Thursday, May 5, 2005

Hammering and Lawnmower Meditation

I just finished an afternoon meditation and some of the most unsuspecting and seemingly uninspiring noises taught me to listen more deeply and touch peace in any moment.

I was meditating and concentrating on my breath when I heard someone in my triplex hammering methodically. At first I was annoyed and it distracted me from my meditation but then I concentrated on the sound and meditated upon it. Soon I realized that this hammering was not hammering at all but the beating of my very precious heart. With that deeper, more mindful realization I was able to relax with the sound and realize that it was a comforting sound and not the negative sound I first thought.

What changed?

My perception changed to one more mindful and I was able to put the teaching of interconnectivity into motion and realize a deeper mindfulness.

Soon the hammering stopped and I was unaware when from the moment it was sounding like my beating heart to the moment that it went silent. The hammering sounded just as sweet and relaxing as the silence.

Then I heard a lawnmower and initially thought the same annoyance as with the hammering. Then I concentrated upon the noise and heard the sound of a purring kitten and could not help but relax and smile. The lawnmower was teaching me that every sound is a good sound. Not only that but the sound kept changing depending on how far away the lawnmower was in relation to the range of my hearing. This was a reminder to me that everything changes and yet stays the same. It is our placing a value on the change which often makes us the most fearful of it.

If we can see change as a gift then we can live more mindfully and liberated.


-Peace to us all-

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