WHAT'S THAT HAMMERING SOUND?

This week's blog is about noise ... and how to incorporate it into your relaxation and healing routine.

A few weeks ago two large trucks arrived on my street and delivered a house in the block behind my rental. I remember a friend of mine doing this years ago. It was fascinating to watch them off-load the house (in two parts) and put it back together again. Creative ingenuity at it's best.
 
Over the last week in the mornings I have been hearing distant tapping, sawing and hammering. It's not loud really, just on the edge of my awareness I can hear it as I wake up each day. 

In the past I've had some issues ... as you all have had I'm sure ... with houses being built next to us and let's call them 'creation sounds' have been very intrusive to my sleep patterns. 
This can be frustrating.
It can be really difficult to manage.

It got me thinking again about how noise is a constant in our world.
I am very lucky that I live on an island where there is not a lot of human-made noise. 
I can hear cars and trucks on the road.
I can hear people and buses at the bus stop.
I can hear motorbikes (during MotoGP time).
But mostly it's just the birds in the trees and the wind.

For those of you who live in cities around the world ... I get that must sound blissful and slightly annoying that I would bother to mention a distant hammering noise, but it has reminded me of a meditation technique that I used to teach my New York City guests when I worked on cruise ships.

The NYC guests were a SUPER wound up and highly strung group of human beings. And so they should be!

It's one of those cities in the world goes 100 miles an hour 24/7. So, you'd expect there to be a lot of noise, it's just part of the landscape. 

One of the meditation techniques that can be brilliant in this noisy space, I learned from a Buddhist Monk.
It was called 'Only listening while listening.' 

The concept is pretty simple ... and it can take a bit of practice ... new things usually do ... be kind to yourself.

Basically you sit or lie down, with no music ...
Begin to breath gently in and out.
Become mindful of your body and make sure you are comfortable.
Your breath will naturally deepen as you relax into this space. 
Then begin your 'only listening while listening' ...
Don't analyse what you hear ... that's using your MIND.
This meditation is about using your FEELING EARS. 
Just listen. Feel. Let Go. Listen. Feel. Let Go. Listen. Feel. Let Go.

Sometimes you will find a sound, or sounds, that have a consistency to them, a rhythm if you will. The sound of a train or cars driving past can actually relax you if you let the sound go over and past you. 

The idea is to allow and surrender. Let go.

We spend a lot of our lives holding onto things ... fights, situations, beliefs, conversations, noises ... things that don't make us feel good. 
Why do we do that to ourselves? 
I believe our purpose as Human Beings is not to struggle but to find the joy and experience all the wonders that life has to offer. 

If you'd like to learn some more meditation techniques, you can join a meditation class on Monday @7pm or Friday @10am ... or you can go to my Facebook business page and try some free mini-meditations. 
https://www.facebook.com/Pip-Coleman-Conscious-Courses-and-Therapies/
You could also call me to come for a Private Meditation Session and we can work on your personal relaxation in a safe space. 

I look forward to seeing you soon. 
Blessings 
Pip xxx