6.2 – Guided Meditation – Mindful Listening

And, as we always do, just taking a few deep breaths to allow the body and the mind to relax.

So breathing in deeply, and breathing out slowly. One more, breathing in deeply, and breathing out slowly. Allowing your body to rest and settle into your seat or cushion, and allowing your mind to rest as well.

Just mentally putting down your to do list. Your lists of goals.
Anything you need to get done. Just allowing yourself to be here.

We can start with some mindful breathing.

So, bringing your attention to the feeling of the breath and the body.
Connecting with the rising and falling of the belly or the chest.

Just paying attention to the raw physical sensations.
Breathing in, “rising”, and breathing out, “falling.”

When your mind starts to wander away, just acknowledge that it has wandered, and then invite your attention back into the present moment.

Just reconnecting with the body. Just strengthening your ability to be in the present moment.

And now, to practice mindful listening.

Just opening up your awareness and noticing any sounds in the environment around you.

Seeing if you can notice all the different sounds going on.
And, in mindfulness, we just practice a non-judgmental, present moment awareness.

So, just being aware of the sounds, without judging them.
Just being the observer.

Hearing animals in the background, maybe hearing cars, or traffic.
There's no need to push any of this away, but just notice it.

You might notice planes in the sky, very distant sounds.
Whatever sounds you notice, just observe.
Keep bringing your attention back to the present moment.

When you notice that your mind has gotten lost in thought, just acknowledge, thinking, and then gently bring your attention back to sounds in the environment.

See if you can stay curious about sounds even when there are no sounds. Just being open and receptive.

And try to notice if you are judging any sounds.

Not to judge the judgment, but just to notice, how are we relating to different sounds?

And then, once again, just set the intention to be open and accepting of all sounds, seeing if we can not get lost in the stories behind the sounds, but just connecting with the raw vibration, the raw texture, of the sounds.

As if all the sounds around you are a beautiful painting, and we were just watching the painting being made.

And then, you can bring your attention back to the feeling of the breath in the body, just reconnecting with the rising and falling of the belly or the chest.

Maybe connecting with how you feel in the present moment.
And, to end this meditation, we can take a deep breath together.
So, breathing in deeply, and breathing out slowly.

And, when you're ready, in your own time, gently opening your eyes. Coming back into the room and just noticing your surroundings.

Great work.
That was our first mindful listening meditation.

Enjoy the rest of your day, and I'll see you tomorrow.

Noting, With a Relaxed State of Mind