Day Eight: Sound Meditation

I started the second method of meditation yesterday, which I call for lack of a better term, sound meditation.  The method involves the listening of sounds as they occur and making no judgments about them, which is to say, that the meditator is not supposed to associate anything with the sound, but to listen to the sound itself.  The real trick to it, as I see it, is to be able use the natural rhythm of one’s breath to allow the sounds one hears to either increase or decrease.

Easier said then done.  The problem is that there is so many sounds in one’s house which or sudden an quick.  The voice of a loved one calling out or talking.  The meow of one’s cat.  There are plenty of other sounds around, but so many sudden ones. 

The key is to allow, allow, allow.  Sounds should not be negative or positive, but merely a part of the world around you.  But I woke up this morning with annoyed with the loud noises around me.  I sought out the peace of quiet and got the opposite. 

I had my headache still from the day before when I meditated.  The meditation managed to erase it from my head. 

Today, while making dinner, I tried to use the technique, concentrating on the sound of the knife on the cutting board, the hum of the washing machine and dryer operating, the muffled whine of the refrigerator underneath all the other sounds.  It was relaxing, and it helped to make the chore of cooking go faster.  I mean I found myself allow my mind float away from the slicing of the tomatoes and olives letting my attention to wander to the sounds but aware of what I was doing at the same time.  It was an interesting feeling.

DC Comics has a character named Deadman who is technically dead, but who can inhabit and control the bodies of his “victims”.  It was like that.  A kind of release of a spirit from the physical form, shedding a skin, and then floating above it.  But not really above, but from inside.  It’ll be interesting to see what comes next.