Hello,
And welcome to Methods,
An exploration in guided prayer and meditation.
This is our fourth season,
Feel.
In this season,
We'll attempt to showcase methods of prayer and meditation to facilitate feeling,
Embodiment,
And direct perception of reality beneath the web of our conditioned thought patterns.
This method is called body and sound.
Begin this meditation by noticing the posture that you're in.
You may be standing or sitting or lying down.
Place your body exactly as it is,
And see if you can tune into any sensations that are present to you in your body in this moment.
There may be heaviness,
Or there may be lightness.
There may be pressure on your feet,
Or if you're leaning against something.
You may be able to feel the weight of your body against another object.
There might be vibration,
Or movement,
Or a sense of temperature,
Of warmth,
Or coolness.
These sensations can be anywhere in your body.
All you have to do is notice them.
Notice what's happening with curiosity and interest.
Take a deep breath in,
And as you breathe out,
Relax these sensations.
There's nothing to do here but be fully present and aware.
Now let go of the body's sensations,
And turn your attention to the sounds in your environment.
They could be inside or outside the room.
There may be all sorts of sounds happening.
Loud sounds,
Quiet sounds.
Maybe there's a car alarm going off,
A dog barking,
Children yelling.
Maybe your stomach gurgling.
You can also notice the silence between the sounds.
The sounds are rising and falling,
Just like your breath,
Just like sensations in your body.
Just like clouds move across a clear blue sky.
Notice them coming and going,
Embodying the nature of impermanence.
One tendency of our mind is to want to think about the sounds,
To label them,
Or to try and make up a story about the sound,
To give it a value judgment,
Or have a reaction to it.
I like it,
Or I don't like it.
It may not even be cognitive,
It may just be a felt reaction.
See if you can notice this.
If you can,
Just be aware of it,
But the next time you hear a sound,
See if you can simply hear the sound without the label and without the reaction.
Notice it with curiosity and interest.
Now once again,
Notice your body standing,
Present,
Or seated,
Or lying down.
Notice any body sensations that are obvious to you.
Take another breath,
And soften with the exhale.
When you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
It might turn to½.
You you you you you you you you
