Tara Brach - 2015-04-01 - Meditation: Listening to and Feeling Life

Episode Date: April 4, 2015

2015-04-01 - Meditation: Listening to and Feeling Life

The following meditation is led by Tara Brock, meditation teacher, psychologist, and author. In the quietness, you might listen for a few moments in a receptive way, aware of the sounds, perhaps the soft sounds in the room, listening to the space you're in. See if you can listen, not just with your ears, but with your whole awareness. Notice that with listening there's nothing to do. Sounds happen and are known spontaneously. These words just appearing, disappearing, sounds and the spaces between the sounds, listening to the more distant sounds.

Can you sense the space of awareness that includes even the most distant sounds that you can detect? 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 movement of sensation there. this aliveness inside the hands. Let your awareness fill your chest, receiving, connecting with 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. See if you can feel from the inside out, the aliveness in the belly. A receptive, allowing presence, curious about the experience of life that's right here, and let the awareness

fill the whole pelvic region, hips, buttocks, genitals. Again, with that receptivity, gentleness, feeling, receiving the aliveness, deep in the torso, and sensing the length and the volume of the legs, right down into the feet, letting the awareness fill the feet, Just feeling from the inside out in a receptive way, the sensations that are there, widening the lens of attention now so you can feel simultaneously this whole body as a field of aliveness, not to oppose anything or stop anything. Just letting life be as it is, a changing dance of sensation. Again, aware of the sounds that arise and perhaps.

so that you're listening to and feeling the whole moment, aware of the aliveness of sound and sensation in the foreground and in the background, that awake and still presence that's aware, just resting in that alert, inner stillness, in the silence that's listening. It's very natural that within a short time we leave that stillness, that presence. The mind gets fixated on thoughts about the future or the past. So when you notice that drifting, gently re-relax open the attention, listening again

to the sounds that are actually right here rather than the sounds of the thoughts in your mind. These sounds. You can re-relax the body a little, softening the shoulders, relaxing the hands, relaxing your heart and reconnecting with the space of presence, this background wakefulness that notices what's happening moment to moment. For some you'll find there's 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, as if you're listening to and feeling the breath as it naturally

appears and moves through you. Perhaps the inflow outflow the nostrils. You might feel the rising and falling of the chest or abdomen. Perhaps the whole body breathing, letting the gentle movement of the breath, help you stay connected or anchored in presence. You can begin fresh in any moment, just sensing if it's possible to relax a bit more right now, relaxed and alert so that you're listening to and feeling the whole moment as a way of closing to bring a gentle attention to the heart and sense whatever. wish or blessing you'd like to offer to your own being in these moments, offering inward with sincerity and care, your wish. Sensing the heart space that's here, it's really edgeless,

sensing how your heart really includes this living world, offering your prayer, your wishes to all beings everywhere, whatever way that most resonates. Thank you.