Mindfulness of sounds.
So just coming to a restful,
Comfortable posture wherever you are.
In whatever surroundings you happen to find yourself in.
A sense of balance.
And then resting your eyes shut if that feels comfortable.
As we close the eyes,
An opportunity to notice what might be there already.
We can check in with our physical bodies,
Any tension or holding.
And just seeing if we can let go of that and relax a little on each out breath.
Tuning in to the natural rhythm of the breath.
Just letting it go at its own pace.
Noticing any thoughts or mental activity.
And just for these few moments,
Letting them go.
Connecting with our points of contact with the chair or the floor.
As we ground ourselves right here in the present.
As we stay here,
Just breathing.
What can you hear?
It can be tempting to go out searching for sounds.
But we're just sitting with an attitude of curiosity.
Of openness.
And seeing what sounds come to us.
There might be noises in the room,
The environment around you.
Perhaps distant sounds from outside or further.
Turning your attention inwards to any sounds of breathing that you might be able to experience.
Holding all of these sounds and experiences in a sense of kindly awareness.
Sounds can often link us in to thoughts or stories and if that's happening.
Just noticing and coming back to the breathing body.
The here and now.
And coming back to that question,
What can you hear?
You can imagine as though you're hearing these sounds for the very first time.
That sense of interest,
Of intrigue.
All the while being present and grounded here.
If there's too much going on in the body in terms of pains,
Discomforts.
And tuning into sounds can be a very skilful way of changing our awareness.
And maybe in the gaps between sounds,
Noticing what that's like.
You're able to just notice the silences and rest in those.
Continuing just to breathe as you normally would.
Bringing the focus back to the breathing body.
The sensations in the body.
And the feet on the floor.
As we come to the end of the practice,
Making any small movements you need to.
And blinking your eyes open to return to the room.
