Coming to Your Senses: hearing

For those of you who have been following my last three posts, you know I have been writing about Mindfulness. Our last article was on Mindful “seeing”. This time I would like to suggest you experiment with another sense… your hearing.

Again, I would like to suggest a simple Mindfulness exercise. Just go for a slow walk of about 10-15 minutes. You can be anywhere: your yard, your neighborhood, in the woods, along the shore, or in a city.

Step 1

Simply focus on the various sounds you hear. If a car passes you, notice the sounds of its engine, its tires, or maybe even the wind as it pushes through. Do you hear any birds? If so how many different varieties of birds do you hear? Do you know which varieties they are?

Perhaps you can hear people talking. Can you detect a jet high in the sky? Can you hear music? If you are in a garden area you may hear different insects. A mosquito, a housefly, and a honeybee all make different sounds. Listen to your own steps as you walk.

Step 2

Now as you are continuing on your walk try your best to imaging you are either hard of hearing or deaf. To make it even more interesting you may wish to use ear plugs.

Step 3

Finally, it is time to finish your short walk with your ears wide open again. What is your experience now? There is a good chance that previously practicing being deaf will help you really hear.

There is a good chance that following this simple and short exercise made you more Mindful of your hearing. I don’t know about you but when I practice this exercise, I find myself with a deep sense of gratitude for my hearing. Once again, this is a pretty cheep and healthy way of “getting high” on life. This is Mindfulness.

I would love to read your response to this exercise—good, bad, or indifferent.

Tim Berry