is also the fact that I have a generally better experience with LF10 than with LF9. Since I'm only close to about a week into LF9, I am not certain if its because my brain hasn't fully acclimatized to the entrainment of LF9, or if this is simply the normal course of events: i.e. I am supposed to feel different at different tracks and it is nothing to be concerned about. I have experimented, and will continue to experiment with both tracks, but just yesterday I hit up LF10 again, after finishing my LF9 session, and easily sank into the more pleasurable state that I had grown so familiar with LF10 over the last 2 months. So I think my differing experience has to do with the nature of the tracks. What LF9 does when I meditate to it is actually to make me very 'present', but it is a presence that does not necessarily bring with it a feeling of happiness or peace....just....sheer presence. Thoughts reduced in intensity, a feeling of being 'empty' (in a good way) of emotions, as well.

Is this supposed to happen?

If you look around on the forums you'll find various threads where people have said what their favourite tracks are and where people have complained that they can't use certain levels as they don't get on with it. Again, ensure the volume is turned down, and bring the focus back to the mantra. It's the mind analysing the sounds of the track, and analysing what it thinks is happening, so just accept that it's doing that and let it pass. If you try and focus on how deep you are getting (especially when you start a new level) then you'll find that focus is really the thoughts in the mind and will bring you out of going deep. That's normal when you first start a level you've not listened to before, cos you're interested in what it sounds like, but stick at it and it'll just become the background whilst you focus on your mantra.

4.
Becoming better at meditation

If possible, I would also like tips on how to improve my meditation ability. i currently do mantra meditation as taught in the 'Discovering Meditation' course, but I feel like I'm doing the same thing over and over and I'm afraid that i would not reap the full benefits of the LF course without improving my own technical understanding and application of meditation. Is there any resources or guides (without stepping into information-overload land or contradiction between different modes of practice) to deepen my practice? A lot of posters on this forum practice breath meditation, and I don't know if I should continue with mantra meditation or jump-ship and try breathing-based meditation to see if I can reap more benefits from it.

It sounds like you've done ok with mantra meditation. There's no harm in trying others and seeing how you find those. My personal experience is that mantra meditation offers a deeper meditation, though others will say otherwise.
A lot of people expect meditation to put them into some sort of trance state, or don't recognise that the practice is really so simple that they are already doing it right, and think there must be something more to it. Really, the practice and principles are simple, but it just takes time to get used to becoming aware of the thoughts distracting you and letting them go, and dealing with other sensations such as discomfort or emotions that come up.
We could go into all sorts of spiritual aspects of meditation, and the many different techniques, but unless you really want to go there, or you're having a problem with the technique you are using then we'll say no more for now eh!

Conclusion
I just want to add on closing that Lifeflow is the BOMB. I am currently in a mental headspace that I could not have imagined possible for a long time. Much thanks to Project Meditation for the product, and also for having a community that made it easy for me to decide to try out the product, and for the easy to follow advice for beginning meditation practice espoused by so many members of the community.

Yep, can't agree more. Free meditation tuition and then affordable entrainment tracks with flexible purchase terms if needed and a very helpful admin team. Of course not forgetting all the wonderful folks on the community who are most supportive of everyone.

Hugs

Giles

[xkyh]

Wow, just...wow. Such swift replies.

@Itland + GilesC:

Between the both of you, all the questions I've asked have been answered. I am very grateful for this. Especially since both of you have provided such informative and detailed replies. Totally on point, thanks.

@MLK: Ayep, thanks for the well wishes. I will definitely continue my practice even after I leave the service next year and enter University.

I've always lived in a perpetual state of doubt as to whether I will fall into yet another spiral of depression and negativity, and that doubt has always colored whatever hopes I've had of myself, since I knew there was always a chance I would unexpectedly self-sabotage my own efforts. It's almost ridiculous how meditation and Lifeflow work so effectively, and it makes me wish sometimes, so-so-so badly, that I had used Lifeflow since my Highschool days. How my life might have turned out different...hahaha. Then again, who knows?

-----------

One last question; Since LF10 and LF9 are under the alpha brainwave spectrum, does anyone here know what's the different between them, or what purpose they serve through entrainment? Or is this another of those 'you must experience it to know' kind of things?

regards
xkyh

[pollyanna]

Hi there xkyh,

It's great to hear you are so pleased with LifeFlow

I have copied the following from one of the Golden Threads as it answers your question far more clearly than I could:-

"Think of growing in meditation as if you were setting a goal to earn a degree in mathematics.

You first have to learn the numbers and then learn how to count them in the correct order. Then you learn simple addition and subtraction. Then you learn multiplication and division including the old borrowing and carrying if you learned the way I did. Then you can delve into decimals, fractions and so forth.

Meditation is no different. Some states of consciousness are natural, yet are not common. States like the alpha levels we go in and out of regularly throughout our day and so entering them in meditation feels somewhat more "familiar" than entering a waking state of theta might feel. Because we already have a good deal of experience with alpha it is relatively easy to begin working our meditations towards the alpha levels.

We all know what it feels like to suddenly find ourselves aware that we were lost in a daydream. That was an alpha state. So in the beginning of learning meditation if I tell you that you're going to experience an alpha meditative state you have at least an idea what that experience might be like. But if I said to you, "Alright, Newbie, we're going to start you off right from the beginning learning to meditate at a delta level," you would have no idea at all how that might feel or what to expect. Your chances of successfully entering delta while still awake and then staying there would be greatly reduced.

Instead we start off from something that is a little bit familiar and we build on that foundation. We take the next small step and work at it until it begins to feel familiar as well, then we take another step, then another and another and so on. As each new step becomes familiar and comfortable it becomes a secure foundation upon which to take that next step."

If you want to read the whole explanation you can click on the following link:-

Experiences of LF 9 - LF 1?

Good to hear you are spending time with each level LifeFlow is very special in my opinion and has been designed with great thought as I'm sure you will discover yourself when working through the levels. You'll find when you reach LF7 that it not only builds the foundation for LF6, it also incorporates the schumann resonance. You can read more about this from the following link:-

Schumann Resonance - The Health Benefits

Last and certainly not least is a link to a rather long but very clear explanation of the principles of Meditation and entrainment which has helped many people here:-

Principles of Meditation & Entrainment

I wish you much peace and joy on your amazing journey of self discovery