This brief 5-minute meditation invites you to open to your sense of hearing as a point of focus.
There is an ending bell to let you know when the sit is over.
Begin by settling into your seat or lying down on a flat surface.
Adjust your body and your clothing so that you are comfortable.
Know that you can move your body at any time you need throughout this meditation.
Allow your eyes to close if you are comfortable or gaze ahead with a soft focus.
Notice your breath in this moment.
Allow your attention to settle gently on the inflow and the outflow.
Take in the rhythm of your breathing without trying to alter the quality of the breath.
As you sit,
Open your attention to the sounds around you.
Let it be a quality of allowing the sounds to enter your awareness rather than searching for sounds.
A kind opening to the noises that are already around you.
Begin with the sounds that are close to you,
Perhaps even within your body.
Aim to set aside any story about the sounds as good or bad.
They are simply sensory experiences and there is no need to judge them.
Let your field of sound awareness grow bigger to the room or the space around you.
Now let your field of allowing grow even bigger to the noises in the larger space,
The building around you,
Or the sounds from nearby buildings and people.
Try to be curious about what sounds you find and see if you can drop the story about each sound.
You will probably need to do this many times as our minds are used to sorting and categorizing good or bad,
Pleasant or unpleasant,
Loud or soft.
See if you can let those notions go and simply be a receiver of whatever sound is there.
Expand your listening even further to distant sounds far beyond your space.
Over and over again,
Relaxing into the soundscape and allowing it to be held gently in awareness.
When your mind wanders,
That's okay.
When you notice any judgments about the sounds,
Relax open once again.
If needed,
Spend a few moments resting your attention on your breath to refocus and then return to awareness of sound.
Continue this open,
Accepting listening.
I'll watch the time and let you know when it is time to end the meditation.
Move your attention and focus back to your breathing.
Allow the breath to deepen and notice how it feels to do so.
Let your focus once again follow your in-breath and your out-breath.
Take one more deep inhale and exhale and allow your eyes to open if they were closed.
Sit for one moment more and notice the difference in your body and your mind from when you began the meditation.
Now you can begin to move and resume your day.
