Connecting To Your Senses: Experiencing Sound

Hello.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

My name is Erin Musick.

I'm so glad you're here.

This is the last of the Mindfulness of Our Senses series that I'm offering here on Insight Timer.

This one focused on our sense of hearing.

So for this practice,

It can be completed seated or lying down.

So wherever you have a quiet space that you can be in comfortably for the next few minutes,

I'd invite you to make your way there now.

Starting to just shift into a space where you feel like you can relax.

You can just take a few moments for yourself and finding a space of comfort.

A space where you can feel held and well supported.

A space where if there's any wiggles,

Any adjustments,

Any props that you need,

Taking those and really just allowing yourself to be in a space where you don't have to worry about anything right now.

There's nothing to do,

Nothing to change.

Just allowing yourself to come into a space of mindfulness,

Of stillness,

And then starting to connect to your breath.

If at any point throughout our time together today,

If you feel like you need to move or shift,

Please do so.

Always making sure that you're feeling comfortable.

If you find yourself distracted at any point,

Your breath can be a great anchor,

A great place to come back to.

So finding that breath now and just observing the length of the inhale as it naturally is,

The length of the exhale.

They might be fairly even.

One might be longer than the other and that's totally okay.

Again,

Nothing that you need to do or change here.

We're just observing the breath,

Observing the space the breath occupies on the inhale and observing the space the breath leaves on the exhale.

Maybe feeling expansion into the ribs,

Into the chest,

Into the belly.

And then exhaling,

We notice the settling of the belly,

The ribs coming back,

The chest falling.

You can breathe in and out the nose or in the nose and out the mouth.

Nice and easy,

Whatever you'd like.

And then coming into awareness of your sense of hearing.

I want you to start with just noticing this very moment,

All the things that you hear.

So my voice is one thing that you're hearing right now and that will continue to guide you through this practice today.

Noticing if there's anything in your immediate surroundings that you also might hear.

So you might have music playing in the background,

Maybe you have a fan blowing,

Or maybe there's air coming through the vents in your house.

Maybe your window is open and you feel and can hear a little breeze coming through.

And then just noticing even outside of your room,

Any other sounds that you might notice.

Maybe there's some shuffling,

Some footsteps,

Maybe there's other people that are home right now,

Pets,

You might hear voices in the background,

Traffic on the street,

Maybe your pets walking around,

Maybe you hear a wind chime in the backyard.

Maybe there's birds singing,

Maybe there's music in the distance.

Whatever it is,

Just taking all of it in,

Those subtle distant noises and maybe ones that feel a little closer.

And maybe it might be really,

Really quiet where you are.

And there's a sound to that too,

Isn't there?

The literal sound of silence that somehow can be really loud.

So we just get to be wherever we are right now.

Be wherever we are right now.

Perhaps surrounded by sounds or perhaps bathed in silence.

And our ears just taking it all in,

Letting us know everything that's happening around us,

Letting us connect.

Good.

And just like with all our other senses,

Our senses are so multi-faceted in that they are built into us.

We didn't have to do anything,

Right,

To create them.

They're just built in.

And sometimes things may happen that might hinder a sense.

Things may happen that might hinder a sense.

And if that does happen,

Sometimes then we get a little help or sometimes some of the other senses become sharpened in the absence of another.

But all of our senses allow us to anchor in any given moment.

So if there's ever a time of overwhelm or just busyness or you can't quite sort through it all,

Pick a sense and just focus on one.

What's everything that I hear right now?

All right,

Let that be a spot where you can just land and get yourself back right here in the present.

But our senses can also transport us.

They can take us to memories or to anticipation.

And so we can also think about sounds that are really pleasing and soothing to us.

And what can be really neat is that even in the absence of the sound actually happening right now,

We can still experience a response even to a memory or an anticipation of the sound.

So connecting with your favorite sounds.

Right,

Maybe it's a cat purring or it's your favorite song.

Right,

Or the sound of someone you love,

Right,

Their steady breath in and out when they're sleeping.

Right,

Maybe it's the sound of the waves lapping against the shore or the sound of the wind rustling through the trees.

Whatever sounds come into your mind and into your body right now,

Just allowing yourself to just soak them up.

Let them transport you.

And then just noticing what happens in your body and in the rest of your senses as you recall these.

Is there an ease or a relaxation that comes?

Is there pleasure or excitement?

Is there a memory that emerges?

Maybe there's some butterflies in your stomach,

A fullness in your heart,

Releasing of tension and the feeling of being free.

A fullness in your heart,

Releasing of tension in the body.

Connecting with those sounds that feel good,

That bring warmth,

That bring joy,

That bring pleasure.

Right,

Sounds that bring comfort.

And some of these are sounds that you'll get to hear again and again.

Some may not be.

Some may be from your past and they may not be sounds that you may ever be able to experience in the same way that you once did.

But again,

That's the beautiful part of being able to connect being able to connect to our senses in this way is we get to come back to that heart full space.

Right,

Filling ourselves up with that memory.

Maybe it's the sound of a voice of someone who's no longer here,

But you can still hear it.

Maybe it's a song that you haven't heard in forever.

And after this meditation,

You're going to go play it.

Maybe it's the sound of your children when they were young,

Their sweet little voices,

And now they're all grown up.

Whatever it is,

Just noticing how much power and how much joy that brings.

This sense holds for us and where it can take us.

So just pausing for a moment of gratitude and appreciation.

Being thankful for our senses,

And in this case,

Our sense of sound,

Of hearing,

Of being able to take in all that is around us through our ears.

Allowing us to bring in all of this sensory input.

And with it,

We then get to be transported and reminded.

And if nothing else,

Anchored right here in the present back into the room that you're in.

What sounds are here now?

Are there new ones?

Have they changed or faded or gotten louder?

Sounds also can let us know things we don't like.

Our hearing can guide us to sounds that are displeasing,

That are too loud,

That might be jarring.

And again,

That's all input,

And that's all guidance,

And that's okay.

But for now,

We get to savor hearing and bringing in all the sounds that we love,

That feel good,

That we want to welcome into our space.

So finding a couple deeper breaths here now as we start to prepare to close off this practice.

Maybe finding a nice big breath in and maybe an open mouth sigh on the way out if you'd like.

Maybe finding a bit of a sound with the breath.

You can hear your own breath.

You can hear it entering your nostrils.

You can hear it creating space in the back of your throat and your sinuses.

You can hear it leaving as you expel it.

Good.

And then starting to bring in some movement into the body and into the heart.

And then starting to bring in some movement into the body.

Any wiggles or circles,

Any shifts,

Any stretches.

And then any sounds that your body might make that you get to hear as you bring it back into the room that you're in.

So there might be some cracking or some popping.

Again,

Shifting in the breath.

Just noticing all the different things that you're hearing.

Good.

Just sending some gratitude to yourself for taking this time to dedicate yourself to this practice today.

For taking this time for you and perhaps coming away with maybe some more awareness and maybe a greater appreciation for this sense of hearing that you have that is so magical.

I'm so glad that you could join me today.

Namaste.