Dream Yoga Basic Skills: Lesson #1
"Listening To A Noisy World" and "Feel An Intense World" are practices very similar to what I already do as a part of awareness techniques I have been practicing throughout the day recently.
Times when I would normally let my mind drift - such as walking, driving, or downtime at work - I instead attempt to bring awareness to things in my surroundings that my mind would normally filter out. I start with sound, first listening to the most obvious sounds in the environment each individually, then to internal sounds such as breathing or swallowing, then try to hold a few in my mind simultaneously. Then I shift my awareness to tactile, much like level 1 in "Feel An Intense World". I would follow with visual noticing colors, shapes, distance, shadows, and light, then smell. (Though not always in the same order.) The one I hadn't found a way to incorporate was taste, so I look forward to trying Version 3: Mixing It Up. Sometimes I add in a "sixth" sense and feel my energy, the energy of the environment, and other people's energy and emotions, but that one is definitely a little trickier. Eventually, I want to be able to hold this heightened level of awareness in all five (or six, I guess) of my senses simultaneously and have the ability to hold that awareness in both waking life and dreams.
Tonight I attempted "Listening to A Noisy World" at Level 1. I instantly picked up on noises I had been tuning out - the AC, refrigerator, traffic, the hum of my laptop, and my own breathing. While holding these I began to notice other noises. In addition to traffic on the main road, I could occasionally hear traffic on a more distance gravel road behind my house which was nearly inaudible. I heard bugs flitting at the window, my house settling, my cat walking around the back bedroom, and became aware of more internal noises. In addition to this, I would occasionally sense a low vibrational hum and am not sure what the cause or origin of this sound was. I did this for about five minuets and noticed that even after I ended the meditation, my auditory awareness remained heightened. I found my head instinctively turning towards small noises I normally would not have even noticed.
Another strange occurrence happened when after I had kept my awareness of sounds for about five minuets, I decided to practice making a ki ball and feeling energy while maintaining my auditory awareness. I rubbed my hands together, then pulled them slightly apart. I felt the energy between them as I slowly moved them together and apart. I noticed I could hear my arms moving even though it was a minimal movement. By this I don't mean that I heard the air move as my arms moved through it, but it was almost a creaking sound as if I was actually hearing the sounds of my muscles. I tried the same movements again without the ki ball and there was no sound! I did the experiment again with and without the ki ball with the same effect.
Tomorrow I plan on continuing practicing these techniques throughout my day at work, but instead of jumping from one sense to another to focus either on just sound or touch for longer periods each. I also intend to practice Version 3, Level 1 during a time of quiet and stillness.
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