Finding LifeFlow distracting

[doonyakka]

Hi all,

I've been having a few 'issues' with LifeFlow, and I was hoping to get some advice/guidance from others who have more experience with it than I do.

I have some prior meditating experience (a year or so of daily Vipassana-style practice and a few silent retreats). I tried LF level 10 for a couple of months and am now finishing a month of level 9, and I've found that I'm more distracted and less 'present' when I'm listening to the tracks than when I meditate without them, simply focusing on my breath or chanting. Within a couple of minutes of the track starting, my mind's wandered off, usually down very trivial paths. Without the tracks, I can spot my mind wandering pretty quickly and center it, whereas with them I daydream for most of the duration. I've found level 9 to be even worse in this respect than 10.

Is this normal or am I the only one? I've purchased up to level 8 so far, but I'm wondering if it's worth continuing. From others' reports, level 8 is the least popular, so I'm thinking it won't encourage me to spend the time and money on the deeper levels.

I'd love to experience the amazing benefits that many LifeFlow users report, but at the moment I feel like it's making my practice go backwards.

Cheers,
-doon

[GilesC]

Hi Doon and welcome to the Project Meditation community,

You say your meditation practice is focusing on the breath or chanting. These are what I would refer to as focused meditations, as they keep the awareness in the conscious mind, so if you are playing Lifeflow during this sort of focused meditation it will be more easily distracted by the sounds that are playing.

Have you had a go at mantra based meditation (as you can download free in Michaels "Discover Meditation" course)? With mantra based meditation (and with some practice) you come to more easily let go of the thoughts and not be attached in any way to the senses, so the sounds coming from the Lifeflow tracks will not be of concern, they will just be doing their entrainment without your awareness of it.

As for having a preference (or dislike) of one Lifeflow track over others, this is usually the case when you first start on a level and your mind has an interest in knowing what it sounds like. Again, when you know what it sounds like, you can choose to just let that go and return to the practice of meditation.

Hugs

Giles

[Edwin]

Also, it might help to bring down the volume of the track you are playing. It doesn't have to be played loud in order to be effective.

And consider this:
Entrainment is focused on creating new neural pathways in your brain, improving the communication between hemispheres.
While some pathways are made with new braincells, other braincells are being "recycled".

Even tho the brain is still a big mistery, my opinion is that it works like this:
Some sections of the brain might store memories or thought patterns. When the neural pathway passes this section, the memories or thought patterns will come up as if the brain asks you to decide if it is still useful, or if you want to get rid of it. Think of it as a computer saying: " This action will delete your current file. Do you want to delete or save it ? "

The only way to bring it under your attention is to make you re-live it.
I have read numerous contributions since the forum was opened in December 2007 of people saying that during meditation, a memory popped up from their childhood, something they hadn't thought about in 30+ years.

So, the fact that your meditation is less "peaceful" might actually mean that it is just LifeFlow working.

[doonyakka]

Thanks for the welcome and thoughtful replies.

GilesC: I did go through the Discover Meditation course before starting level 10. Before that, I tended not to recite a mantra, but I found it very helpful when meditating without an entrainment track. However, when I use LifeFlow, my mind always ends up somewhere else, even though I recite throughout.

Edwin: interesting points - I'll try lowering the volume and see if it makes a difference. I have read forum posts from people who've had some unpleasant memories and experiences dredged up when using LifeFlow, and I get how that is a sign that the entrainment is working; however, my 'daydreaming' isn't as interesting as that! My distractions are with really mundane and trivial things.

Anyway, I'll keep going until the end of level 8 and see how it goes.

Cheers,
doon