Welcome to deep listening.
There are many different types of meditation out here to explore.
In this meditation we will begin by giving ourselves the chance to really listen and refine this ability that we often don't give too much thought to.
Sometimes we are so caught up in our thoughts that we are not actively noticing our external environment.
And so the beauty with listening meditations is that it takes us out of our thought trails,
Out of the stories of our mind,
And lets us come into contact and presence with where we are in physical reality.
The sounds of the environment in which you find yourself will bring you back to the present moment.
So take this chance to adjust your posture in any way you need to be comfortable.
This meditation can be done standing or sitting,
Walking,
Even laying down,
Whichever feels most natural and comfortable to you in this moment.
Gently closing the eyes if you haven't already and begin to tune into your breath and body,
Releasing any tension from the face and forehead and slowly working your awareness down the length of the body to notice where you might be holding on to any tension.
And gently release.
And finally arrive at the feet,
Whichever part of you is closest to the earth and simply let go,
Allowing yourself to surrender and be supported.
And now draw your attention to the breath,
Focusing on it moving into the body on the inhalation and out of the body on the exhalation.
And if it's comfortable for you,
Focus on extending the exhale longer than the inhalation.
This will signal to your body to relax even further.
Now eventually let the breath return back to its natural rhythm and tune into your environment.
What do you hear?
Depending on where you are meditating,
You may notice many sounds.
You may notice silence,
But this meditation isn't about creating silence.
It's simply noticing what we can notice through the faculty of our hearing.
So now begin listening for sounds far away from you,
As far as you can possibly hear.
What sounds can you hear in the distance?
Then move this awareness closer and closer,
Closer and closer until perhaps you are noticing the sounds of your own body.
Perhaps you can tune into the breath again or hear the gentle pulsating of the heart.
From as far away as you can hear,
All the way to your own physical space,
What do you hear?
And noticing now if you're experiencing any reactions to the sounds that you're hearing,
Maybe some of these sounds are peaceful and pleasing to the ear.
Perhaps some are irritating or agitating.
Perhaps some sounds are causing you to become distracted.
Just notice where your emotions and your mind is pulled,
In relation to the sounds that are around you.
Just noticing with sound this give and take of our energy,
Of our awareness,
And surrender to this process of deep listening.
You can feel yourself opening,
Receptive to the experience,
Bathing yourself and the sounds that you hear.
Then noticing if you are becoming more sensitive to sound or perhaps desensitized to the sound.
Just notice.
Preparing now to come out of meditation,
Tuning back into your own breath,
Taking one final inhalation through the nose and an exhalation through an open mouth,
Side out.
And when you're ready you can slowly and gently blink open the eyes and have a beautiful rest of your day.
