Awake in the Wild by Mark Coleman

Author:Mark Coleman
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781577317142
Publisher: New World Library

Meditation: Releasing Reactivity to Noise

We all have moments—whether at the beach, the local park, or even in our own gardens—when we have to listen to other people’s noise. It can be a challenge not to react to talking, shouting, loud music, dogs barking, or the din of leaf blowers and chain saws at times when all we want is some peace and quiet. This meditation is a practice that, once experienced, can be used anywhere, anytime.

Go to a place in nature that you like, perhaps a beach, city park, or lake that is frequented by lots of people. Take some time to walk and explore this area, connecting with the natural elements. Let your senses open so that you feel the sounds, smells, and sights, and touch the earth. Notice what brings you happiness here: the birds, trees, reflections on the water, or the fragrant grasses.

Find a place to meditate, sitting or lying down, eyes open or closed. Select a place where you will be within earshot of people, music, or other sounds that you might typically find disturbing. Listen fully to the sounds and notice what reaction you have to them. If strong emotions come up in response to the noise, see if you can be present to them, feeling how they manifest in your body. Breathe with the difficult feelings, inhaling into the parts of your body that feel contracted or tight. Sometimes just naming and labeling your feelings can help dissipate their intensity. If you allow these feelings to just be, without reacting to them or fueling them with thoughts about the situation, they often naturally fade.

If your feelings continue to be strong, notice if any ideas, beliefs, judgments, or opinions come up about people making the sounds, such as: “this shouldn’t be happening,” “those people are too loud,” “people shouldn’t bring music here,” “leaf-blowers should be banned,” or “those children are too unruly.” Pay attention to the effect your thoughts and opinions have, and see if they increase your reactivity. Observe if these thoughts and feelings make you feel separate and disconnected both from people and from the place where you are. Feel the pain that can come with such thoughts.

Being mindful of any experience can give us a greater sense of space. Notice if bringing attention to your reactivity creates a spaciousness or ease. Be aware of how the mind can fixate on anything that it finds unpleasant and wants to get rid of, and note if your mind gets locked into a kind of tunnel vision around the noise. If this happens, remember that fixating like this cuts you off from the environment you are in, making you disconnect from aspects of nature and life you’ve previously been enjoying. As an antidote to the fixation, try to open your awareness to include everything in your environment, feeling the air you breathe, taking in the spaciousness of the sky, sensing the solid support of the earth, and noticing the fragrance of this place.

Mindfulness offers us the opportunity to respond appropriately to any situation.

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