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Healthy Life Challenge - Meditation Week Day 2

Today the exercise is called 'awareness of sounds'. It's a way of practicing observation. Often much of our mental energy is taken up with anxiety about the future, self-consciousness, feelings of pressure, or unproductive rumination. By observing the sounds around us, we can find relief from habitual thought processes and concentrate fully on the present moment.

I like to do this practice outside in nature, but anywhere at all is fine. You can also do this exercise for any period of time that you choose; if you aren't particularly at ease sitting still, you could try 3mins. Here is a link to a timer with a nice bell sound, if you'd like to use that; you can also download meditation timer apps:

https://theconsciouslife.com/zuowang-meditation-timer.htm

To do this meditation, sit in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Open up your attention to all the sounds you receive.

As you become aware of a sound, try to observe it without becoming involved in your thoughts - don't spend time wondering where it came from, or remembering another time you heard a similar sound, or worrying about something you need to do later that a certain sound has reminded you of. Try to avoid judging sounds as pleasant or unpleasant. Just notice the sounds and acknowledge any silences that occur in between. This is a way of using observation to control the volume and intrusive power of our thoughts.

If you find your mind wandering a lot, don't worry - just start listening again. If it's too hard to concentrate, you can try naming the sounds that you hear, eg 'engine', 'birdsong', 'talking' etc, as a way of anchoring your mind onto those sounds. If thoughts keep popping into your head, simply observe and name them in the same way; 'thoughts'. Then go back to listening. If you feel like you can't do it at all, don't worry about that either. It's normal. Our minds are full of thoughts! This is only a first attempt.

At the end of the meditation, breathe deeply to refresh yourself, open your eyes, and have a stretch.

I hope you'll enjoy this meditation - please share your experience below!