Hey,
Thank you for practicing with me today.
This meditation exercise is perfect to realize an important feature of your mind.
Quite often we think that we have to put effort to be successful and happy in life.
But I hope to show you today that it's possible to find a sense of happiness and contentment by actually relaxing.
So for a moment simply notice the sounds around you.
And I want you to pay attention.
Where are the sounds coming from?
Notice how there is maybe this sensation of effort in paying attention.
It's kind of like a little bit of tension in the area of the ears.
Maybe some tension in the body.
In particular for me personally there is this sensation of paying attention like having a beam of attention.
It starts from the center of my head and goes towards sounds,
The sources of sounds.
Notice if you can feel this kind of effort.
While now I invite you to let go.
Completely relax the body and don't try to listen to sounds.
Simply allow them to appear.
Allow them to come to you.
Can you still hear sounds?
Me personally yes,
Of course.
They're still clear.
What's interesting is how there is this sense of relaxation and this listening is effortless,
Yet clear.
I'm not missing anything.
Sounds come and go as though by themselves.
I don't have to do anything.
Now switch back again and pay attention,
Whatever that means to you.
So you're not just simply receiving the sounds but you're looking for them.
And notice the sensations in the body and this kind of arrow of attention from the center of the head or the ears going outside,
Looking for sounds.
Now relax,
Open up.
Simply let sounds come to you.
Notice the sensations in this state.
How do you feel in the body,
In the mind?
And notice whether you can still hear if sounds are still clear.
One last time look for sounds,
Listen in an active way.
And now open up,
Let go of the effort and let sounds come to you.
Let them come and go.
They come and go like waves in the ocean.
And we are almost at the end of this session.
If you want you can keep practicing in this way.
You can look for sounds and notice how it makes you feel.
And then you can open up and simply receive them and notice how you feel in this mode of listening.
And the point of this exercise is to realize how you can listen pretty well and clearly without putting too much effort,
Sounds simply come to you.
You don't have to do anything particular to hear them.
You don't have to put effort.
And it's interesting to ask yourself the question,
Can I do this also in other areas of my life?
Can I put less effort and still get the same results?
Experiment with this and find your own answer.
