Hear the sounds around us that our mind has been trained to drown out
Today in our mindfulness exercises we are going to focus on listening to the world around us. So often we are tuning out the world via headphones, music and other distracting elements. While there is nothing wrong with this, there is something to be said about the beauty and cleansing power of silence. Of course nothing is ever really silent, there are so many noises we choose not to listen to. This is not even a conscious choice, but a subconscious one the brain makes around the time we are learning to speak. At the beginning of human development, our brains treat all sounds as if they are equally important, which is why babies are so distracted by everything. Slowly, as we develop and start to learn our first language, some noises are given priority over others and some are tuned out completely as they serve no real purpose for us to hear them. (Fun fact, this is also where your accent comes from. When you are trying to learn a second language and feel like you are pronouncing the words as you hear them but are still told you are doing it wrong; it is because you are physically unable to hear those nuances in the word yet.)
So it seems tuning out is just written into the code of being human, but that doesn't mean we can't turn some sounds back on for ourselves and that is what we intend to do today. By opening our ears to all the noises around us, we can start practicing the art of mindful listening. With time you will be able to expand the practice to mindfully listening to a piece of music or a lecture and be able to quickly identify the emotions these sounds are bringing to us. Remember, the whole practice of mindfulness is just that, to be able to be in the moment and access and understand our emotions quickly so we do not repress emotions or act out because of them.
When you are ready, find your space you would like to be and get your body comfortable. Start with your mindful breaths, breathing in through your nose and letting your lungs fill. Let your belly expand and soften as your diaphragm fully works with your lungs to fill them to their capacity of life giving oxygen. Feel the fullness in your body then start to slowly exhale through your mouth. Let your belly fall into your torso and your lungs collapse. Repeat this breath and when you are ready shut your eyes. Roll your shoulders back and find comfort in your body. Continue with these mindful breaths and start to scan your body, starting at your toes. Wiggle your toes and roll your ankles feeling the blood move through your feet. Work your way up to your legs and knees, adjusting if needed to be more comfortable, all the while keeping your mindful breath.
On your next inhale, straighten your back and feel your vertebrae snap out useless air gaps between them in a gentle release. Focus on your belly button pulling into your spine and out. Come back to your lungs, feeling your ribs open and close, the cartilage between them allowing your protection and freedom for your lungs. Come to your shoulders and work your way down to your elbows and fingertips, wiggling your fingers and rotating your wrists. Let that energy travel back up to your shoulders and to your neck. If there is tension in your neck, let your head fall forward and do half turns of your neck from shoulder to shoulder.
Bring your head back up and give yourself the deepest breath cycle yet. Now, bring attention to your ears. They sit on the sides of your head but it is hard to physically feel them without putting your hands on them, yet they offer us one of our largest insights into the world around us. Scan through your inner ear, do they feel clogged or open, is there buzzing in your ears? Make note of these sensations and open your ears up to the world around you. When you started this exercise you believed the room was silent but now you know this is not the case, there are so many noises around you. The hum of appliances, the clicking of an air conditioning unit, perhaps a distant conversation somewhere. If you are outside, the gentle breeze blowing and the birds chirping. Maybe airplanes, traffic and sirens in the distance. Accept all these sounds around you equally and simply be in the moment. As you sit here listening to the world around you, open your heart to the emotions you may be feeling because of these sounds. Do the sounds of nature take you to childhood? Traffic, bring the stress of the day? Appliances humming fill you with anxious boredom? Accept these emotions at face value, but do not be afraid to allow yourself to follow the sounds that call to you down the story they give you.
If you find yourself lost in the story of a sound, give yourself the all the time you need to complete it. Perhaps the calls of birds have brought you back to a specific day of your childhood, perhaps you would love to recreate this day for your child. Perhaps the stress of traffic brings you back to an upsetting day, all emotions that come up now are valid and key to your inner workings at the moment. Once you have completed your story the sound gave you, bring yourself back to the moment and focus on the breath. Let these surfaced emotions wash over you as you ponder why this was the emotion that presented itself to you at this moment. Record any reflections that feel relevant for your current situation. As you finish, slowly wiggle your toes, your fingers, move your arms and legs, twist your back and stand up, you are ready for the rest of your day.
How has mindfulness helped you in your daily life? What were some of your first reservations about it? Reach out to us with any questions or comments at info@bullionite.com