Ahh, face toward the sun; back against a fence; sound of waves onto gravel; the odd birdsong (do gulls sing?); walkers nearby; dogs barking; single plane overhead; cyclists swishing past.
Memories of tropical holidays (where was that? who was I with? wish I were there now). Why do I have to listen to people yacking on their phone? Noisy motorcycles, there ought to be a law.
Bla, bla, monkey mind.
Such is the way of awareness: first noticing pure sensations and, within seconds, in comes the habit of categorizing, labelling, complaining, wishing things were other than what they are. What happened to the joy of hearing the waves, feeling the warmth?
Guided meditation #6: sit and listen (16.25 mins)
“Let the sounds come to you and touch your eardrums.
Go inside the sounds and notice their fluid nature.
If there are no sounds, listen, and rest in this moment of silence.”
~ Martine Batchelor (Tricycle: The Buddhist Review)
Thank you for this morning’s awareness
Thanks for this blog entry, Peter. I had a chuckle—you must have been in my monkey mind!
Hello Peter.
Thank you for this fantastic meditation.
We also love your photo. We know exactly where that was taken!
Aaah. Sunshine and sounds.
Hi to Waldi. Take care.
Thank you for this, remembering shared tropical breezes and wishing you good health. .
Ha ha, and as a motorcycle rider I try to be mindful and respectful of people around me 🙂 One of my favourite things is to stand facing the ocean and feel, hear, taste and smell the salty fresh wind coming off the water.
Thank you Peter
Loved this meditation.
How appropriate that I no sooner got seated that the neighbour fired up the lawnmower and then rounded out my meditation with the leaf blower!
Normally these sounds drive me to distraction but today I was able to sit and just listen.
Danke, sue.
Gotta love neighbours for their teaching.
Peter I did this meditation with you in April when you first posted it and I was post hospital in recuperation. I use this practice to deal with pain. Perhaps you would consider adding a course that deals with Using mindfulness practice as a way of coping with addiction?