Sit comfortably and close your eyes.
Pay attention to the natural flow of your breathing,
In and out.
Have the subtle intention of allowing the breath to become longer,
Slower,
Deeper.
Breathing in,
You're focusing your awareness in the present moment,
And breathing out,
You're releasing all tension.
Develop that feeling.
Listen to the sound of the breathing,
Breath after breath.
Notice if the inhalation sounds different than the exhalation.
Now let go of the breathing,
And bring your whole awareness to your sense of hearing.
It's as if your whole body,
Your whole mind,
Your whole being is this one big ear,
And all you're aware of is the sense of hearing,
Hearing itself.
Now you hear the sound of a bell.
Pay attention to it fully,
From beginning to end.
Follow the sound with your mind,
Second after second,
From beginning to end,
With all your being.
Notice how the sound comes from silence,
Expresses itself for a short while,
And then dies back into silence.
Have the attitude of pure hearing,
Focusing all your mind into the sound.
As the sound gets subtler and subtler,
So does your attention gets finer and finer,
Trying to perceive the sound in its fullest expression until the very moment it disappears into silence.
Observe the sound again,
With totality and full concentration.
And when the sound disappears into silence,
Allow your mind to disappear into silence.
When the sound is present,
It occupies your whole awareness.
Your whole mind takes the shape of the sound.
When it disappears into silence,
Your whole mind takes the shape of the silence.
Notice that.
Pay attention to the sound one more time.
Notice its texture,
Its depth,
Its volume,
Its presence.
Now let the mind rest in the silence.
You are hearing a hundred percent,
But there is nothing to hear.
There is just silence.
Keep paying attention to the sound of silence,
Completely.
All your thoughts come from silence and die back into silence.
Remain focused in the silence.
Be one with it.
When the bell rings next,
It will be time to conclude the meditation.
You will gently move your body,
Open your eyes,
And go about your day.
But don't forget about the silence as the background of all your activities.
