This is a 15-minute mindful listening practice.
It will be a lightly guided meditation,
Meaning there will be times of silence for you to lean into the practice itself.
With a listening practice,
We're not trying to create sound or think about sounds that may be showing up in the environment.
This is a practice of receiving what's here,
Of listening closely,
And noticing what might show up that we otherwise haven't noticed.
Begin the practice by taking your meditation seat,
Although you can do this standing or lying down.
Nice and tall and straight,
Feet on the floor.
If you can,
Invite the hands to stillness on the legs or lap,
Wherever they happen to land.
And if it's comfortable for you to allow the eyes to close,
And noticing what that's like.
If you find that you'd rather have the eyes open just a little bit,
That's fine.
Have a soft gaze,
Not having to analyze what you see,
But just notice whatever it is before you.
That's taking your meditation seat with the body,
But also taking it with the heart and mind.
Noticing what emotions may be here,
Making themselves known,
And moving on.
And gently checking in with thinking as well.
Not trying to silence emotions or thoughts,
But just allowing them to be part of the background as you focus on listening.
And noticing what's in your environment and how you receive it.
As with any of these practices,
If you find surprisingly strong difficulties arising,
You can change your posture,
Move,
Perhaps open the eyes if that's helpful,
Or stop the practice entirely for a little bit until you're ready to come back to it.
Take care of yourself in this practice.
Mindful listening is a good optional anchor for attention if breathing itself is an uncomfortable experience for you.
You're not alone in that.
So make the choices that are supportive for your practice.
And settling into the body,
Beginning our listening practice by listening to what sensations are showing up in your sense of touch.
Contact with the chair,
Texture of a cushion or a hard surface.
Maybe clothing on skin or the process of taking in air and letting it go.
Maybe an itch or an ache is showing up.
And being curious,
What is it like to just be with that experience and not have to change it?
Warming up this capacity you already have to pay attention,
To direct that attention.
Shifting your focus to the soundscape of your environment.
Noticing.
What do you hear?
Where you are,
What sounds are making themselves known?
There may be sounds of birds nearby or lawnmowers,
Conversations.
Computers humming or lights making sound.
As you tune into what's here in the soundscape in this moment,
More sounds than you're expecting may show up.
And we actually notice and direct attention to listening.
Things will show up that are here all the time.
This isn't creating those sounds.
This is just noticing them,
Getting to know them.
Take your time.
Receive whatever sounds happen to show up.
As you hear a particular sound,
You may also be aware of your own response to it.
This response can be physical,
Emotional,
Or mental.
Hearing a particular sound may cause there to be thoughts about the sound,
Identifying what bird is heard.
Thinking about the neighbor with the lawnmower or the conversations that may be happening in another room.
Notice that thoughts show up.
Associations make themselves known,
Too.
That's part of the ecosystem of this moment.
Acknowledge that and then just bring attention back to listening and receiving sound as it is,
Without having to pursue thoughts about it.
Again,
We're not suppressing or avoiding thoughts.
They'll show up.
That's okay.
That's expected.
We don't need to follow them.
You can choose to just come back to listening and receiving the sounds that are here.
So when you notice thoughts have taken over and the mind is distracted,
Just acknowledge that and come back to the experience of receiving sounds or silence.
That's an experience,
Too.
Just inhabiting silence.
As with thoughts,
You may also notice emotional responses occur.
Particular emotions around delight or joy with sounds that are appealing and wanted and also response of aversion to those that may be unwanted.
Notice what that's like.
And perhaps aware that the quality of wanted and unwanted is not in the sound itself,
But in us.
The sound might be received as distracting,
Irritating,
And key into thoughts of,
Oh,
I wish that would be quiet.
Notice,
Acknowledge,
And just come back to listening to the sound itself on its own.
And doing your best to let go of those judgments and just return to listening.
As particular sounds show up,
Listening a bit more closely to different aspects of them.
Is the sound near or far?
Is it coming from a particular direction?
Is it a new sound or one you've heard before,
But there are new layers of appreciation around it?
Can that be part of the experience?
What would it be like to receive each sound with curiosity,
With interest,
And allowing yourself to make that choice?
What is it like to fully inhabit your soundscape,
The environment of listening?
Here,
Too,
A gentle curiosity.
What would it be like to just receive the sound on its own?
To let go of old associations or thought habits or emotional triggers and just listen.
What would it be like to shift experience?
And sometimes noticing as the mind wanders an expected part of the practice.
When it does that,
Just come back and refresh your inhabiting of the soundscape.
Even in silence,
Inhabiting that experience,
Too.
When it's comfortable for you to do so,
If you've had your eyes closed,
You can open them.
And listening,
Shifting,
Listening to the body,
And listening to how the body would like to move just a little bit after being still.
Maybe rotating the shoulders or stretching a little bit.
Listening to the body,
What would feel good in this moment?
And knowing that you can continue to receive sounds in your environment.
Noticing judgments about them.
What is it like to shift that experience to curiosity and engagement?
Thank you for your practice today.
This concludes this practice.
Keep listening to the rest of your day,
Too,
As it comes to you.
Thank you for your time.
