Find a comfortable seat.
This can be in an upright chair or sitting comfortably on a cushion on the floor.
Allow your seat to anchor into the earth.
Sit up erect,
Yet not rigid by elongating the spine.
Find a position without tension or strain.
Place your hands on your lap with your palms either facing up or facing down.
Close your eyes or gently gaze downward.
Begin by noticing your breath.
Pay attention to where you feel the breath.
Is it in your nostrils?
Perhaps you feel the sensation of air blowing in and out of them.
Maybe it's in your upper chest or deep in the belly.
Or perhaps you feel the entire body expanding and contracting like a balloon.
Just notice it without trying to change it.
Then begin to listen for far away sounds.
Perhaps you can notice noise from the street.
If you begin to name the noises,
Release the name and just listen for a few moments with your superhero power hearing.
If your mind begins to wander into thought as it's trained to do,
Just notice it and then sweetly bring your attention back to the soundscape.
This is your personal soundtrack.
Try not to reject or grasp at sounds.
If you hear no sounds,
Sit and listen to the power of the silence.
Or perhaps just listen to my voice.
Draw the awareness a little closer.
Take in the sounds of your surroundings.
Do you hear something or someone from another room?
Lean into that sound.
Then bring the attention to the room in which you are seated.
Listen intently.
Do you hear a heater or an air conditioner?
Is an electronic or an appliance buzzing?
Is there a general hiss lofting in the air?
Sit for a few moments in the beautiful cacophony.
Then move that awareness internally into the body.
Perhaps you can hear ringing in your ears or if you're very,
Very quiet,
Maybe you can hear the sound of your own heartbeat.
Relish in that beauty for a few moments.
Then listen even deeper.
Listen for that quiet voice at the center of your being.
This voice is the size of a thumbprint.
The center of your heart.
It is also known as your soul.
Listen most intently.
And then slowly,
At your own pace,
Begin again by noticing where your breath is now.
Is it different than when you began the practice?
Just notice that.
Then deepen the inhalation and the exhalation.
Repeat that several times.
Perhaps wiggle your fingers and your toes,
Gauging the body.
And then slowly and gently,
In your own time,
Flutter open your eyes and take in the room.
