I'm Jonna,
And thank you for joining me today.
As you can see,
I'm outside in nature and surrounded by all of the sounds.
In the environment around me and I know that That's not always the case.
I,
Too,
Spend a lot of time on screens inside.
Disconnected from what's going on in our environment,
In our natural environment.
So I just wanted to share this practice with you as an opportunity to reconnect with nature.
And if you're also outside right now as you're watching this,
Go ahead and take one of your earphones out if you're using earphones so that you're also able to hear the sounds around you.
The intention of this practice is to notice,
To bring awareness of all the beautiful things that happen around us.
In nature that we so often ignore because we are not focused on them.
We will start a meditation shortly.
I just want to preface that with the intention here to really bring our awareness.
To what's around us.
To what we are made of,
To what is our innate,
Natural.
Environment.
Because most of the time the environments in which we find ourselves.
Are not that natural.
They involve walls and screens and concrete and all different finishes.
Of buildings and homes,
But this is really where we connect with our native habitat,
Which is the environment.
So you can probably see behind me there are.
Flowers,
And yes,
There is some cement,
And there is a house in the background.
So there is this mix of nature.
And reality.
And we are going to experience both right now.
So go ahead and gently close your eyes.
And as we do that,
As we let go of the visual sense.
Our other senses naturally grow stronger.
So let's focus on noticing the sounds you can hear as far away.
As possible and that can be in your own environment.
Or if both earphones are in.
You can use my environment and just notice the sounds you hear.
I can hear many different types of birds.
Something I would not have noticed had I not intentionally drawn my attention toward listening.
For these beautiful sounds of nature.
And now.
.
.
Let's bring our attention inward.
Gently notice the sounds closer to you.
So that could be in the space you're in,
Maybe there's.
.
.
An air conditioning unit or.
.
.
The sound of your computer.
Or if you're in nature,
Other sounds around you,
Close to you.
And now let's go even further inward.
Let's notice.
The sounds within our own body.
Perhaps sounds that no one else could hear even if they were sitting next to us.
You can even move your tongue in your mouth and notice that sound.
So there are so many sounds to hear.
Sounds we would miss.
If we were not focusing.
On the intention of listening.
You can go ahead and choose a sound on which you want to focus right now.
One sound.
And listen to it with a precision as if you have never heard it before.
As if listening to it for the very first time.
And just notice.
When you bring that perspective to it,
That beginner's mind.
How you would describe it.
How would you describe that sound?
With just a few words.
And let those words come to mind.
And now just savor the sound.
Knowing that you will let go of it soon.
So enjoy it just for this moment.
And you can gently let go of the sound.
And begin to open your eyes.
So we have this capacity.
To really focus our attention on whatever we choose.
And so often there are external forces that literally capture our attention.
And we've become so focused on them.
So as you move into your day today,
I want you to remember the precision with which you listened to this sound right now.
In this meditation.
And I want to remind you.
That you can direct your attention,
You can recapture your own attention.
Anytime you wish.
When you become aware.
Of what you're focusing on.
And nature is a beautiful reminder.
Of all the amazing things around us that we can often overlook.
But we can intentionally.
Bring our focus back to them.
When we are aware,
When we have that metacognition or that meta awareness,
Awareness of what we're aware of.
When we know what our mind is doing.
Have a beautiful day and may you notice something special with a beginner's mind.
