This meditation is about listening.
Let's begin with the bell.
Just settling in.
Coming down,
Coming in,
Getting heavy.
Close your eyes if and when you're ready.
Giving yourself moments of stillness.
You are not required to meditate.
You are not required to lose your thoughts.
You are just giving yourself time.
To be with yourself,
To enjoy your own company.
Without.
Phone or screen distraction without other demands.
Setting aside what was,
Setting aside the to-do list for this week.
All of it.
This is just you.
This is your gift,
Like taking yourself to an amusement park.
Maybe you yawn,
Maybe you just breathe deeply and exhale slowly.
It's slowing down.
Drifting into a quieter space,
A lower energy.
Heaviness.
And also paradoxically lightness.
Just breathing.
From your breath,
Feel your body too.
And notice where you are.
Stretchy,
Tight,
Loose,
Anxious.
Filled with food hungry.
Do a scan of your body.
What do you notice?
Aches and pains,
Boo-boos,
Happy parts.
Contented muscles.
Strength.
You're not grading it.
Or evaluating,
You're just,
Oh.
Piggins talk.
As a way of joining yourself.
Is a way of giving to yourself.
You are your most precious gift.
Little treasure.
Maybe you want to stretch,
Maybe you want to breathe deeply or even yawn,
Or just find any way to relax 5 or 10% more.
All you need to do is enjoy the time with yourself.
You don't have to stop your thoughts.
You cannot.
You don't have to make yourself think about anything.
Or do anything,
This is.
.
.
Few minutes of vacation.
Doesn't need to be complicated or hard.
Or esoteric or abstract.
Just simplify.
Inhale deeply,
Exhale slowly.
Sometimes your breath is a good cue in meditating,
Sometimes your pulse.
Perhaps listening to my voice,
This time we're going to use your ears.
And listen outward in.
From the farthest away to the deepest inside.
Just breathing.
What's the farthest sound you can hear?
A distant eagle.
Far away river or ocean.
A truck on the interstate.
Stretch your ears far beyond.
Extending your aural capacity,
Your listening.
All the way out,
All the way out.
Attending and attuning with your ears.
What do you hear?
Can you name it or notice the tune or the timbre?
The volume,
The pitch.
Or just the sensibility of it.
Breathing deeply,
Exhaling slowly.
We'll draw a little more near,
Maybe.
Your local or immediate environs.
A bird,
A chipmunk.
An air conditioning unit,
Someone in your house tidying up.
That sort of proximity.
What do you hear?
Listen joyfully,
That this world is making sweet noises for you.
Little symphony.
All to yourself because no one else is sitting where you are,
Where your ears are positioned.
The symphony of life is yours.
Listening well.
By making it encourage you.
Sounds getting louder or softer,
Closer,
More distant.
New sounds,
Old sounds.
And then coming in.
To self,
Very close to the boundary of your skin.
Maybe you can hear your heart beat.
Your digestion.
Crinkling of your toes,
Popping of a finger.
Your nose.
An itch.
What sounds do you hear right of self?
Is your breathing silent or make a subtle noise?
Maybe you can even hear your hearing.
Sure,
That's not a thing,
But it could be.
If you listen carefully enough.
What is happening?
Inhaling deeply,
Exhaling slowly.
Enjoying your time.
Enjoying being with yourself.
Let's go as deep as you can to hear the still voice within you,
Your heart and soul.
Motion of your treasured spirit.
The sounds that are most yours may be nearly inaudible.
Listen in.
Right to your core.
Maybe even your blood flow.
An individual blood cell.
What sound does that make?
Listen well.
And happily.
Feel it all.
Coming into you.
Through your ears and synapses.
As you process the symphony of life.
Blessings.
