5-Minute Awareness Of Sound Meditation

Sounds can be the object of attention during mindfulness practice (even unpleasant ones), just like the breath, body sensations, thoughts, and emotions. When we bring attention to sounds, we discover their impermanent nature. We may also discover that the irritation that often comes from unpleasant sounds doesn’t come from the sounds themselves, but, rather, from our reaction to them. When we bring mindfulness to sounds, we can shift our relationship from aversion to openness and curiosity.

Transcript

Welcome to this five minute awareness of sound meditation. Beginning by finding a posture that allows you to feel relaxed yet awake. You could be standing, Sitting or lying down. And beginning by taking a few deep breaths, Breathing in deeply, Filling the lungs and then exhaling slowly letting go. Again a nice full deep in breath and then a slow out breath releasing. And one last time nice full in breath and a slow out breath and letting go. And now simply allowing your breathing to resume its natural rhythm and feeling the breath wherever it's most predominantly felt. Whether it's at the nostrils, The chest or the belly. Feeling the breath as it comes into the body and leaves the body. And now expanding the field of awareness to include the whole body sitting here. Feeling all of the various sensations in the body. And now allowing the breath and the sense of the body as a whole to recede into the background and deliberately shifting the attention to sounds. Sounds close by inside the room. Perhaps inside your body the sound of my voice or sounds further away outside the room. Not going out looking for sounds but simply being receptive to whatever is arising in the soundscape. And when you notice your mind is wandered off simply bringing the attention back to sounds. Sounds arising and passing away just like the breath. You may notice a tendency to want to identify or label sounds. There may be some liking or disliking. Maybe a tendency to want to hold on to pleasant sounds and push away unpleasant ones. And seeing if it's possible to attend to the bare sounds themselves without any internal reaching toward or pushing away. Perhaps noticing the quality of sounds. Soft, Loud, Continuous or irregular. Sounds overlapping. Aware of the spaces between sounds. And of the sound of silence. And in a moment you'll hear the sound of the bell and that will signify the end of this practice. Until then perhaps acknowledging having taken the time out of your busy day to tend to your health and well-being.