Listening Meditation

Sounds can be another focus for meditation. Listening meditation works in a different way from breath or sensation meditation. We do not focus inwardly but outwardly in a wide-open manner. We do not create nor imagine sounds. We wait for them to come to us. Any sounds will do -- the roar of a car, the barking of a dog, the twittering of a bird. We listen attentively to any sounds that might occur with a non-grasping attitude. We open up to the music of the world and of life. We do not name, conjecture or identify the sounds. We just listen as widely and openly as we can at the sounds themselves. If there are no sounds we just listen to silence and its special hum. In listening meditation we cultivate an open and spacious attitude which waits quietly for the unknown without fears or expectations.

Transcript

Welcome to your meditation practice today.

Thank you for making this choice to get present.

Find a comfortable seat.

You can sit on the floor,

Supported by a blanket under your sitting bones,

Or you could sit in a chair.

The exact posture is not that important.

You just wanna make sure that you can sit and be comfortable with an upright spine,

A lifted chest,

And some relaxation in your body.

Take just a few moments to find that for yourself.

Today's practice is listening meditation.

This is a wonderful practice because it reminds us to find joy in the opportunities and our capacity to be fully present with what is alive in our lives.

And everything is an opportunity to touch our own freedom.

So once you've found your seat,

Take a moment to close your eyes,

Or find a soft downward cast gaze just a couple of feet in front of you.

Take a deep breath in and exhale it out.

And exhale it out.

In this meditation practice,

We are actually listening for what is happening around us.

We're not trying to push it away,

Or to create a story around it,

But simply to notice as a way of getting present.

So as you sit and get quiet in your body,

Listen for the sounds around you.

You may hear the quiet hum of the lights,

The rustling of leaves outside,

People moving about.

And rather than trying to push those sounds away,

Use them as an opportunity to get present.

So every time you are noticing a sound,

You are present to what is happening around you.

Usually the sounds in our environment are repetitive.

We hear the same sound again and again.

So the practice is going to start with the eyes in.

Now you hear synthesize sounds.

You're going to hear them go.

So the practice is listening and being fully here.

Realize when you're not listening.

When you're not listening,

You've lost contact with the present moment.

Tune in again.

This very moment contains all you need to practice.

Whatever you notice around you,

Whatever you hear,

Means that you are listening,

That you are tuning in,

That you are right here.

Anything in your life can be used as an object of meditation.

What wonderful news.

Do you hear a car?

The wind?

The movement of your own breath?

Is this really listening?

What is alive in your life right now?

What are you noticing?

Be light for a conversation.

Slowly bring yourself back to feeling your body.

Feel your seat on the earth.

Feel for the length of your spine.

Rest back into a sense of ease.

Remembering that this is a practice you can come back to over and over again.

Everything that we notice is an opportunity to get present.

Rather than tuning it out,

We tune in.

Draw a deep breath in through your nose.

Gently sigh the breath out.

Take a moment to bow your chin towards your chest,

Acknowledging the end of your practice for today.

Thank you for taking this time out for yourself,

This time to get present,

This time to notice what is happening around you.

Namaste.

Reviews

Thank you for sharing

Lovely, slowed down my mind and got me back in the present moment, thank you. Namaste ✨

Very grounding. You're an excellent guide! Thank you for sharing this with us.
🙏

Very effective. Thank you for calling us to presence this morning🙌

Short, simple and effective, thank you 😊

This listening meditation is so easy to learn and can be used with ease ❤️

Very relaxing meditation will do often...Namaste🙏🏽

I’d never really done a listening meditation before, and I found this to be such a quick and effective way to find stillness and presence. Thank you.

Interesting! I was wondering, where is here? Thank you! 🌷