This is the listening meditation which is part of mindfulness based stress reduction and really can be a meditation for anyone who just wants to take a little bit of time to tune in to the present moment.
And you can do this in a chair or seated on the floor or if sitting isn't gonna be very helpful right now.
It could even be standing or lying down.
Just coming into a position with some alertness.
Not overly relaxed and maybe on the way to sleepy and yet also not stiff.
Start with checking in with the breath.
Observing the breath right now.
The inhales and the exhales.
In and out.
This is like a wave coming and going.
Maybe we can also notice where in the body the breath is experienced.
There's movement that happens in the body with the breath.
Noticing that in the belly or in the chest or the air coming in and out of the nostrils.
In and out.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Where's the mind right now?
Did it wander off?
If it did,
Just gently bring it back to observing the breath.
That wave going in and out.
What do we notice right now about tuning into the breathing?
Maybe there's some unpleasant things happening.
Discomfort,
Boredom,
Distraction.
On the other hand,
Maybe there's very pleasant things happening.
Feeling relaxed.
Feeling like,
Oh I'm doing a good job with this.
So whatever the experience is,
You know,
Maybe it's also neutral.
Maybe it's just kind of there.
There's not really a lot to notice.
So if it's pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Neutral,
Can we just let that be and recognize that's part of right now.
That's part of this present moment.
Now the awareness of breathing can stay,
But it's almost like we want to turn the volume down on that awareness.
We're gonna turn the volume up on awareness of sound.
So really having the listening ears tuned in,
Noticing what what you can hear.
My voice,
Sounds in the environment,
Maybe in the room,
Maybe outside of the room.
Sometimes we notice that there's layers to sound.
There might be quiet humming type sounds underneath.
This can be sounds like coming from an electronic of some kind,
Electronic equipment,
Or outside.
And then there might be kind of random sounds that pop up here and there.
So just observing how the sound right now might be layered in different ways.
There's the more subtle sounds and the louder sounds.
There might also be moments of quiet.
That's a layer two.
Oh,
How the mind tends to label the sounds,
Attributing it to some kind of source.
What if we just allow the sounds to be and just take them in as sensory information.
Observing sounds.
There's a coming and a going that we notice with the breath,
Like the wave coming in and out.
And maybe there's also a coming and a going with the sounds.
And just allowing the sounds to come and go.
It's here and then it's gone.
It's here and then it's gone.
Okay.
And just gently bring the mind back to observing sounds if it wanders off.
And maybe we can notice that as the sounds have been observed,
They've continued to shift and change.
Or maybe there's been repetition and pattern to it.
And we can have some curiosity that maybe the next time we're tuning in and doing this mindfulness of sounds,
It might be quite different than it was today.
And now another sound to bring in is the sound of the bell.
So just allow your ears to take this in.
As you start to shift around,
If the eyes are closed,
You can start to open them and let the light in as you prepare for the next part of your day.
And I wish you well thank you for practicing.
