Mini Meditation: Learning to Listen

This month’s meditation series is all about taking your meditation practice deeper. As we dive into a meditation practice, one of the common quandaries we run into is what do we DO with the practice as it starts to affect us? As we begin to quiet down and listen more, how do we work with all that we discover? When and where does change happen? Well, this deepening starts with a practice of deep listening. Alfred Brendel tells us “The word listen contains the same letters as the word silent.” If you want to take your meditation practice deeper, you must first become comfortable with silence. Our minds offer us the most incredible gift; they are simultaneously able to “do” and to “witness”. This means it is possible to think a thought AND to notice that thought at the same time. This ability to witness our innermost thoughts, this is deep listening. For us to be able to hear our thoughts, we must cultivate a space that is absent of agitation, distraction and, most importantly, reaction. If we pull the judgment card, we are effectively silencing the words we most need to hear. Read to listen? Tune into today’s episode of The Mindful Minute for a talk and 20-minute meditation practice. Be sure to grab a notebook or journal as you settle in, I’m sharing one of my favorite ways to build the skill of deep listening at the end of today’s episode! Connect with me on Instagram {@merylarnett} to get bonus meditation tips, mini-meditations, and the occasional baby spam: https://www.instagram.com/merylarnett/ ***Did you know I have a FREE Meditation Starter Kit on my website merylarnett.com? It is full of my favorite tips, stories and ideas for starting and maintaining a daily meditation practice. Grab your copy today! --> http://bit.ly/meditationstarterkit *** #meditatewithmeryl