Sounds and thoughts meditation.
Gently begin to settle down into your meditation posture,
Allowing the weight of your body to settle down deeper and deeper towards the floor and the earth and begin by spending a few moments allowing your head,
Neck and shoulders to relax and if it's comfortable close your eyes.
Now gather up your awareness and begin to focus on the movements of the breath in your body.
Allow your awareness to follow the breath all the way in and all the way out,
Noticing how the chest and the belly expand on the in-breath and subside on the out-breath and when you feel settled gradually expand your awareness to include your whole body.
Can you sense your whole body breathing?
Spend a few moments focusing on the movements of the breath in your body.
Perhaps getting a sense of the whole body being rocked and cradled by the natural movements of the breath.
Now expand your awareness to include any sounds that surround you.
Be open to them.
There is no need to actively stick them out.
As best you can simply be open and receptive to them as they arrive.
You might notice sounds of cars passing,
Music or perhaps people talking.
You might hear trains in the distance or perhaps the sound of wind,
Rain or birdsong.
The soundscape has enormous depth and variety.
Become aware of whatever is here.
Notice as the sounds arrive from all directions,
From the front or back,
Above or below,
From the left or right,
Sounds near,
Sounds far.
See if you can sense their arrival,
How they linger and then slowly fade away.
You have no control over their arrival or departure or how long they stay.
As best you can be aware of sounds as sounds,
As raw sensations.
Notice the tendency to label sounds such as car,
Wind or siren or people talking.
See if it is possible to notice this labeling and then to refocus your awareness on the sounds themselves,
On the raw sensations.
Pay attention to the qualities of the sounds,
To the way they rise and fall,
To their pitch and texture.
See if you can notice how the louder or more obvious sounds tend to crowd out the quieter ones.
Now notice the gaps between the sounds.
Can you gain a sense of the silence?
You might notice that the silence is relative.
Even silence may contain very subtle quiet sounds on the edge of hearing and if you are in a quiet place you might be able to hear your breath,
Your heart or perhaps the rush of blood through your inner ears.
Be open to them all.
As best you can try to avoid becoming drawn into any individual sounds.
You might find yourself thinking about the sounds.
When this happens simply acknowledge where your mind has wandered to and gently bring your awareness back to the sounds as they rise and pass away.
Now focus your awareness on the sounds in this way for a few minutes.
Now gently shift your awareness to your thoughts.
Notice how thoughts arise in the mind,
Linger for a while and then dissolve or subside.
Just as with sounds you have no control over their arriving or leaving so there is no need to try to make thoughts come and go.
Just as with sounds you cannot control the type or intensity of thoughts flowing across your mind.
All you can do is be aware of them.
So as best you can see thoughts as events in the mind.
See if you can relate to them in the same way that you do to sounds.
Imagine thoughts being like clouds in the sky.
Sometimes they're dark and stormy.
At other times they may be soft and fluffy.
Sometimes they fill the entire sky.
While at others they dissolve completely leaving it clear and empty.
And if powerfully charged thoughts or emotions should arise pay kindly attention to them and allow them to be just as they are.
Just like sounds or clouds in the sky.
They will eventually change or disappear completely.
And if you begin to feel lost in your thoughts as if your mind has become unfocused or scattered then gently bring the focus of your awareness back to the breath.
Feel the sensations of breathing for three or four breaths and then gently return to the thoughts flowing across your mind.
And when ready return your awareness back to observing your thoughts.
Paying attention and being curious about the working of your mind for a few minutes.
Gently begin to bring this meditation to a close.
What can you hear?
What can you smell?
What can you feel on your skin?
Perhaps clouds on your skin.
Whatever is there just notice that.
And when ready gently open your eyes gradually and gently begin to move.
Making sure you give yourself enough time to make a smooth transition to whatever you're doing next.
There is no rush.
