The sense of sound as a support for meditation

I want to call your attention to a blog post entitled "Using the Senses to Relax the Mind". Here's an excerpt that rather wonderfully describes a meditative process that I introduce in Session 5 of the Foundations course:

For example, you can use the sounds around you as a focus during your meditation session. Simply allow your mind to settle for a few moments. Then tune into the sounds in your environment. The key is not to engage with the sounds, but to just place your attention lightly upon them. When thoughts and emotions arise, simple return your attention to the sounds you hear. 

Right this moment, wind is rustling through the trees outside my window with brief interludes of silence. Often, we don’t hear the sounds around us because our mind is all churned up with thoughts and emotions or we are overly concentrated on a project. Consciously using the senses returns us to the present moment and helps us to relax our mind and let go of our worries.

The writer quoted above is Sandra Pawula.

I encourage everyone to try this if you haven't already. It's actually the method of meditation I personally use most frequently.
~~~