Hi,
Welcome to the Daily Insight.
My name is Jane Murray and I'm from Peacebeam.
Today's practice is about listening.
We live in a very noisy world.
More information pours into each day of our lives than at any time in human history.
It can be overwhelming and somewhere,
Somehow,
We have forgotten how to listen.
Today's practice is about remembering this gentle art.
We will use the four-step Peacebeam method of notice,
Breathe,
Activate and Peacebeam.
Each step is offered as a doorway into your heart and an invitation to activate the deep listening capacity that is in there,
That is unique to you,
That is so needed by the world.
So if you haven't already,
Settle into a comfortable position and gently close your eyes.
For the next few minutes,
Just follow my voice and let yourself listen and drop into peace.
Step one,
Notice.
Just start to notice how you feel today.
Take a few seconds and check in and hold the question,
How am I today?
And see what comes back.
Listen to what your mind and your body have to say to you today in this moment.
Maybe start to notice your physical body.
How does that feel today?
Just allow your consciousness to begin to scan your body,
Starting at the crown of your head,
Slowly drawing your attention down your face.
If you're frowning,
Smile.
At the hinge of your jaw,
Soften.
Drop your shoulders.
At your arms,
Chest and tummy,
Relax and smile.
Imagine that as your focus rests on each part of your body,
You are already listening.
Your gentle attention is focused on you.
Moving on down your back,
Your buttocks and thighs.
Let your knees sigh and relax.
Your calves begin to giggle in the soft light of your inner gaze and finally,
Relax your beautiful feet.
Listen to them stretch and yawn and be spacious.
Beautiful now,
Let's move to step two.
Breathe.
That gentle listening attention now moves to your breath.
So continue breathing normally,
But just start to notice how your breath moves in and out.
And just listen for its sound.
For a few moments,
Just listen.
And now gently extend your in-breath and your out-breath.
Just so that you are breathing a little deeper.
Very easy,
No strain.
Everything here is for ease,
Is to relax.
To let your lungs and your heart smile with you.
So just breathe and be.
And now we are going to connect your breath to your heart.
So as you feel some ease begin to arrive in your body.
Just imagine that your breath is moving in through your nose or mouth and it's going deep into your heart.
And as you breathe out,
It's a breath out of your heart.
And the rhythm of your breath and the rhythm of your heart are greeting each other,
Saying hello.
Just be here for a few moments,
Listening and breathing the unique rhythm of you.
When we take the few moments to connect our breath to our heart,
We can drop into the peaceful rhythm of ourselves.
This is a place of gentleness and constancy.
And this simple act can become a wellspring of goodness in your day.
A place where you can receive the radical generosity of your physical being.
The soundtrack to your life.
And now let's move to step three,
Activate.
It can feel in our unpredictable,
Sometimes overwhelming world,
That we have forgotten how to listen to each other,
To the world,
To ourselves.
Just take a breath now and take your attention to the sounds in your environment.
What can you hear beyond my voice?
Beyond the background music?
Take a moment.
What can you hear?
Now bring your attention back to my voice,
Away from the general sounds.
Our hearing is an incredible faculty.
It gathers information,
Separates it,
Relates it,
Labels it,
And it goes about its business without really needing any other part of us to be engaged.
But to listen,
This is something deeper.
There is an internal shift of focus.
We stop hearing everything as we just did,
And we move to listening to something.
It is powerful,
Gentle.
It can be a source of great love when we listen to ourselves,
When we listen to another,
When we listen to the world.
To rest your deep attention,
Your focus,
Your listening is a great gift to the world because we can listen for the needs that long to be met.
To listen is to be reverent.
Our world is in need of your reverent listening.
To rest your attention fully on my voice and on this question,
What does your heart need today?
And just take a moment out of the busyness of your day and listen deeply for the answer.
Now as you practice this gentle art of listening to yourself,
Feel the spaciousness,
The warmth of your quiet attention.
Let yourself feel into the vast kindness of your listening being.
When you listen deeply,
You bring a profound gift of kindness,
A deep stillness,
A space in which wordless,
Nameless things can be heard,
Can be felt and can be seen.
Imagine a world in which this reverent,
Quiet attention was gifted to our planet,
To her people,
To her creatures.
Imagine the beauty of that world.
And know that you have the power to create that world in you.
Listening is the very heart of mindfulness.
It is your full,
Powerful focus on everything that is speaking to you.
The people,
The air,
The weather,
The rain and the wind,
The hum of traffic,
The laughter and the tears,
The quietness and the clamor.
Let's move to step four,
Peace beam.
So today,
As you feel the power of your listening,
Intend unconditionally and from the deepest part of your being,
Unrestricted goodness,
Every person,
Every creature that crosses your path.
The invitation is to listen with every atom of your being to the world around you.
Listen with your eyes,
With your heart,
With your ears,
With your mind.
Take in every detail of how the universe is speaking to you through the events of your life.
Let the world reveal her whispered secrets to you.
Thank you for listening and have a beautiful day.
