Beginning by opening your awareness to all of the background sounds in the present moment.
And if there are no sounds in your current experience,
You can use the sound of my voice.
When we hear sound,
Sound arises in the field of conscious awareness.
And because it's interesting and prominent,
We pay attention to the sound.
Often adding a name and an opinion to the sound.
We name it and then decide if it's good or bad or neutral.
If it's loud or quiet.
If it's pleasant or distracting.
But notice that all of that is mind activity that we add to the sound.
So instead,
See if it's possible to allow sound to rise in your field of conscious awareness.
And simply do not label it.
Do not name it.
Do not form an opinion about it.
Simply allow it to be.
Be disinterested.
And simply vaguely aware that it is there.
Before and after the sound,
There is silence.
We can notice the silence.
Before a sound arises.
And after a sound subsides.
But recognize when we are aware of silence.
You do not hear silence in the same way that you hear a sound.
To be aware of silence is to notice the absence of sound.
Pay attention to this silence now.
See clearly.
When you notice silence,
You are not hearing silence.
When you notice the absence of silence,
You are simply aware of the absence of sound.
Very good.
Now deepening this practice.
Recognize that it's possible to be aware of this very same silence.
Even while a sound is present.
Regard each sound that rises to be like a cloud in the sky.
It comes into the field of awareness,
Just like a cloud comes into the sky and then passes.
So be like somebody who is watching the sky.
But simply ignore the clouds.
And instead pay attention to the blue sky behind the clouds.
So even when a sound is present,
Be aware of the silence that is behind the sound.
Completely detach from sound entirely.
Be disinterested in the content of this sound.
And instead be very interested,
Totally aware of the pure,
Clear,
And absolute.
Empty silence in which the sound is arising.
Very good.
Now becoming aware of your own thoughts.
You will notice that thoughts and thinking has a lot in common with sound.
It rises in the field of conscious awareness.
And because it's interesting and prominent,
We pay attention to it.
But notice the space between thoughts.
Notice the space behind thoughts.
There is a vast space of conscious awareness.
That is the empty expanse in which thoughts appear.
Just as sound appears within the silence and clouds appear within the sky.
It's just that we ordinarily only pay attention to what is prominent and interesting.
So ordinarily we are interested in sound,
Clouds,
Thoughts.
But practice this level of detachment even from your own thoughts and thinking.
Simply regard thoughts as completely uninteresting.
Just not important.
And instead pay more attention to the silence between thoughts,
Behind thoughts.
Form absolutely no opinion about thoughts and thinking.
There are no good thoughts,
There are no bad thoughts,
There are just thoughts.
Don't try to make them go away.
Don't try to make thoughts go quiet.
That only makes things worse.
Instead just ignore them completely.
And direct your attention towards the silence.
In this way you can access the deep inner silence.
Regardless of just how much sound and how many thoughts are present.
It simply doesn't matter.
The silence is always there.
It can't go anywhere.
This very same inner silence is present in any experience.
Including bodily sensation.
You can be aware of any experience.
And notice that ordinarily we pay attention to that.
Because it's prominent and interesting.
But detach from this experience.
And pay more attention to the silence in which this experience appears.
This is where you will find peace and serenity.
This peace and bliss cannot be found in the busy,
Noisy content of experience.
But is instead found outside of that.
In the space in which experience appears.
In a moment we will be leaving the formal aspect of this meditation.
But recognize that even outside of meditation.
Although attention will inevitably be drawn towards the content of experience again.
Just at several moments throughout each day.
See if you can notice the deep,
Vast inner silence available at all times.
Thank you for doing this meditation with me today.
Take care,
Be well and stay present.
