Awareness Of Sounds

In this meditation, we will expand our awareness to include all the sounds around us. This will serve us as an anchor - something to rest our attention on as thoughts and feelings come in. Be kind to yourself and allow thoughts and feelings to come and go, gently bringing your mind back to the sounds around you.

Transcript

Hi love! Today we will be using sounds as our anchor for this awareness of sound meditation. So anytime you have a thought come up throughout this process, You can gently note it as thinking and come back to the sound. You will do the same with any feeling or emotion that comes across. Simply note it as sadness or joy or whatever it is that comes up for you and come back to the sounds around you. So when you're ready, Find a comfortable seat where you won't be disturbed for a few minutes and gently close your eyes. We'll begin by taking a few deeper breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. In through the nose and out through the mouth. If you'd like to on the next exhale you can sigh it out. In and out. Take a few deeper breaths on your own at your own pace. When you're ready, Allow your breath to come back to its natural rhythm. There's nothing you need to change about it. And for the next couple of moments, Pay attention to the sound of your breathing. Notice the sound of an inhale and the sound of an exhale. Your breath coming in and out like waves in the ocean. Soothing and relaxing. When thoughts come in, Simply note them as thinking and come back to the sound of your breathing. Continue paying attention to the sound of your breath for a few more seconds. Gently in and out. There's no need to change the speed of your breathing or the depth of it. Simply continue with it just the way that it is. When you're ready, We'll begin to expand our attention from the sound of our breathing to any other sounds that are closest to you in the room. If there's a clock ticking, Perhaps notice the sound of that. If there's a sound of a refrigerator or anything else in the room with you. If you're outside, Take note of the sounds that are closest to you. Is it the rustling of the leaves on the tree that's close to you? The sound of the cars passing by? Whatever it may be, Gently rest your attention on the sounds that you're noticing. Now continue to expand your attention to the sounds that are further away from you or perhaps outside of the room or the house that you're in. We're not trying to exclude any sounds or to over-focus on any specific one. So if you're noticing your mind clinging to a pleasant sound somewhere in a neighborhood like beautiful music or birds singing, Simply remind yourself to expand your awareness to include all the sounds that you can hear. Imagine your awareness as a wide field that can include everything all at once with gentleness and kindness. Continue including sounds that you can hear. Pay attention to what is the sound that you can hear the furthest away from you and then the one that's the closest to you. And then go back to including both of those and everything in between. Including your breathing. Notice your awareness expand in all directions to include sounds behind you, To the right of you, In front of you, And to the left of you. And now everywhere around as far as your attention can reach. If you can't hear sounds too far away, You can also opt out to continue paying attention to just your breathing and the sound of your breath gently and with care. And remember when the thoughts or feelings come in in this process, You simply gently note them and go back to the sound of your breathing or any sounds around you. When you're ready, We'll begin to bring our attention back towards us. So if you've been paying attention to this video for a while, So if you've been paying attention to the sounds that are quite far away from you, Start bringing your attention towards anything you can hear in the room or closest to you. Slowly bring it back in towards your body and to the sound of your breathing. And notice your body sitting here in the chair that you're in. See if there's any tension that you can let go of before you go off into your day again. See if there's restlessness that could be soothed. And if there is, Gently take a breath into those areas that feel tense and restless. Allow your body to relax a little bit more with every inhale and to melt a little deeper into your seat with every exhale. Imagine the breath washing over you like a calm wave of nourishment and care. Easing your tension and anxiety with every inhale and releasing things that you need to let go of with every exhale. Spend a few moments here simply breathing and watching the tension melt away. Before you go off into your day, Or perhaps if you're listening to this before bed, Find in yourself your intention for the night or for the rest of the day. In what way would you like to be more present and more at ease? In what way you could be of service to those around you? When you're ready, Open your eyes. Maybe do a couple of neck rolls to relax your body a little bit more. I hope you have a wonderful day or a good night. And thank you for being here and taking the time for yourself, For the benefit of others. Thank you.