This is the mindfulness of sound meditation.
Just like the breath or the body,
Sound is also an anchor that we can use to stay in the present,
Stay with experience.
In this practice we are not going to listen out for sounds,
We are not going to seek them out,
We are just going to receive them.
It's a hearing more than a listening.
We are just being receptive to the sounds as they are without needing to categorise them,
Without needing to think about them,
Without needing the stories behind them.
No need to follow them or identify them or like them or dislike them.
Just experience as it is,
Just observing.
So if you are ready take a comfortable seat and put your feet flat on the floor,
Your back nice and straight and let your shoulders drop,
Let your muscles relax,
Let your jaw relax as well.
And you will notice if you are fully comfortably relaxed,
The tip of your tongue will probably be brushing the roof of your mouth.
So as usual we are just going to start by gaining an awareness of the body in general,
Just what it feels like to be sitting here,
Supported by the chair or if you are sitting on a cushion,
The support from the cushion and the floor.
Feel your body breathing.
Feel your ribcage expanding on the in-breath and relaxing on the out-breath.
Your belly gently rising and falling.
And the sensations of the air going into your nose and down your throat and coming out.
Coldness going in and warmth coming out.
And now start turning your attention to the sounds around you.
You might notice sounds from inside the room if you are indoors,
Close to you.
Maybe even coming from your own body.
And sounds further away from you or outside.
Constant sounds,
Regular sounds and one-off sounds.
Some of them more obvious and some of them more subtle.
Just notice the quality of the sounds,
The sensation of sound.
Remember there is no need to figure out what the sound is.
No need to identify or analyse.
It's just what are you hearing right now?
Just stay receptive to the sounds.
There is no need to go looking for them,
Let them come to you.
You can put your attention right at the opening of your ears and just let the sounds come,
Just let them happen.
How about now?
And where is your mind right now?
Is it still with your experience?
Is it still with you?
Or are you planning dinner or the shopping?
Or are you thinking about things in the past?
Just notice what it is and then bring it back to the sounds.
The sounds that you notice right now.
The sounds you're noticing right now are the sounds of right now.
This is your experience.
This is where you are.
Just notice.
Is your mind,
Body or eye.
All of these sounds of the moment.
You will probably like some of them and not like others.
We all tend to like the sound of water or nature,
Birds chirping,
A lot more than neighbours screaming or the sound of traffic or anything too loud.
But really they are all just sound waves.
They are energy waves and the rest is our judgement.
Notice how the sound happens first and then the judgement as an add-on,
An interpretation of experience and something that you can just let go of and just let experience be experience.
Where is your mind now?
Come back to the sounds.
What's your soundscape like right now?
Then come back to the breath.
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
The anchor of the breath in the present without needing to change anything,
Just staying with the experience of the breath.
Just staying with the movement of the breath.
And then widen out your awareness again to the whole body,
The points of contact,
What you can feel with your hands,
The contact with what you are sitting on or lying on.
And when you are ready you can start moving your body gently,
Starting with your fingers and your toes and then maybe having a nice stretch.
And when you are ready you can open your eyes.
Welcome back.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
