Strange sounds and thoughts during meditation?
The following is an excerpt from a samvaad (dialogue) session with Acharya Prashant.
Questioner (Q): I have a question on my practice.
So, when I notice thoughts arising or the sounds of the cars, when I notice them in my awareness, I will ask, “To whom is this arising?” And sometimes I’ll go, “Oh! They will just disappear and won’t bother me.” And, I guess I have two questions;
- Is the practice really that simple that whenever I notice, try and witness it to ask, “To whom is this arising?” and go in.
- I notice some thoughts and sounds have more of an attraction. I like hooking to them, and some I don’t. I notice that it’s a thought as well. What do I do?
Acharya Prashant (AP): Who is noticing all this? Who is the questioner?
So, when you ask, to whom are these sounds and noises? The answer is obvious. These sounds and noises are to the questioner. Can you question something without noticing it? If you don’t even notice the sound, would you question, “Who is the recipient of the sound? Who is receiving or paying attention to the sound?” So, a better practice would probably be to ask — why does the sound matter to me at all? If you ask, “To whom are these sounds?” then the answer will not take you very far. Because the answer is obvious…
