Welcome to the Listening Through the Body Meditation.
This is a practice for awakening full-body listening through direction,
Breath,
And presence.
Together,
We'll explore what it means to listen,
Not just with our ears,
But with our whole being,
To attune to the world within and around us,
Seen and unseen,
Known and unknown.
I invite you to find a comfortable position,
Sitting,
Lying down,
Or standing still,
Whatever feels best for you in this moment.
Take a moment to move and get comfortable and make any adjustments that you may need.
And start to allow your body to soften in whatever ways it's asking for.
Let your breath start to come in gently and let it fall away.
No need to change it.
No need to force it.
Just notice each nourishing breath drawing you towards yourself.
Feel gravity pulling you towards the earth.
Feel your breath anchor you into your core,
Into your belly,
Into this moment.
In this moment,
There's nothing to do,
Nothing to fix.
You're simply landing,
Arriving here,
Breath by nourishing breath.
I invite you to start to bring your awareness to the right side of your body.
Notice the places where your clothes meet your skin on the right side of your body,
On the right elbow,
The right hip,
The right side of your ribs,
Your right ear.
And with your next out-breath,
I invite you to send your hearing at the right side of your body.
Out into the space beside you,
Simply listening.
And now with your next in-breath,
Gently call your hearing and awareness back in,
Back into your body,
Back into your core.
Now let's continue this circle of awareness,
Bringing your awareness to the left side of your body,
To the place where your body meets the world on the left side of your body,
Your left foot,
Your left elbow,
The place where your shirt meets the side of your neck on the left side of your body.
And with your next out-breath,
Send your listening out the left side of your body,
Near and far,
And with it,
Your imagination.
Now with the next in-breath,
Gently draw your hearing and your imagination back into your body,
Back into your belly,
Back into your core.
Now bringing your awareness to the front side of your body,
To all the places where your body meets the world on the front side of your body,
Your chest,
Your kneecaps,
Your forehead,
Tip of your nose.
With your next out-breath,
Send your listening out the front side of your body,
Near and far,
And with it,
Your imagination and your inner vision.
Allow yourself to find the furthest sound you can hear.
And now let that go,
And find the closest sound you can hear.
And gently let that go.
Now with the next in-breath,
Gently draw your hearing back into your body,
Back into your belly,
Back into your core,
Seeing if you can feel the pulse of your heart in your wrists,
In your chest,
In your eyelids,
Or even in your tongue.
Now bring your awareness to the back side of your body,
To all the places where your body meets the world on the back side of your body,
To your shoulder blades,
Your spine,
Your calves,
Your heels.
And with your next out-breath,
Send your listening out the back side of your body,
Near and far.
Let it drift behind you like smoke or mist in all directions out the back side of your body.
Notice what it feels like to listen to what you cannot see,
To sense what's behind you,
To the known and the unknown.
Now with the next in-breath,
Draw your hearing and imagination back into your body,
Back into your belly,
Back into your core.
See if you can find your pulse somewhere in your body,
In your chest,
Your throat,
Your inner thigh,
Bottom of your feet.
Now bring your awareness to the bottom of your body,
To all the places where your body meets the world on the bottom of your body,
The soles of your feet,
Your sit bones,
The places where the coolness of the in-breath touches the underside of your nose.
And with your next out-breath,
Send your listening down into the ground beneath you,
Near and far,
And with it,
Your imagination.
Feeling it reach deep into the earth,
Down through thirsty roots,
The ancient rocks,
Down into the center of the earth.
With the next in-breath,
Gently drawing your hearing back into your body,
Back into your belly,
Back into your core.
Feel the weight of your body,
The pull of gravity,
And the hum of the earth beneath you.
Now bringing your awareness to the top of your body,
To all the places where your body meets the world above you,
Crown of your head,
The tops of your feet,
The place where your shirt rests on your shoulders.
And with your next out-breath,
Send your listening out 180 degrees in the wide open space above you,
In all directions,
Near and far,
And with it,
Your imagination and inner vision.
Feel your hearing stretch upward,
High above you in all directions.
Now with the next in-breath,
Draw your hearing and imagination back into your body,
Back into your belly,
Back into your core.
And now I invite you to bring your awareness to the center of it all.
And from there,
Begin to send your listening out in all directions,
360 degrees,
Out the front and back,
Above and below,
Left and right.
With your next out-breath,
Send your hearing out in every direction,
And let your imagination move with it,
Feeling into what surrounds you,
Seen and unseen,
Known and unknown.
Let your listening stretch near and far,
Like a soft sphere expanding from the center of your body.
You're listening through your whole body now,
A body that listens in every direction.
With your next in-breath,
Gently draw it all back in,
The listening,
The sensing,
The imagining,
Back into your belly,
Back into your core,
Back into your heartbeat,
Back into the life that pulses through you.
Notice how many places you can feel that pulse,
In your chest,
In your thumbs,
Behind your eyes,
In your wrists,
Your forearms,
In your feet,
In your throat.
This is a rhythm that reminds you,
You are alive,
You are listening,
You're here.
Now let your awareness settle gently.
No need to reach or send or stretch,
Just rest here,
In the center of your body,
In the stillness after the listening.
Notice what has shifted,
What's softened,
What's awakened.
Let your breath be natural and easy.
Feel the shape of your body,
The support beneath you,
And the life within you.
And just listen through your whole being,
The world around you,
The spaces within you,
And to what lives just beyond the veil of ordinary attention.
And now as you slowly begin to return,
You might wiggle your fingers or toes,
Or your shoulders,
Or gently stretch.
Let your awareness return to the space that you're in.
But bringing something with you,
A thread of that deep listening,
May accompany you in that next moment,
The next conversation,
The next choice.
When you're ready,
Start to blink your eyes open,
And let the world come into you slowly,
As if seeing it for the first time.
Let this listening travel with you,
Because the body remembers,
And the world is always speaking.
As you prepare to move on with your day,
Pause for just a moment longer and ask yourself,
What is asking for your attention?
Thank you for joining me for the Listening Through the Body meditation,
And may you have a blessed day.
