Meditating with or without music?

[korbes]

Do you meditate with or without music?

Would love to hear your thoughts on this, I feel like I can go deeper with music, like those cringe 432 Hz songs on YouTube, but I have a feeling that I am not getting the same benefits as if I were doing it without music, like it's harder to get into the meditative state, because you need something "external" to satsify you. 

What do you think? 

Your thoughts are appreciated!

Edited February 17, 2019 by korbes
words

[Nahm]

Face nothing. 

[Anders901]

Music can make you very present.

But you don't need it, I wouldn't listen to music while meditating, silence is the most beautiful melody.

[korbes]

4 hours ago, Nahm said:

Face nothing. 

True, but is music not as much nothing as silence is?

Or is music distracting the sense of nothing?

[korbes]

 

3 hours ago, Anders901 said:

Music can make you very present.

But you don't need it, I wouldn't listen to music while meditating, silence is the most beautiful melody.

Yeah you're probably right, will try to do it without from now on!

[Nahm]

28 minutes ago, korbes said:

True, but is music not as much nothing as silence is? If you’re asking, then, no. Go full circle, vs skipping to a conceptual resolution. 

Or is music distracting the sense of nothing? Nothing isn’t a sense (though it is all senses).  So, yes, it’s distracting. 

Experience nothing, and then experience music. It will be “made new”. 

[Joseph Maynor]

Eliminate all obvious distractions when you meditate. 

[valleyken]

The safest bet is probably to do both. Sometimes music can be distracting indeed. Other times it can be helpful to soften boredom or frustration when the going is tough or when you are trying to do longer meditation sessions. Being careful of course that you don't loose yourself too much in the music.

Personally, I like to stick with 1 song that I play in a loop. That might sound boring to most people. But I think it prevents me from focusing too much on the music instead of the meditation. The music is just there like a little beacon, an unobtrusive nightlight.

I don't like the typical meditation or relaxation music at all. It usually sounds uninspired to me. I suggest you check out "Mark Knopfler - Wanderlust". It has a steady but soft beat that puts me in a meditative state right away. And having listened to it so often, it kind of plays continually in my head. I'm not recommending it because it is my favorite song. People will be quick to post their favorite songs, which then leads to animated discussions of "my favorite song is better than yours". But I think this song is something different, uplifting. Knopfler is pretty enlightened I think. You could probably use most of the songs on his later solo albums for meditation, as they all have this special quality. I picked Wanderlust because it is so unobtrusive and steady, while his other songs sometimes might get me too emotional. At least for me, this is probably what "the music of the spheres" must sound like. Most underrated artist you don't hear too often on the radio.

And of course, every now and then I have to remind myself to also meditate in silence. But like I said, I don't really have to play the music anymore to hear it.

[Ysabelle]

In my opinion, it still depends on what the person he or she likes, whether there is music or not. Some may be preferred meditation without music because they maybe find relaxation and peace at that moment. Some preferred in listening to soothing music while meditating such as those in music nutrition's healing sounds which helping them in relaxing their mind, body, and soul, which is also better in reducing their stress and give them inner peace. It doesn't matter if there is music or not, what was important is do it where you feel more relaxed and find the true meaning of peace.  

[Shadowraix]

Do both in a single session. Use the music to help ease you in, have the music on a limited timer to stop say 1/3 or half way through.

[korbes]

1 hour ago, Shadowraix said:

Do both in a single session. Use the music to help ease you in, have the music on a limited timer to stop say 1/3 or half way through.

Actually a really good idea.