Is Meditating Outdoors A Distraction?

[ajs]

I have been meditating daily for the past two months.  I have been meditating outside in nature rather than at home inside as I feel it is less distracting because of the noise from family members, neighbors and traffic at home.

When I meditate I am at the side of a soccer field facing a wall of forest so there are many sights and sounds of nature.  I become aware of the sights and sounds of bird life, insects like cicadas and crickets, the wind blowing and sunlight.  

My question is would I be better of meditating in an environment with fewer distractions in order to meditate deeper.  I am beginning to feel that the sights and sounds of nature, although enjoyable, are acting as a distraction or as a form of entertainment.  

Is the ideal environment for meditation one which is as free as possible from any form of external stimuli?  

Your thoughts and experiences are appreciated.

 

 

[ajs]

Thanks.

Finding a place without any distractions is a bit of a challenge for me.

 I wonder if shutting myself in a closet with earplugs would be the best way to go about things.

Where are other people doing their meditation practice?

[Josh2]

At home in front of a wall on a yoga mat with some cushions in a Burmese position. Basically how the monks do it in the picture above. But rly it's up to you - if u meditate with a technique like do nothing try doing what has been suggested and if u r practicing mindfulness meditation then meditating outside could be better (more labeling is possible). 

 

[Matthew Lamot]

16 hours ago, ajs said:

 Your thoughts and experiences are appreciated.

You don't need to meditate to have a quiet and peaceful mind.

All you need to do is rest your awareness in your awareness itself.  This is Ramana Maharishi's method of Self Inquiry.  It can be done while you are working, sitting on the train, even sitting at home watching TV.  

Hell, you could even do it in a busy nightclub, because silence is generated in the mind when the wandering I thought takes it's attention off of objects and is allowed to sink into itself.

Nothing externally matters, because the thing that makes your mind busy is not the distractions, but the grabbing hold of the distractions.

[ChimpBrain]

In nature is my favorite place to meditate. There's nothing that takes me "into the zone" like 5 layers of nature sounds - frogs, crickets, birds, wind, etc. Just because zen monks meditate facing a wall doesn't mean you should too. Where did the Buddha do his meditating? Under a tree

[Fishy]

You worrying about it being a distraction is the distraction. Just do it don't think about if its right or not. It does not matter where you are meditating.

[Leo Gura]

Meditating outside is great. It's easier to get enlightened looking at nature than sitting look at a wall. The expansiveness of nature itself will reveal God to you. It's hard to see God in a white plaster wall.

I attribute my first samadhi experience to the fact that I meditated outside in a very beautiful natural place.

Of course it's not necessary, but a nice bonus.

I recommend doing both indoor and outdoor for variety, and so you don't develop a one-sided preference.