Irritated by pipe music on LF8

[SilentSal]

I started LF8 two days ago and have been quite irritated by the pipe music on it, which seems to dominate the track. It stopped me relaxing or meditating properly. Maybe I'll get used to it, but I loved both LF10 and LF9 straight away.

I'm tempted to go back to LF9 because i was really enjoying that, but I don't want pipe music to get in the way of reaching deeper levels.

Has anyone had a similar experience or have any tips on how to overcome this?

Thanks

SilentSal

[Itlandm]

That is the funny thing - some of us recently talked about how much we love this track, and there are a bunch of people who have complained about LF 9 and how hard it is to meditate to. It really looks like certain people have their own personal "stumbling block" in the series. I recommend browsing some of the older posts on the matter, but one thing that leaps out is to try to play with the volume lower than usual, to the point where you can barely hear the underlying steady rhythm that makes the entrainment.

Here are some links from the forum:
LifeFlow 8

Favorite/Least favorite levels?
(WeeHoo seems to express the same sentiment as you regarding LF8 here)

Hard to concentrate with LifeFlow

[GilesC]

Hi Sal,

I guess, not every level is going to suit every person.... at first.

Part of the progression through the levels is the inevitable effect of bringing up our issues due to our coming more into balance. When these issues arise, we can either work to suppress them (and it is work and does take energy to keep it suppressed) or we can acknowledge the issue exists and choose to deal with it or let it go.

So, you find the pipe music irritating? Why? What is it bringing up in you, in terms of feelings, memories etc.?

One thing we can learn is that, how we feel about something is not a result of that thing itself. For example, if you find pipe music irritating and somebody else finds the same music beautiful, then it can't be that the music itself is both irritating and beautiful. It is simply music. The feeling of irritation or beauty comes from within ourselves and it is there that we have to look to be able to deal with it.

Hugs

Giles

[enlighteneduk]

Sal.

I have just downloaded it and am listening to it for the first time. As with you, I am finding the pipes are preventing me from concentrating and being able to meditate.

I do not like it at all! I love the sound of pipes, but the note sequences are an absolute dirge and would depress me, I am certain! I had been feeling down because of the dreadful constant wet and grey weather we had been having here in Devon, the third summer like it in a row, so much so last year, I bought a lightbox in August, whereas most people suffer from SAD in the winter!!

Today is gloriously sunny and I am sitting outside with my laptop listening to LF 8, but had it been a grey and dismal day again, I think I would be suicidal after 40 mins!! I only ever get depressed in continual grey wet weather, and immediately perk up when the sun is out, so I dont think LF8 is bringing up any particular issues. I looked forward to my daily dose of LF10 and 9, but I truly do not think I am going to be able to listen to 8 easily, or enjoyably. I will persevere and report back later, but I have a feeling my mind will not change!

Heather

[GilesC]

Hi Heather,

Firstly, my apologies for quoting your post in bits and not necessarily the same order...

so I dont think LF8 is bringing up any particular issues.

Really?

Originally Posted by enlighteneduk

Today is gloriously sunny and I am sitting outside with my laptop listening to LF 8, but had it been a grey and dismal day again, I think I would be suicidal after 40 mins!!

and

I only ever get depressed in continual grey wet weather, and immediately perk up when the sun is out

Even though it is was gloriously sunny when you wrote this, you have created an association between the pipe music and grey, wet and 'dismal' days. Why did the pipe music bring up memories of such days? example... Perhaps there was a time in the past when it had been raining a lot and you felt stuck indoors, listening to the radio and there was some sort of pipe or other music playing; not necessarily 'bad' pipe music, but just some element of that music that you are associating now with the pipe music on LF8. That element is present in the LF8 track and is bringing up those feelings you have of the past.

So, perhaps you need to examine what you feel about those days you consider to be 'dismal' and why you feel they are 'dismal'. (apart from the physiological aspect of vitamin D production through exposure to sunlight, which is where a light box helps). What is it about the wet, or the greyness that troubles you?

Let's look at some of your statements a little more closely, if I may...

I think I would be suicidal after 40 mins!!

Here you are imagining a future event. It hasn't happened, it's not here in the present moment, so why have you chosen to create such a thought?

I only ever get depressed in continual grey wet weather, and immediately perk up when the sun is out

Have you ever tried to repeat something that you've done before and had it go exactly the same? A snooker (pool for those in the US. ) player will hit one ball against another, knowing that in the past, hitting the ball in a certain way from a certain angle, with a certain amount of back/side spin has caused it to react in a certain way. In that case, why do they ever miss a shot? The answer is because, the slightest of things can change the circumstances, and the shot in the present is not the same as the shot of the past.

To react to something is to re-(en)act that thing. Re-enacting is to take a belief/memory of something in the past and, because of some similarities to the present situation, assume that the outcome will be the same as the past and therefore act in such as way as we did in that past event, to aim to influence the outcome to be the same or different as desired. The problem with this is that we are basing our actions on what happened in the past and not what is here in the present moment. As such, aspects of the present reality are overlooked (our discursive mind is busy looking at itself), and the true action that should be taken is forsaken in place of re-action from the past. Inevitably, this leads to incorrect action being taken.

So, looking at your statement that you only ever get depressed in continual grey wet weather, you are already deciding your future and you are already choosing how you will react, yet a period of grey wet weather in the future is not the same as a period of grey wet weather from the past.

Just some thoughts..

Hugs

Giles

[SilentSal]

Thanks to Giles and Itlandm for your suggestions. Sorry I haven't got back to you sooner, but I did read the suggested threads and have tried to work out what it was that was causing the music to be irritating.

To be honest, certain sounds do tend to irritate me (possibly sensory defensiveness?) and it's not the pipes per se that annoy me - I normally love pipe music. It's just the stop-start way that particular music is being played.

I don't think I've necessarily got issues connecting pipe music to bad experience. I think it's just that different people find different things relaxing or annoying.

It's possible that there was an issue that needed to be dealt with since after a few days of listening a memory did come to the fore and cause me to become very emotional. It wasn't a buried memory, but it's something that I have probably not dealt with properly and upsets me from time to time.

Since then, I seem to tolerate LF8 to some extent and although I don't feel I'm getting as good a meditation experience as I have done with LF10 and LF9, I am now getting to the stage where I am amazingly relaxed at the end of a session

Who know, maybe by the time I move onto LF7 I will have learned to love LF8?

SilentSal

[SilentSal]

Hi Heather

I know just where you are coming from about the weather this summer. Coincidentally, I'm also in Devon (North) and have found the constant rain extremely disheartening. I'm sure the lack of vitamin D doesn't help either! It's been great to see blue sky and feel the sun on my face a couple of days this week

I think that Giles has a point about thinking more positively about things. I am certainly trying to get away from my negative thinking patterns as they as not helpful for my various issues. I have found that telling myself how enjoyable I will find the meditation session before hand has helped, as does discarding any negative thoughts about the music as they occur to me, replacing them with my mantra. I also try to concentrate my attention on the other aspects of the recording that I find relaxing. It's not perfect, but I've certainly found an improvement using these methods.

Hope this helps

Good luck!

SilentSal

[Ta-tsu-wa]

Originally Posted by SilentSal

...it's not the pipes per se that annoy me - I normally love pipe music. It's just the stop-start way that particular music is being played.

I'm a little confused by references to "pipes". There is a solo bamboo flute on this track, probably a shakuhachi. Is that what is being referred to as "pipes"?

This background contains a very traditional Zen meditation music style. This type of Zen music contains pauses between musical phrases which are intended to reflect the momentary bits of silence between our individual thoughts. It's in these bits of silence between thoughts that meditation arises and the music is meant to evoke a similar response. Just as it is the empty space within a room that gives the room its functionality and purpose, it's the empty space between the musical phrases that gives form and purpose to the music itself. Classic Zen.

[Edwin]

Originally Posted by Ta-tsu-wa

It's in these bits of silence between thoughts that meditation arises and the music is meant to evoke a similar response. Just as it is the empty space within a room that gives the room its functionality and purpose, it's the empty space between the musical phrases that gives form and purpose to the music itself. Classic Zen.

Eckhart Tolle explains this in a very innovative way in this little clip:

YouTube - And Now An Important Message

I am sure the end will make you smile

[pollyanna]

Thanks for adding some lightness Edwin. I just had the most enlightening lunch with your recommended video and the following ones:-

YouTube - Eckhart Tolle: The Power of Not Knowing - Part 1

YouTube - Eckhart Tolle: The Power of Not Knowing - Part 2

YouTube - Eckhart Tolle: The Power of Not Knowing - Part 3

And now, I will go and sustain my physical body

Hope you enjoyed or are still enjoying your holidays, peace and joy