Listen In

(waves) Not listening is one of the best ways to keep things exactly as they are. This is a practice to help allow ourselves to hear all the good information that's trying to find it's way towards us. Find a comfortable seated position. Maybe that's on the earth, like I am. Maybe it's simply in a chair.

Big deliberate inhale. Exhale everything. Let your belly relax. Once your belly has relaxed, let the back of your heart soften. Find the alignment of your skull so that there's no neck tension.

Bring your tongue to the back of your front teeth. With your tongue at the back of the front teeth, so gently press your tongue up against the upper palate. You'll feel what's known as the hard palate. Then you keep going back with your tongue til you find the soft palate. Once you find the soft palate, press up with your tongue a little bit so you know the spot.

Relax your tongue. With your awareness on this area of the soft palate, let your soft palate open. Yeah. That will tip your head forward just so slightly. With your head tipped forward just so slightly, now soften the jaw a little bit.

Let your awareness come into the left lung. Feel the breath in your left lung. Then slowly bring your awareness into the left ear. With your awareness at the left ear, let the outer ear, known as the auricle. Let the auricle of the ear open.

Feel bigger, wider. Soften the jaw. Soften the area around the ear, the temple. Move your awareness down through the inner canal of the ear to the eardrum. The tympanic membrane.

Let this feel thinner, more sensitive, more transparent. Can you even make an effort to be aware of those three tiny bones? The hammer, the anvil, the stirrup. Soften the upper palate. Soften the jaw.

Let the inner ear feel more expansive. You might notice a change in your throat. Yeah. Excellent. Maintain this openness in this left ear.

Bring your awareness back down into the left lung. Move your awareness over to the right lung. Feel the movement of the breath in your right lung. Then become aware of your right ear. It's like, as you bring the ear into your awareness, it's like, "There she is".

Let the auricle of the ear, the outer ear, feel bigger, wider. All the images of the Buddha show him with gigantic ears. Soften around the temple and the jaw. Move your awareness into the inner ear. Feel your eardrum, your tympanic membrane, more transparent, more sensitive.

Maybe there's some awareness of those three little bones. That's a highly tuned sense of receptivity. But do your best. Put your awareness into the inner ear and sometimes we can even become aware of this liquid-like nature. You might notice it in your throat.

Beautiful. Maintain this awareness of this openness in this right ear. This openness in this left ear. This softness in the upper palate. Relax your low belly.

Easy in the back of the heart. Just, for the next few moments, allow yourself to listen. Listen to that which cannot be heard. Namaste.