"Eliminating" The Senses To Become Present(An 18 Year Old Needs Help)

[Guest Mount Bananas]

Hello good people on this forum. I want to express a situation that happened to me a while ago. A quick bio about me: I'm 18 years old and still in high school, but I will graduate in a few months. I stumbled across personal development a year ago and have been gathering knowledge and information. A few months ago I decided that my level of knowledge is sufficient to start this journey, and that it's time to put this stuff into practice. Time to take massive action. Enough mental masturbation. Anyway let's start the story. 

The strangest thing happened to me. I was in my classroom and the class had just finished. As everyone else was talking, cracking jokes and socializing, I put on my headphones. I sat there at the back of the room and played some very chill rock music. And suddenly, it happened. I mean, WOW. I was present, just like that. Looking at everything there, as if I've never seen it before. It was ineffable. The closest I can describe it with my limited vocabulary is TRUE BEAUTY. Seeing everyone enjoying themselves, even though they were unconscious, was mesmerizing. I was looking at the desks, the chairs and even my hands, just shocked by the fact that I haven't noticed them before. I mean, sure I have, but never like this. This was something totally different. This was awe. This was love. This classroom was filled with love. I quickly noticed how stupid some of our arguments are sometimes. We are blind to the feeling, blind to the bond that we, the people in this classroom, have. 

It lasted until the next class started, so probably around five minutes, before I finally got occupied by other school-related responsibilities.

As I reflect on this moment, I would guess that I experienced a period of no-mind, or enlightenment, but I'm not sure as I am just starting to dabble into spirituality.

Somehow, by eliminating one of my senses (hearing) from "reality", and listening to music, instead of being lost in it, I was catapulted deeper into the present, into the now, into reality. I am interested by how and if this method works and hope to do more research on it in the future. I am interested to see if I can make this happen again.

The reason I am writing this post is to ask for help from some of the more experienced spiritual people here. Am I doing things right? I've felt a state of bliss similar to this before while meditating. Is music always a distraction to awareness or can it be beneficial (like in my case)?

I would also love to inspire some of you guys reading this to experiment with it and post your results. Have you guys tried anything like this? Did it help you or not? Here's a link to the actual song that made it happen.

[Will Bigger]

The first rule of meditation is not trying to meditate. 

You only experience bliss effortlessly; your experience of bliss was effortless, right?

[Markus]

Such experiences happen, for various reasons. It's not enlightenment, it's just a nice experience. And there's nothing wrong with that. Music can be relaxing and if you listen to it with concentration, it can be quite incredible. Concentration calms down your mind so you may notice things you haven't noticed before. However, if you can reach a similar state without needing any external stimulation (music or whatever else), that's even more incredible. So if you listen to music, or do anything else, by all means do it in a meditative fashion, but do also keep a meditation habit where you sit without distractions, because that is more potent.

 

[Guest Mount Bananas]

@Will Bigger Exactly. It happened after that initial meditation phase where you're struggling. It happened once I realized that there is nothing to do or to be done, nothing to be accomplished, and there is nowhere to be but here. 

Edited December 15, 2017 by Mount Bananas

[Guest Mount Bananas]

@Markus Thank you for you help and kind words. There is no doubt that it's more potent without any stimulation. I'm still glad it happened, even with the music and I'm looking forward to experiencing it in the future, probably by sitting in a room alone with myself. Much love <3

[Joseph Maynor]

Music can be a conduit for higher-consciousness.  It can disrupt culture and allow you to get up underneath culture.  Music can also calm and relax the Mind, which changes how the Mind judges and controls.  You dissolved the Ego for a little bit by changing your context with the music.

Edited December 15, 2017 by Joseph Maynor

[aurum]

@Mount Bananas

The clouds parted for a little bit. Keep meditating and they'll keep parting more and more.

[Max_V]

@Mount Bananas Have you listened to this? 

"How to disappear completely"

Thom Yorke is definitely on to something..

 

[krazzer]

@Mount Bananas You're 18 years old, you've already experienced your true self shortly, and you listen to Radiohead?

Just pickup any meditation habit and you're life is going to be awesome.

[Nahm]

@Mount Bananas music distracts thinking, specifically, the rythum / percusion entertains the thoughts and syncs, allowing direct access to the melody, and the now moment the melody is within. Learn to play an instrument like guitar or piano, and to sing while playing. You can expand that moment into hours on end. You can disappear. 

Question for you...do you know why you have chosen the banana?

[Max_V]

@krazzer I know right, I love Radiohead too. It's so chill you can just let yourself get taken away by the music. The creativeness is dripping off every song.

[Guest Mount Bananas]

@Max_V @krazzer  Yes I do listen to Radiohead. They're my favorite band of all time. Spent a solid year going through their whole discography. I THINK (not sure) that Thom Yorke once said in an interview that if he were to be remembered by one song, it would have to be "How To Disappear Completely". He thinks that it's his best work.

[Guest Mount Bananas]

@Nahm I play the guitar and after New Year I'm going to get really serious. I'll have a lot of time to practice and learn, as I have a winter break from school.

I've chosen the banana as I obviously like the Velvet Underground album, though I must admit that I haven't researched a lot into Andy Warhol and his pop art, but I plan to in the future. Listening to the album for the first time was a weird one but it has grown on me. Is there any special meaning to the banana that I'm not aware of?

[Guest Mount Bananas]

@aurum @Joseph Maynor @Max_V @krazzer @Nahm  Thank you guys for the help and kind words. I truly appreciate it.

[Max_V]

@Mount Bananas No worries!

Always awesome to meet another person of my age that is interested in this work

[AleksM]

@Mount Bananas

You liked the song so you liked being present to listen to the song.

You enjoyed being receptive to the song because it made you feel good.

Now, realize that the universe is a beautiful song. 

Photo source: Ambassidor EHANi (Facebook)

[Guest Mount Bananas]

@Max_V @Joseph Maynor @Nahm @krazzer

Since we're on the topic music, I would like to make a recommendation to everyone. There's a really good experimental band called Swans. The album that I would recommend is called TO BE KIND. Truth be told, they're a lot heavier than Radiohead but you should give them a shot. Their music is very long, repetitive, with slow build-ups and climaxes. It's very meditative. Their overall sound on this album reminds me of tribal music. The one where the tribesmen bang on drums and chant, eventually falling in a trance-like state. They were significant for me as they helped destroy my conditioning on what music should be like (conventional verse-chorus type songs). That being said, they might seem weird at first but give them time and it will grow on you. When listening to this, try to listen to the whole thing without judgement. Here's a link to the first track of the album.

There's a really fun track called "Some Things We Do" where the singer goes over all things we do in life, which is amazing to me for some reason.

[Nahm]

@Mount Bananas love it. Reminds me of Tool a little. Much more abstract though. Last 30 seconds was my favorite. They’re a concert worth seeing I bet.

[Moreira]

Sensorial isolation is very helpful to break the idea that you are your body. Percieving exterior stimuli reinforces the false illusion of the self. That's why I like to meditate in warm weather, comfortable seat, the less pain or discomfort the easier is it to me to melt in the now and the everything.

[Faceless]

Music like dancing is something that is appreciated for itself. The movment of time seems to cease. It’s some of the few activities we enjoy and don’t project the outcome of the ending as it’s motivating factor. There’s no specific goal other than to dig it’s happening. It’s sort of a timeless state. Music is a great way to experience this state of no me, but be careful this can be a mechanical crutch that can become a pleasure. And where there is pleasure pain is also. It’s not bad just needs to be accompanied with clear perception of what’s going on in the mind so you can avoid getting caught in various deceptions down the road. 

Either way keep doing what you want. It’s a beautiful thing to experience such a feeling. 

And by the way experience has no place when it comes to freedom form the center.