Mindfulness Practice:
Mindfulness of Sound
Overview:
Mindfulness of Sound is often a useful place to begin the practice of meditation. Sounds are available wherever we are, from the noisiest cafeteria to the quiet of the library, and starting meditation with sounds can help dispel the notion that we need the environment of perfect quiet or calm in order to meditate.
Sound is in important signal that alerts us and orients us to the external world, and by even a very young age, we develop a whole array of habits and reactions in response to sounds, depending on their pitch, volume, familiarity, and other factors. Mindfulness of Sound offers an opportunity not only practicing focusing attention on an object, but to become aware of the habits of the mind in relationship to sounds. We might single out a sound and feel how it pulls focus without intending to. We might find that certain sounds hold attention easily while others are difficult to track. A sound may be startling, or soothing, and create sensations in the body. Our relationship to the symphony of sound we move through every day can seem second-nature, and bringing mindfulness to this dynamic can reveal how much we often miss, both in the sounds around us and how the mind navigates among them.
Instructions:
1. Lying on the floor or sitting in a chair, find a comfortable posture that feels relaxed and alert, noticing how you adjust to find this feeling. Rest your hands on your knees or on your lap. Close your eyes or soften your gaze. Take a few deep breathes, letting go of tension throughout the body.
2. When you are ready, bring your attention to the sounds present around you now.
3. As much as you can, allow sounds to come and go without searching or following, simply hearing them as they arise and pass.
4. If your mind wanders or fixates on a sound, when you can, gently return your attention to the ebb and flow of sounds around you.
5. As much as you can, focus simply on hearing the sounds as they are, allowing any judgements, labels, or images that come with the sounds to fade into the background.
6. To finish, shift your awareness back to your breath and notice the effects of this meditation.
Helpful Hints:
Never overdo any breathing exercise or force your breath into a pattern that is uncomfortable. If you begin to feel anxious or lightheaded, stop practicing and breathe normally.
Practice with self-compassion and non-judgement.
The Mindfulness of Sound meditation can be done from a seated, standing, or reclining position.
Content from NYCDOE YMTP² curricular materials