Photo Credit: Dulcey Lima

This intermediate sound meditation was given by Freeman at the Boundless Love Project’s weekly group meditation on 1-7-2020. It is considered intermediate level because it helps if meditators who do it are already familiar with the concepts of self-view and selflessness. Enjoy!

Using the Meditation Script

We make this meditation script available so practitioners may review the content of the meditation, and so experienced meditators may offer this meditation to their meditation groups. If you want to offer this meditation to others, please read the article Twelve Tips to Peer-Leading Guided Meditations. For a printable copy, download and print this PDF of the Sound Meditation Script. Enjoy!

Sound Meditation Script • 30 min • Selflessness Focus • Intermediate Level

Ring Bell

We do this practice for the benefit and welfare of all beings and all life everywhere, including our own.

May we know the peace of accepting the truth of reality as it is. 

May we know the security of having our intentions arise from unconditional, boundlesslove. 

May we know the freedom of renunciation which liberates us from greed. 

May we know the joy of living skillfully for the benefit and welfare of all beings and all life everywhere. 

May all beings and all life everywhere be free of delusion, suffering, and dissatisfaction. 

May all beings and all life everywhere be loving, peaceful, compassionate, and joyful.

Comfortable Posture

Position yourself comfortably in a way that allows you to be both relaxed and energetically aware. 

Kindly do your best to remain as still as possible. Remaining still helps your mind become concentrated and peaceful. If you do need to move, do so slowly, calmly, quietly, and mindfully. 

(3:20)

Using Breath to Calm Body and Mind

If possible, gently breathe in through your nose, deep into your abdomen so your belly expands. Deep belly breathing helps tell your body and mind to relax and be calm.

Let your breaths be slow, silent, effortless, and soothing. 

Breathing in through the nose offers the body many health benefits, but if nasal breathing is too distracting, then breathe in whatever way makes the most sense for you, given your situation. 

On each in-breath, calmly feel all of the energy and life in the body. 

On each out-breath, gently invite all the muscles in the body to soften, relax, and be calm. 

Gently allow your breathing to help you balance these two qualities of energetic alertness and relaxed calmness. 

Breathing in, lovingly feel the energy and life in the body. 

Breathing out, gently feel all the peace, ease, and relaxation of the body.  

Calmly, now, let go of all control of the breath. Simply let the breathe breath how it wants to breathe. 

Let Go of Clinging

During this meditation, let go of the need to do, achieve, or accomplish anything. Let go even of the need to do this meditation correctly.                              

(6:40)

Lovingly do your best to follow the meditation, but also allow and accept whatever arises to simply arise.      

Relax the Body

Gently feel your entire body. Lovingly invite any parts that are tense, tight, or stressed to relax and soften. 

A relaxed body helps us concentrate the mind.

Peacefully allow the whole body to be calm, relaxed, and soft. 

At any point during this meditation, if you notice stress, tension, or tightness in any area of the body, kindly invite that area to relax and soften. 

Sound Meditation

Having calmed the body, we now begin sound meditation. Turn your attention to all the sounds you hear. 

Let the sounds you hear be the anchor of your awareness. 

During this meditation, whenever you get lost in thought, compassionately and silently note "thinking" and with ease and effortlessness return your attention to hearing the arising sounds.

Rest all of your attentions on the sounds you hear.

As you listen there is no need to identify or interpret the sounds. Gently hear the sounds as they are, and add nothing too them. 

(10:00)

If you hear someone speaking, do not concern yourself with trying to understanding their words. Simply hear the sound of their voice and allow the sounds to be, free of aversion and attachment. 

Whether a sound is pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral, listen to it with peace, ease, interest, and curiosity. Allow all of the sounds to be as they are. 

To help anchor ourselves in listening, let's do some listening exercises. 

Without straining, listen to all of the sounds coming from outside of this room....

Maintaining comfort and ease, note the most distant sound you can hear.... 

Kindly notice if you hear any high pitched ringing or subtle static noises in your ears....

If you hear these sounds, listen to them in a peacefully detached manner. Allow the sounds to be there, while remaining free of fear and worry.

Gently let awareness listen globally to all sounds that arise....

Calmly notice the most subtle, most faint sound you hear.... 

Let awareness peacefully take in all of the sounds you hear. 

...The sound of my voice. 

...The sound of cars outside. 

(13:20)

... Any birdsong you may hear. 

... The hum of machinery in the building. 

... Just notice whatever sounds arise. 

Observe how the sounds are dynamic, changing, temporary, and impermanent.

Notice how the sounds you hear are impersonal. The sounds arise lawfully due to numerous causes and conditions that are outside of your control. 

Because these sounds have nothing to do with you, and are outside of your control, there is no need to judge the sounds, take offense at the sounds, be upset by the sounds or the life forms who are making them, or identify with the sounds. Instead, easefully and compassionately allow the sounds to be.                   

If thoughts distract you from listening, kindly note, "thinking," and return your awareness to the sounds that are arising. 

Listen to the Silence

In addition to the sounds that you hear, listen also to the silence. 

With ease, comfort, and awareness, notice how all of the sounds come from silence and return to silence.... 

You may even hear how silence seems to surround and penetrate the sounds.... 

As you listen to the silence, and listen to the sounds, effortlessly feel any stillness, peace, or joy that arises in your body.... 

(16:40)

Addressing Aversion and Judgment

If you have moments where there is no peace, calmly notice if any judgmental or aversive thoughts or emotions are present. 

If any aversive thoughts and feelings arise in you, compassionately allow them to be. Neither resist them, nor indulge them. 

Kindly and objectively watch them without identifying with them, and without generating more aversion to them. They will go away on their own if you compassionately allow them to be.   

The Ease of Listening with Acceptance

Gently allow awareness to listen globally to all sounds that arise....

Easefully notice the qualities of listening. Feel how peaceful and effortless it is to listen in an accepting, allowing, and nonjudgmental manner. 

Peacefully notice how listening simply happens. Listening happens whether you want it to or not. Listening is simply there. 

Calmly feel how easy and natural it is to listen. It takes no exertion, no effort, and no strain to listen. The awareness in you simply hears what it hears. 

Effortlessly feel any peace, contentment, or joy that arises in your body as you listen to whatever is arising. Patiently get a strong, felt sense of the ease, peace, and contentment that mindful listening has. 

Notice how awareness simply lets sound be sound.

(20:00)

Returning to the Anchor of Listening

Pay attention to all of the sounds you can hear whether near or far, loud or soft.

Listening to Inner "Sounds" with Peace and Ease

In the same way that we can listen to external sounds with peace, ease, and acceptance, we can "listen" to internal sounds such as thoughts, sensations, emotions, and mental states with the same peace, ease and acceptance. 

Notice whatever is arising within you. Is there a thought or some sensations? Can you mindfully notice this while maintaining a sense of peace and ease?

What mental state is present right now? Doubt? Sleepiness? Sluggishness? Can you notice this mindfully with acceptance? 

Because internal sounds are impersonal and outside of your full control, there is no need to judge them, take offense at them, be upset by them, or identify with them. Instead, you can easefully and compassionately allow the internal sounds to be as they are. 

Peacefully let internal sounds be internal sounds. There is no need to grasp them, no need to create a story around them, no need to argue with them, no need to push them away, no need to judge them. Relate to them free of all clinging and aversion. Calmly let internal sounds be internal sounds. 

Understanding No Self

We know external sounds are "not me or mine" because they constantly come and go, while we are still here. 

(23:20)

We know that external sounds are "not me or mine," because we can't control them. Yes, we experience them, and at times we can influence them, but they lawfully arise due to many causes and conditions we have no control over. So why mistake these sounds to be who we are?          

                  

In the same way, internal "sounds" such as thoughts, sensations, emotions, and mental states are "not me or mine" either, because they constantly come and go, while we are still here experiencing them. 

We know these internal "sounds" are "not me or mine" because we can't control them. Yes, we experience them individually, and at times we can influence them, but they lawfully arise due to many causes and conditions that we have no control over. So why mistake them to be who we are?  

We are that which is aware of these internal "sounds." 

Anything that we can be aware of is not us. 

Just as an eye cannot look at itself directly, we cannot directly see our true selves. We are the knowing. 

We are not the body, the thoughts, the emotions, the sensations, or the mental states. We are the invisible, indestructible, eternal loving awareness that is aware of all of these things.  

Notice all that you notice without clinging or aversion to them.

Peacefully notice how all that you know is dynamic, changing, temporary, and impermanent. You cannot find yourself in anything that passes away. 

(26:40)

As you listen to the internal sounds that arise and pass away, notice any peace, joy, appreciation, or love you feel. 

Sharing the Merits

As I share the merits of our practice, try to connect with and feel the meaning behind the words.  

We share any merits gained from this practice with all beings and all life everywhere.

May all beings and all life everywhere be free from suffering and misery. 

May all beings and all life everywhere abide in a deep and lasting peace. 

May all beings and all life everywhere know the highest forms of happiness and be at ease. 

May all beings and all life everywhere know their deepest essence to be: joy, peace, compassion, and unconditional, boundless love.  

May all beings and all life everywhere be liberated, fully liberated, permanently liberated. 

Ring Bell

(30:00)