Tara Brach - Meditation: Listening to our Life (2020-08-15)

Episode Date: August 31, 2020

Meditation: Listening to our Life (2020-08-15) - A receptive listening attention brings intimacy with our inner experience and our world. This meditation guides us in listening to sounds, states of mind, sensations and the deepest aspiration of our heart.

The following meditation is led by Tara Brock. To access more of my meditations or join my email list, please visit tarabrock.com. Today's meditation is on listening to our life. And you might listen to your body as you feel your way into the sitting posture. And make sure the two qualities really we look for in sitting is that You're comfortable. In other words, a sense of ease.

And also alert, awake. So as you find yourself settling in your posture, let your eyes close or be partly closed, so your attention can primarily go inwardly. We begin breathing together, a long, slow breath. So inhaling, deeply, filling the chest and lungs. and then a slow out breath. See if you can relax and let go with the out breath.

Inhaling deeply again. And a slow, even out breath, letting go, letting go. And again, breathing in, filling the chest and lungs. And with the out breath, the releasing, relaxing, letting go. And then allowing the breath to come back into its natural rest. rhythm, observing the breath, observing the body, noticing if there's any areas of obvious tension or holding in your body, and take some moments to give yourself that gift of letting go. If it's the shoulders, sense the possibility of relaxing them back and down some,

softening, letting whatever tightness or tension might be there float a bit in awareness. It helps to make sure the hands are resting in a soft, easy, relaxed way. Let the chest be open and the belly soft, loosening, relaxing, continuing to scan your body and sense anywhere else that might want to let go a little. and then widening the attention, listening to the sounds that are here, and see if you can listen not just with your ears, but with your whole awareness, receiving the close-in sounds, like the sounds of these words,

and the sounds that are in the room, in the space you're in, the spaces between the sounds, including the more distant sounds, receptive to the most distant sound you can perceive, sensing the boundless awareness. That includes even the most distant sound, relaxing back into this openness, and simply listening.

Notice how sounds are known spontaneously by awareness. There's nothing to do, moment to moment. sounds appear and are known, letting them come and go like clouds in the vast sky of your own appearing and disappearing. Sounds come and go like clouds or bubbles. You are the receptive of space of awareness. As you rest in this open awareness, notice too how thoughts and images also arise and vanish in this space,

just like sounds. Let them come and go without resistance. This spacious listening awareness has no struggle and pleasant and unpleasant thoughts and feelings. Also move through the space of the mind like clouds, ideas, fragments of memories,

joys and sorrows, arise and vanish like clouds as you rest in the clear, receptive sky of mind. Rest in this listening, spacious awareness. It is your home. Now let this spacious listening awareness notice your body as well. In this listening awareness the body is received as a field of changing sensations, pressure, and tingling, hard and soft, warm and cool, vibrating and pulsing, all floating in awareness. Relax and let the sensations float and change while you rest in this listening presence.

Open, receptive. Let sensations float and change. Allow sounds to come and go like clouds in a clear, open sky. Let thoughts, images, and feelings arise and pass. as they will, like waves or clouds. Now sense how this receptive awareness is filled with sensitivity, receiving all the dimensions of this human life, feelings, memories, hurts, longings,

with tenderness and with this listening heart space, attuned what most matters to you in this life, listening inwardly. What is your deepest intention or aspiration? Simply listen. Receptive to the truth of your heart. There may be words or images, feelings, or silence. Being receptive to whatever arises with the inquiries. with the inquiry

what most matters what's your deepest intention or aspiration in this life know that with whatever you experience this is an ongoing inquiry a life process

of listening so there's patience and ease with the receptivity of the moment and to close sense the possibility of simply bowing and honoring the life that's here, honoring the essence of whatever most matters. And after you open your eyes and move a bit,

if you feel it's helpful, you might journal writing down whatever you've touched upon.