Before we begin this meditation with tinnitus,
You may want to turn on some background sound or noise,
Whatever you're used to working with,
Be it nature sounds,
White noise,
Gentle music,
And have that ready as you begin this practice of meditating with tinnitus.
And you can do this meditation either lying on the ground.
Or seated in a chair,
Whatever you're comfortable.
So get into some comfortable position.
And if you're lying down,
Noticing how you are supported by the floor or the bed.
Noticing how the upper body,
Arms,
Legs,
And feet are making contact.
If you're sitting,
Noticing how your feet are making contact with the floor,
How your buttocks are supported by the chair or cushion,
How your arms are resting.
And whether seated or lying down,
Just allowing your weight to sink down through these points of contact or wherever possible,
Letting any tension drain into the support and beyond.
And as you're sitting or lying there,
Letting any thoughts or images go,
Just feeling supported by what's beneath you.
And when you're ready,
Finding your breath.
Finding your breath where you feel it most vivid,
And that may be in the rising and falling of the belly,
Or in the chest as it expands and contracts,
Or in the air as it goes into and out of the nostrils.
And actually feeling the breath moving.
Noticing how the whole body expands a little on the in-breath and relaxes a little on the out-breath.
Just letting your breath go.
Knowing you're breathing even observing your breath as you'd watch waves on the seashore just watching them go out and come back observing the flow In the same way,
We observe our breath,
Just watching it,
Noticing,
Placing our attention gently there.
Breathing in,
Know that you're breathing in.
And breathing out,
Know that you're breathing out.
And noticing when the attention wanders away.
Noticing where it goes.
And bringing your attention back to the breath.
And in a moment we are going to.
.
.
Begin to turn to meditate with our tinnitus.
Before we do that,
I want to remind you that if you become overly distressed through this process,
Turn back and follow your breath again,
Maybe open your eyes,
And even if necessary,
Feel free to stop the meditation.
It's very important to take care of yourself during this process.
Now we're going to turn our attention towards our tinnitus.
Again,
Bringing our attention there with a gentleness and kindness.
Not trying to push it away,
Not being overwhelmed by it,
But just a.
.
.
Curious and kind observation as we might approach a screaming child wanting to understand what's going on,
Wanting to listen,
Wanting to be with it.
And as we approach it,
As we place our attention on the sound of our tinnitus,
See if you can identify any feeling.
About this situation.
What emotions!
What does this sound bring forth?
Is there anger?
Fear?
Sadness?
Impatience?
Confusion?
What would you call it?
And if,
For example,
It's anger,
Rather than saying,
I'm angry,
Or frustrated,
Or sad,
See how it feels to say,
I'm noticing something in me that is this way,
Something in me that is angry,
Or afraid,
Or sad.
I'm noticing something in me has this feeling.
Just see how it feels to say it to yourself that way.
This gives the feeling more room to move,
And you won't identify with it as much.
This way you're not labeling yourself as angry or fearful.
You're merely aware you have those feelings right now.
And as you say this,
Something in me is annoyed,
Or angry,
Or confused,
Or mad,
Or sad,
Whatever best describes this feeling,
Seeing if you can notice where there might be a physical reaction to this.
It could be a tightening in the shoulders or chest,
A tightness or queasiness in the stomach,
Pressure or tension of some sort,
Achiness,
Constriction,
Tension in the throat,
Heat in the face,
Tightness in the jaw.
Just seeing where it is that it affects you physically,
Where you can notice it.
Or,
If you can't find a specific place that's fine,
It could just be a general sense of unease you feel all over,
Or a tensing or readiness of the arms as if you were going to protect yourself or someone else,
Or of the legs as if you're ready to run.
If you can,
Just allowing what you're noticing to be there,
Simply acknowledging it,
Letting your awareness gently rest there,
Allowing it to be just the way it is,
Without demanding it be any different.
With difficult emotions or sensations,
It's normal to want to move away from them,
To want to push them away.
So without trying to soften them directly,
See if you can soften your reaction to them.
You may not like what you're feeling,
But is it possible to accept that this is what you're feeling right now?
And seeing if you can give yourself permission to actually feel this.
Allowing these sensations and emotions to be there with kindness and gentleness.
Recognizing that accepting that something is present does not necessarily mean that you like it.
This is called softening and allowing.
Softening of your reaction to the feeling that you're having and allowing that reaction to be there.
Allowing the feeling to be there.
And if it's possible for you,
Seeing if you can soften your reaction to the tinnitus,
To this difficulty,
With gentle breaths,
Seeing if you can be with it the same way you'd be with a child or a pet you love and who is in distress.
If that were the case,
You would do this with tenderness,
With gentleness.
You wouldn't demand that your loved one respond any differently than they are.
And if you like,
You might even place your hand where in your body you're physically feeling the difficulty the most.
Or on your heart or abdomen,
Meeting this experience with kindness,
Recognizing that this would be difficult or painful or challenging for anybody,
Holding it in yourself gently and with kindness,
And taking your time with this.
There's no rush.
And as you do this,
You may feel sensations and feelings coming and going,
And noticing if you pay close attention,
There may be movement,
Change from moment to moment,
Perhaps a tightening or loosening.
You may notice heat,
Waves of energy,
Or images or impressions may emerge.
Through all this,
Seeing if you can bring a sense of kindness,
Curiosity,
And compassion to your exploration.
Spending enough time here to make contact with what you're noticing and feeling,
But not so much that you become overwhelmed.
And now,
Without trying to push the tinnitus away,
Taking a moment,
Seeing if you can find somewhere in your life where things are generally okay,
Or maybe even good.
Something or someone you're grateful for.
It could have to do with a loved one,
A favorite pet past or present,
A good friend,
Maybe an achievement in the past or present you are proud of,
Or a hobby or sport that gives you pleasure and satisfaction,
It could be something as simple as recalling a smile or a kind word someone had for you recently or in the past.
There may be several things or people you are grateful for that come to mind,
And just letting them flow into your awareness,
Feeling the sense of gratitude and warmth,
Noticing how it affects your body to imagine these things in their wholeness.
This is called taking in the good.
And it serves as a balance to what we have is a natural negativity bias.
We have a reason we focus on bad things and negative events since these were important for us in an evolutionary process in keeping us alive.
We had to be extra alert and aware of bad things and could always discard or pass by a particularly good event.
But as a result,
We tend to lean towards the negative.
And by focusing on positive events and experiences in our lives,
Letting them soak into us,
It can change the way we ultimately view reality.
Over time,
The more we focus on what's pleasant and good,
Can change a particular state of being aware of pleasant and good experiences in our lives to a trait of naturally being drawn toward and expressing a bias towards positive experiences.
Feeling these things in our body on a regular basis,
Sensing the joy and emotional warmth they bring to us.
Spending some time letting these emotions soak into our bodies.
And once you're ready,
Knowing that you can come back to what you're grateful for,
You may want to check back in with your tinnitus,
Focusing your attention there now.
Turning away from the pleasant and the good,
And seeing how it feels to turn back to the tinnitus,
Focusing your attention there,
Just doing this gently,
Checking in like you're opening the door to a room you were just in recently,
And just kind of looking inside from the doorway,
Revisiting the difficult situation,
And as you do this,
What do you notice?
How is it the same or different than before?
Just seeing if you can do this gently,
Allowing the feelings or sensations to be the way they are without needing them to change.
And yet things might change as you pay attention to them on their own.
Just spending long enough here to notice how it feels to be revisiting the difficulty right now.
And when you're ready,
You can go back to the pleasant feelings or the things or people you are grateful for and hang out there for a while,
Noticing what it's like to be paying attention to this again,
To what's working,
To what feels good,
What you're grateful for,
How this feels in your body now.
And,
In a way,
The parts of your life that are working well,
The parts you are grateful for,
Can be seen as gently holding the areas that are difficult or challenging,
Including your tinnitus.
You may notice things feel differently than they did before,
That they are actually fluid and dynamic.
They're not fixed and static.
We're not forced to focus our attention exclusively and explicitly on our tinnitus.
We have broader awareness we can tap into.
When you're ready,
Seeing if you can broaden your awareness.
Like panning out with a wide angle lens.
Including both the difficulty and what you're grateful for.
So why that there's enough space and room for both of them without pushing away the difficult or clinging to the pleasant?
Shifting to an even wider,
More inclusive perspective that includes both the pleasant and unpleasant.
Including your entire body and all of its sensations.
And when you're ready,
Moving wider still to include in your awareness the room or area you are sitting or lying in.
You may notice that by widening your awareness,
There's a sense of space,
Of freedom,
A capacity for change and movement.
And now,
Letting yourself spend some time here with this wider perspective.
And if it's not too much of a stretch,
Seeing if you can expand your awareness to include the building or natural setting you are in right now.
And even wider to include your neighborhood,
Your town or city,
Or even further to your region of the country.
The difficulty you began with now may not of itself has changed,
But now it's part of something bigger.
And as your awareness expands even further to include the entire world if that's possible for you,
Recognizing that at this very moment there are others who are experiencing the same kind of pain or discomfort as you have been,
And in this way you are not alone.
Out of the many millions,
Billions of people included,
It's certainly true that some of them are experiencing the same sort of pain and difficulty that you are,
With the same or even more intensity.
The pains,
The fears,
The worries are not yours to bear alone,
They are in fact shared by others.
There are others feeling the very same thing at literally the same time as you.
And if it seems possible to do this,
You might see if you can imagine your awareness expanding even further,
Seeing the Earth from space the way an astronaut might.
That beautiful blue-white sphere against a velvety black backdrop,
No visible borders,
Seamless,
Whole,
Alive,
And so precious.
And when you're ready,
Letting your awareness gradually return to your part of the world.
To your body.
To how you are feeling right now.
Sensing what it's like to be in this body,
At this time,
In this place.
Coming back to just you,
But with an awareness still wide enough to hold both the difficulties and pleasures of your body and your life.
And seeing if you can bring gentleness and kindness to whatever you're feeling right now.
Holding yourself with compassion and understanding.
And we'll spend the next few unguided moments resting deep in the body,
In the breath,
And allowing any discomfort or unease to be soothed by the rhythm of the breath again and again and again.
And we're nearing the end of this meditation.
So if you like to stay here longer,
You can pause or stop the recording and simply rest in your breath.
But when you're ready,
Then bringing your attention back to the breath.
Feeling the belly rise as you inhale,
Collapse as you exhale.
Noticing when the attention wanders off and bringing the attention back to the breath.
Slowly opening your eyes,
Letting your attention Move to the outside world,
Taking in the sights and sounds.
Beginning to gently move your body and re-engage with the activities of the day.
And seeing if you can bring a fresh sense of curiosity and openness to all that you encounter.
