One of the most challenging aspects of continuous expansive population is noise. Noise eveywhere from neighbors pounding and drilling, sawing and chatting early in the morning, to cars and endless traffic making silence a thing of the past. Motorcycles racing by. Lawn mowers mowing all summer long. Snow plows in the winter. Children screaming 🙀. Dogs barking. Jets and planes ✈️ flying by. Guns going off. Making meditation challenging to find peace.
That happens in urban areas, but less so in rural areas. And, speaking of meditation, I've used earplugs or cuffs when in noisy environments.
Steve, the above seems to constitute a mere complaint for the sake of itself, since it has no general solution. None in the African countries or underdeveloped countries will ever heed your advice not to proliferate. these are the countries where population increase is greater.
And even in America, those who want to have children will have them, and those who don't won't, regardless of what other people, you, or Mr. Trump, or myself, may encourage them to do.
The only individual, is to retire in rural, underpopulated areas, which are still abundant presently.
I am up now it is 9:32 and in the distance I hear the rumble of cars trucks and a helicopter in the distance. And noise in the kitchen here in the house. I do not see that as a complaint but rather an observation. When we used to meditate at the Hollywood temple it was so quiet that if anyone even sneezed or coughed it would break up the stillness that brought us all to a bliss state of higher consciousness.
I realize that many, if not most people will not listen to me mccoy. They have not listened for centuries. That is not the point. We are evolving upward through the ages, soon most people will understand the significance of silence and meditation. We are pioneers in this practice and experience. As pioneers we discuss the importance of the factors contributing to the development of peaceful interaction with spirit.
No one listened to Jesus when he was crucified on a cross, except for a few women standing around who cared about his message. Does this mean he didn’t or shouldn’t have spoke of the truth he represented? People certainly could have and did see him as a complainer. He ‘complained’ about the religion of the time. He ‘complained’ about those who followed him. He ‘complained’ about the injustices taking place in the social structure of the time. He ‘complained’ about evil. He ‘complained’ about a place called hell. Or should we look at it quite differently? He wasn’t a complainer at all but rather he made comparisons with what could be with what was at the time. We speak up because we are a witness of the truth however much we ourselves must still work on ourselves in embracing stillness in our lives.
Thanks for your responses and contributions mccoy. And yes earplugs can help, at other times they actually are a deterrent to hearing the rustle of the leaves, the sound of the wind through the trees and the sound of a nearby stream rushing through a forest. Sounds of bird’s singing in the trees. Sounds that actually are helpful in the practice of meditation.
The contrast between people, like you and I, we can at times bring out new insights in living. That is what i do not ‘complain’ about, but give thanks for, that every one is not just like me ( that would be indeed boring and annoying) but individuals with their own values and perspectives that help make life more fulfilling for all of us.
Jitendra Hydonus
