Music and Meditation

Hi All,
I'm looking for input about the ability to observe sensations in the body while listening to music. I'm looking for a way to integrate
my love of music into the practice. On the subway I often look for sensations to observe since I'm working on music currently I have my walkman on alot listening back and simply listening to other peoples music. Is keep that sense door occupied detrimental to path work?

Cheers

I'm no expert here but I can offer some suggestions for observing sensations while listening to music. For me, I tend to actively listen to the various instruments within a track, paying attention to the general frequencies each instrument occupies and seeing what makes each sound appear differently e.g. if you're familiar with audio envelopes (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release) this can prove quite interesting. If you produce or record your own material then this sort of investigation can be very useful when it comes to mixing down a track and fitting sounds in the mix.

If you're more of a listener than a producer, why not try noting how your body processes the sound, look at what changes at a sensate level when you're listening to your favourite track compared to one you don't like as much. This is just a suggestion, I'm sure there's more experienced yogi than me who could offer some advice.

As for it being detrimental to path work, my opinion would be that one may benefit more for examining how that sense door operates, how it works and, as I said above, how it processes "hearing". If you were to focus all of your effort of this one area and disregard what's happening at the other doors then that would probably prove less beneficial. Just a few suggestions, let us all know how you get on and if you find anything other areas to observe!

Good luck!

Something that may be interesting -- see if you can notice the difference between the raw sensory data coming from the ears, and the mind's impression and memory of that sensory data.

If you can find those two distinct things, then consider this: Which one seems clearer? Can you control your attention to stay with one or the other? What happens when you try to do that? .

BTW, there isn't necessarily a single "right" answer to any of those questions because your experience can change with different locations along the progress of insight, or how much sleep you've gotten recently, or how good your concentration is on a given day...

Why not take the music as an object. If you notice your mind spinning thoughts about the music, or shifting to something else like an image or a sensation, just bring it back to the music. Use the music like you would a kasina by continually placing the attention back on it once it slips away.

Treat the attention like a puppy, bringing it back to the music again and again as it slips away.