Listening to, and Feeling, Life [Audio]

Listening to, and Feeling, Life – by Tara Brach:

In the quietness, you might listen for a few moments in receptive way. Where the sounds, perhaps the soft sounds, in the room.

Listening to the space you’re in.

See if you can listen if you can listen not just with your ears, but your whole awareness.

What is said in listening— there’s nothing to do. Sounds happen in unknown, spontaneously. These words, just appearing, disappearing, Sounds in the spaces. Between the sounds.

Listening to the more disciplined sounds.

And can you sense the space of awareness that includes even the most distant sounds that you can detect?

So that same receptivity of listening that you can listen to and feel the aliveness in the body.

Sense the awareness in the shoulder area, and just receiving the sensations there.

Sensing the possibility of softening and relaxing in that space of receptive attention.

Let the awareness be in the hands, receiving the free movement of sensation there. It’s aliveness inside the hands.

Let your awareness fill your chest, receiving and connecting the aliveness in the chest area.

Letting everything be just as it is.

Receiving with curiosity, a gentle presence in the chest.

Let the awareness fill the belly, so we can feel from inside out the aliveness of the belly. In receptive, allowing presence. Curious about the experience of life that’s right here.

Let the awareness fill the whole pelvic region— hips, appendix, ___. Begin with that receptivity. Gentleness feeling, receiving the aliveness deep in the torso.

Sensing the length and volume of the legs. Right down into the feet. When the awareness feel the feet, just feeling from the inside out, in receptive way the sensations are let there.

And widening the lengths of attention as you can feel simultaneously this whole body. Just a field of aliveness.

And up to a pose anything, or stop anything. Just letting life just be as it is. And changing the dance of sensation.

Again, be aware of the sounds that arrives and pass. So that you’re listening to, and feeling the whole moment.

Be aware of the aliveness of sounds and sensation in the foreground. And the background that awake and still presence that’s aware.

Just resting in that alert ___. In the silence, that’s listening.

It’s very natural that within a short time, we leave that stillness, that presence. And mind gets fixated about thoughts about the future and past. So, you notice that’s drifting. Gently re-relaxing that open attention. Listening again to the sounds that are actually right here rather than the thoughts in your mind.

Listen.

And you can re-relax the body a little, softening the shoulder, relaxing the hands, relaxing your heart, and reconnecting with the space of presence. This background wakefulness that’s noticing what’s happening moment to moment.

For some, you’ll find more stability in this presence if you let the attention rest in the movement of the breath. Not controlling the breath, the more receptive attention is as if you’re listening to and feeling the breath as it naturally appears – to you. Perhaps, the in-flow and out-flow on the nostrils.

You might feel the rising and falling of the chest of your abdomen. Perhaps, the whole body breathing. Letting the gentle movement of the breath help you stay connected or anchored in presence.

(long pause)

We can begin the impression any moment to sensing if it’s possible to relax a bit more right now.

Relaxed, and alert.

To that, you’re listening to, and feeling the whole moment.

(long pause)

As a way of closing to breathing, gentle attention to the heart. And sense whatever ___, blessing you’d like to offer being in this moment. Offering inward, with sincerity and care— your wish. And sensing the heart space that’s here that’s really edgeless, sensing your heart really includes this loving role.

Offering you a prayer and well wishes to all beings everywhere. Whatever with makes ___.

If you liked this recording and would like to make a direct financial contribution to this teacher, please contact them here: http://www.tarabrach.com/contact.html

*** Material on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License

Find more exercises about mindfulness meditation techniques here.

More from: Tara Brach

• About Tara Brach
• How to Meditate
• On Forgiveness
• RAIN Practice

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