How to Practice Listening Meditation

Meditation is an age-old practice in mindfulness. Many spiritualists use it as a tool for personal development, but taken away from any religion or sect, it remains an exercise with a multitude of benefits, as much rooted in science as in mysticism. In a listening meditation, the goal is to keep your awareness on every sound around you, without forming thoughts or judgments about them. By continually bringing your attention back to one central point, your mind will calm, as you systematically let go of all unnecessary thoughts and feelings. Just as a computer can be running many superfluous processes, which slow down efficiency and performance, so, too, our brains run many processes which only diminish our focus and well being. Meditation is a practice that will reboot your mind and leave you feeling fresh. Remember, though, it is a practice. This means that you will get better the more you do it; so let go of expectations and stick with it.

Things You'll Need

• Comfortable place to sit or lie down

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Instructions

• 1

  Sit or lie down somewhere that you can remain as comfortable as possible. Because your mind often follows your body, the longer you can remain still, the more calmness you can achieve. If sitting on a cushion, you want it to be at least 3 inches thick when compressed.

• 2

  Take notice of your posture, straightening through the spine, and relaxing your entire body as you take some deep nourishing breaths.

• 3

  Close your eyes, and turn your awareness to what you are hearing around you. Trying to notice every sound without internally commenting on any. If you hear a car drive by, try not to say to yourself, "There's a car," but rather take in the sound exactly for what it is: Simply a sound.

• 4

  Bring your attention gently back to what you are hearing every time you have a thought related or unrelated to the sounds around you. You will find that within moments your mind will go other places, but do not worry about it or judge yourself. The more times you bring your attention back, the more you let go of, and slowly the more calm you will become.

• 5

  Finish meditating whenever you wish. It is valuable to keep sitting even when feeling restless, but when first starting, even three minutes a day is very valuable. It is more important that you be consistent about practicing than that you meditate for long periods of time.