Hello my name is Mike.
Today we're going to be doing a meditation on deep listening and that includes for ourselves and for others.
So take a moment to get settled in and when you're ready the invitation is to close your eyes.
We can start listening to our bodies.
What feels comfortable?
Could it be lying down,
Sitting up right,
Feet crossed,
And making whatever adjustments that feel good in the body.
Inviting the shoulders to drop,
Just scanning for any tension we may be consciously or unconsciously holding.
We can settle into our breath whenever you're comfortable,
Just focusing on the inhale and the exhale.
Grounding ourself breath by breath into the present.
And we can think of presence as a balloon.
In each connected breath we're slowly filling that balloon until it has expanded inside our body.
And feeling that groundedness in our body slowly gaining more awareness.
We anchor ourselves in the body but we're just going to listen,
Shifting the attention to the ears,
To the sounds around you,
And letting them come to you.
Listening to the immediate sounds in our home,
Allowing them to come and go through our awareness.
If there's not a lot going on we can drop deeper.
Can you hear the sounds of the lights?
Can you hear the sounds of the lights?
The slow hum of the fridge?
And if we listen very carefully maybe we'll hear a new sound.
No need to label it,
We just let it become part of our awareness.
And we expand to noises outside of our home.
Maybe a police siren or the sound of a passing car.
We allow it to come to us.
We can enjoy the silence in between.
Letting it become one with us in the awareness.
And our first checkpoint on this journey is what is our relationship to this silence?
Do you feel calm?
Does it make us feel safe?
Does it make us anxious?
Just noting how the body feels while we sit in this vast,
Vast soundscape.
We slowly come back from the outside and from your home into you,
The home that travels with you everywhere.
The body you've had your whole life.
I'm sure you've been through a lot with it.
So we take a moment and just listen to what it's saying.
Is there anywhere in your body that feels good?
Placing the attention there for a moment and coming back to feeling your body as a whole.
Are there any aches and pains or twinges?
We allow them into the awareness.
No need to judge.
Just putting a soft label.
Pain.
Tight.
And then we let go.
And then we let go of it.
Tight.
This is the body's way of speaking to us.
And what is the language of the body in this moment?
Is it a soft whisper?
Or is it yelling loudly?
And can we contain that language within this awareness with a soft loving heart?
Saying,
I see you.
I hear you.
I'm here for you.
Listening to what the body needs.
Maybe a hand on the belly or a hand on the heart.
Anything external,
You're more than welcome to do.
And we drop in the question,
When was the last time I listened to my body?
When was the last time I listened to my body?
When it spoke.
And what did that look like when you listened?
Was it a mandatory listening?
The body was screaming.
Maybe a cold.
Maybe an ache that stopped us in our tracks.
Or was it a moment where we said,
I need to slow down.
I'm going faster than I should.
And noticing that that is a radical act of self-care.
And lightly thanking your body for speaking to us.
And remembering that this time is just a remembrance that we can slow down and listen almost whenever we want.
But more so whenever we remember.
And shifting our attention to the way we interact with others.
Whether it be friends or co-workers,
Teachers,
Students.
Thinking back to the last best conversation you had within the past week or weeks.
And we think about the ebb and flow of that conversation.
Did you both walk away feeling heard?
Did you do most of the talking?
Did they?
What parameters were in place to make that the best conversation?
Whatever those parameters were,
Maybe we can stick them in our toolbox.
And you can think back to the last best conversation you had with your co-workers.
Use them in order to foster a deeper relationship with others.
Our relationships are built on these interactions.
And listening is always in quality that's admired.
So we drop in the question,
When was the last time you truly felt heard?
When you were done speaking,
It was complete.
And satisfying.
Like a great meal.
Checking in with the body to see how that makes you feel.
Now and in the moment.
Just noticing what comes up for you.
And finally,
Bringing to mind the last time you truly listened to someone.
And what does that listening look like?
Did we notice their facial motion?
Did we listen to the intent behind the words?
Maybe what they said and what their body language said were two different things.
The deeper listening comes from observing all of that.
And allowing the space that we've built here to be our pillow to rest on with an open ear.
The same beautiful way you're listening to me now.
The same beautiful way you're listening to me now.
It's the way we can listen to others.
With presence.
And with a willingness to learn.
But it is a choice.
And it's a hard one to make over and over again.
So I very humbly thank you for listening to me.
Thank you for listening to yourself.
And when your body feels all right or invites you to,
Bringing it back online and letting the world come to you.
