Last night, as I listened to the sounds of insects singing outside my open August window, I exclaimed my profound love for the night sounds of this month in Pittsburgh. I have been reading a lot about sound yoga and thinking about ways to include sound and chanting in my practice and teaching on a more regular basis. Listening to these beautiful night sounds that are so very unique to the end of summer, I felt a sensation of hope wash across my forehead and through my throat and heart.

Please join me in an exercise in sound yoga!

At some point in your day or night, make a commitment to taking 15-minutes to soften your ears into your environment and experience sound vibration. See where the sound vibrates the most and notice the quality of your breath as you listen. Soften your jaw and relax the muscles and bones of your face. Without judgement, let the sounds enter you. Listen without hearing and hear without listening. Notice if you start to build attachment to any particular sound or aversion to another and see if you can return to an open experience of sound without judgement.

Be a vessel for the end of summer vibrations.

Enjoy!

Introduction to Meditation

By

Bhante Pemaratana

Pittsburgh Buddhist Center

In our life we all need to maintain physical health. We need to build healthy relationships. We need to achieve personal satisfaction and inner happiness. We need to realize the deep sense of meaning of our life. What is essential for all the above things is a healthy mind. The ancient Greeks glorified the body, its wellbeing and health, as well as the mind. The Romans famously said that man’s ideal should be ‘mens sana in corpore sano”! Healthy mind in a healthy body. And in China Lao- Tse spoke of harmony achieved by equilibrium of the mind. And the Buddha said that good health was the greatest profit, and contentment is the greatest wealth one could accumulate.

Though many of us are aware of the value of a healthy mind, we rarely know the way to achieve it. Meditation is a systematic method to develop a healthy mind. Achieving a healthy mind is not only about eradicating viruses that make the mind sick but also about developing positive qualities of the mind. It is a mental culture, which has three phases: knowing the mind, shaping the mind and freeing the mind.

Let us systematically examine these ancient voices, which a few of us hear like the soothing rustling of the mountain winds, when we practice meditation. It is then and only then, that we begin to hear the voice of silence promising each of us peace, harmony, and insight.

ABOUT VIPASSANA:

see http://www.dhamma.org/en/vipassana.shtml

Tag: Meditation Pittsburgh

August Sound Yoga