The following meditation is led by Tara Brock.

To access more of my meditations or join my email list, please visit TaraBrock.com.

Find yourself a sitting posture that allows you to be relaxed and alert.

And as you settle at the attention, come to the heart area, just feeling the breath at the heart.

Listening to your heart with an inner inquiry, which is, what is my deep intention for practicing

right now? What is it I long for? What really matters to me? That brings me to meditation.

If you can touch that place of sincerity that really cares about waking up, that opening your heart, living from an awake heart.

Take a moment to scan through your body and if there's any areas of obvious tension or tightness, see what might want to let go a little.

You might take a few more full breaths.

You inhale deeply and feel the breath filling you even in a cellular way.

And then with the out breath, sense of letting go, relaxing.

Letting go.

One more time, a nice full in breath, and a slow out breath, releasing letting go.

And as the breath resumes its natural rhythm, the sense of the presence that's here, the stillness.

Identity shifting your awareness from the body and begin to listen to the play of sounds around you.

Notice them all, those that are loud and those soft.

The close-in sounds, sensing the space in the room, the sounds in the room.

The spaces between the sounds, the more distant sounds, sensing that open presence that includes even the most distant sounds.

So listening not just with your ears, but your whole awareness in a global way.

Notice how sounds arise and vanish, leaving no trace.

Listen for a time in this relaxed open way.

Including the sounds, the bells, and the gongs.

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