Hello everybody.
Listen, I have this problem with finding some quiet place to sleep (I live in a city… like the most of you, I guess). Whenever I try WILD some idiot trucker drives around my corner and makes me lose my concentration (and the necessary calmness to sleep).
I was wandering if you have that sort of problem too and if you could give me some advice, I´d really hate to use the “Van Gogh Strategy” just to get some sleep…
¡Thanks!
[color=green]Hi Goponga
It happens to me too. But i just keep concentrating on my WILD. Dont let the sound get to you. Just ignore it.[/color]
Earplugs.
i second the earplugs, if you get ar really good pair they’ll block out just about any sound
I think too that earplugs are more efficient than the Van Gogh strategy… 
[color=green]Hi
Earplugs are harmful when worn regularly. And with his situation, he will have to wear them regularly. Regular use of ear plugs causes swelling.[/color]
i have been wearing earplugs nightly to go to sleep for about 14 years and my ears are still in perfect state 
So no worries. You have to try out wich ones fit best for you, not all earplugs are the same.
OK, I got myself a pair of earplugs.
Let´s see how my ears swell 
.
¡Thank you!
If that doesn’t work out, you could try headphones with some soft music playing.
A fan creates a relaxing white noise that can drown out most other sounds. Meditation might also help you. It teaches you to let outside sounds pass through your mind without distracting you.
Randi - awesome tip about the fan! I’ve also found that it can help you WILD. Everytime I attempt WILD with my fan on, its sound eventually “morphs” into intense hypnagogic sounds. Though having yet to succeed, I’ve gotten pretty close with the fan on.
The relaxing breeze is a bonus.
Earplugs do help, I wear them for a few years now and no problems. The only problem could be dependence: you’ll get more sensitive to sound when you don’t have your earplugs. But I always make sure I got my earplugs with me when I sleep somewhere else, vacation etc.
[color=green]Hi Pasquale
What kind of ear plugs do u use? I did some research and i found that ear plugs can be harmful for your ears. That is why i never used them.[/color]
I have used earplugs about a year also. No problems, except what Johan mentioned. With time you just need to wash them, or buy new ones as they become dirty and start to make pain to your ears. No other harm i know of
How can they be harmful?
I use EAR classic, by Aearo. It’s 2 soft yellow plugs that form themselves into the shape of your ear. As far as I am aware of, they did not damage my ears yet.
[color=green]Hi
Basilus i read that constant use of earplugs can cause ur ear to swell or coz pain. I recently made a post about the noise too. It was becoz i wasnt using ear plugs. Im still quite hesitant about using them coz im afraid they might slip into my ear and i wont be able to get them out 
[/color]
Jaxal that won’t happen. As far as I know this has never happened to anyone (on this planet).
What I do to block out the noise, is I turn my radio dial till it goes fuzzy and then I turn up the sound really loud. You don’t notice it’s even there after a while but it blocks out most of the noise.
Although I always hear some noises from the road and highway nearby, I never wear earplugs, but I try to meditate on the sounds I’m hearing, kinda like lucid living. Instead of analyzing the sounds with the mind, I try to realize the intangibility and impermanence of their reality. It’s impossible to describe these sounds accurately, whether you use language or mental analysis… so why bother trying? Instead, I try to let them be in their own reality and just focus on them without feeling attached to them… If I feel frustrations bubbling inside of me, I try to let those be as well (though this is often pretty hard…). Eventually, this letting-reality-rest-within-itself-without-attachment results in a deepening of relaxation and calmness of mind and body, thus letting me fall asleep pretty easily. However, lucid living is a practice which constantly feels like you’re practicing it for the first time, so it’s best not to pinpoint too much on my words if you decide to try it… LL has different effects for different people on different moments. But that’s what makes this practice so great
Ok… enough ramblings…