Welcome to the Mindfulness Without Bells and Beads Meditation Series.
Sounds Thoughts and Emotions Meditation The Sounds Thoughts and Emotions meditation is an open awareness meditation.
We will be widening the aperture of our awareness beyond just focusing on the breath and allow for a broader focus on the landscape of sounds,
Thoughts,
And emotions.
This helps us see the similarities between them.
They arise of their own accord whether we want them to or not.
They can hijack our attention and captivate us.
We can also come to realize that it's possible to view them as events which merely enter and exit our awareness,
Thus gradually lessening our habitual reactivity to them.
Let's begin.
Sitting up in the chair,
Whatever supporting the body,
And allowing both feet to be flat on the floor,
Allowing the eyes to close if that feels comfortable,
Or softening the gaze and angling it down towards the floor.
Beginning by noticing the sensations of breathing wherever you feel them most prominently,
Just as you've been doing in the Awareness of Breath meditation.
Noticing any impulse to control the breath,
Just allowing the body to breathe on its own.
Reasonably settled,
Allowing awareness now to expand and encompass the entire body,
Noticing the full landscape of the body in awareness,
Including the sensations of breathing,
But not solely focused on the breath,
Merely opening to a fuller awareness of what's being experienced in this moment.
Noticing sounds now to take the main stage of awareness.
Of course other things may be in your awareness,
But tuning into the sounds specifically.
Noticing sounds behind,
In front,
Beside,
Above,
Or below you.
Catching any automatic tendency to hear and immediately name the sound heard,
Such as that's a fan,
Car door,
Music,
Lawnmower,
Or kids playing.
Noticing any automatic judgments,
Stories,
Or other reactions which praise or push away the reality that these sounds are here in this moment.
And if this happens,
Tuning back into the sounds themselves,
And exploring the possibility of letting them be.
When focused on our breathing,
We sometimes notice the small gaps between breaths,
Where there's neither in nor out breath.
Moving now from tuning into sounds to becoming more broadly aware of any thoughts arising in the mind.
Perhaps thoughts about the exercise,
Boredom,
Or about your to-do list.
Maybe worries or frustrations.
And experimenting with witnessing thoughts arising into your awareness,
Lingering a while,
And then dissolving.
Not trying to make thoughts happen,
Just noticing,
Like sounds,
Thoughts come and go on their own within the mind.
When thoughts arise in the mind,
Seeing them floating by like clouds passing across an otherwise clear sky.
Your mind like the sky,
Your thoughts like the clouds,
Sometimes large,
Sometimes small,
Sometimes dark,
Sometimes light.
But the sky remains.
The sky does not prefer some clouds over others.
Whatever thoughts there are,
See if it's possible to see them as mental events that are arising in the mind,
Lingering,
And then dissolving.
You may find,
After a while,
That you get captivated by your thinking,
No longer observing thoughts,
But caught inside them.
When this happens,
It's not a mistake,
Acknowledging what the mind got caught in,
And beginning again,
Noticing these mental events as they arise,
Linger a while,
And then pass away.
Bringing awareness to any emotions that may be present as well,
Noticing the arising and passing away of emotions in your awareness.
Anytime the mind gets caught up in thoughts,
Stories,
Or emotions,
It's always possible to come back to the breath to stabilize awareness back in the present moment,
Before beginning again and focusing on the coming and going of thoughts and emotions.
And coming back to focus on the sensations of breathing for the last few moments of this exercise,
Remembering that the breath is always available,
In any situation,
To help bring you back into the present moment,
And to a state of mindful awareness.
