Mindfulness with sounds.
So start by finding a comfortable place to sit or lie down,
Checking in with your posture that you have,
Yourself seated or lying in an alert and dignified,
But at ease position.
A position that will really support yourself for the next short period of mindfulness with sound and just bringing to mind your intention for this practice.
So our intention is every time the mind wanders to bring our attention back to the sounds as often as we need to and just checking in with your motivation,
So your why,
What it is that's brought you to practice right now,
Maybe for the benefit of yourself and others,
Or maybe another reason.
So just checking in with your own motivation and just focusing in a relaxed and gentle way on your breath.
Breathing in a little bit more deeply than normal without strain and just gently then releasing the breath.
Keeping the in and out breaths of equal length,
Maybe even inviting a count.
Breathing in for three and out for three.
And as you do so,
Thoughts will continue to pop into your head and this is normal.
Just allow the thoughts to go free without trying to stop them or suppress them in any way.
And just bringing the awareness now to the out breath,
Just noticing how the body responds as you exhale,
Maybe relaxing a little bit more as you release the out breath.
And then allowing the breath to return to its regular rhythm,
Letting go of counting.
Just allowing the breath to do its own thing.
And you may notice as you have become aware of the exhale,
How your center of gravity drops a little bit more fully into the body,
Bringing us into the grounding phase.
Really becoming aware of the weight of the body against the chair or the bed or the mat.
Becoming aware of the points where we feel our body against whatever is supporting us,
The points of contact,
The pressure on the chair or the cushion or the mat.
So the mind is resting in the body as the body is resting on the chair or the cushion or the ground.
And just bringing the awareness now to the sensations in the body as we really become aware of the body here,
Maybe noticing how you feel from the inside.
And just becoming aware of the whole of the body,
Right down from the top of the head to the tips of the toes,
Becoming aware of the top of the head,
Just noticing any sensations,
Checking in and giving a nod to the neck,
The throat,
The shoulders,
The upper arms,
The lower arms,
The hands,
The back,
The length of the spine,
The chest,
The tummy area,
The lower back,
The bottom,
The hips,
The thighs,
The knees,
The lower legs and the feet or on the ground or the heels against the floor.
And just opening up to any sensations that catch your awareness or your attention in the body.
Maybe becoming aware of the space around the body and notice the body resting here now with space all around.
And just resting here now,
Becoming aware of your experience as it arises.
There's nothing to do here,
Nowhere to go,
Nothing to strive for,
Simply being aware of whatever arises in your senses without trying to change it in any way.
So you might notice sensations in the body,
An itch or a scratch or a feeling or an ache,
Noticing thoughts,
Noticing emotions and being aware of sounds that come and go.
And if you find yourself reacting in any way to any of these,
Just notice the reaction.
See if there's an invitation to accept that reaction,
Regardless of whether you judge it to be positive or negative.
Just allowing the mind to be open,
Alert and at rest.
Nothing to do,
Nowhere to go.
And as you rest here,
You may notice that the mind will drift off into thinking.
I'm just gently refocusing your attention on whatever sounds are occurring,
Allowing them to hold your attention.
So the mind is resting in the body,
The body is resting on the ground and you're aware of sounds.
Maybe noticing sounds that are far away,
Noticing sounds that are close by,
Maybe even the sound of your own body or breath.
Sounds might be loud or subtle.
Sounds that might be pleasant or unpleasant.
Maybe sounds that are continuous and sounds that are intermittent,
That come and go.
Even noticing the space between the sounds.
Maybe experiencing sounds as pure sensation,
Rather than what we expect them to be,
As a sensation or as a vibration,
Rather than what we pictured them in our head to be.
Rather than judging them and getting caught up in thoughts about them or stories about them.
And you don't even need to name what you're hearing or decide if you like it or don't like it.
Just see if you can allow the sound to be just as it is.
And if you find a sound has acted like a trigger,
Causing a reaction for you,
Simply come back to hearing and allowing the sounds to be your anchor.
In this moment.
And there is no need to chase the sound or to push it away or straining for sounds.
There's no effort here at all.
Simply noticing the sounds that come to you,
That arrive in each moment.
In this moment.
And the next moment.
And the next moment,
As you bring your focus to hearing the sounds.
And just know that at any time you can allow yourself to be held by these sounds.
Each time the mind wanders off,
Very gently bringing it back to the sounds around you.
As part of your experience.
And as we come towards the end of this practice,
Just becoming aware again and again of the body resting on the chair or the ground.
The sensations of clothes against the skin or the temperature of the air.
The pressure of the body against the chair or the ground.
Become aware of space all around you.
And noticing the sounds,
The smells,
The tastes,
The textures,
Temperature.
And.
When you're ready,
Wiggling the fingers,
Wiggling the toes and allowing the eyes to open.
Moving into the next moment mindfully with the sound of the bell.
And thanking yourself for giving yourself this time to practice mindfulness with sound.
