Tony wrote: Thanks so much for the tip on inner sounds meditation - I

will try it. Could you go further on the traditional way to listen to

inner sounds - I don't think we have discussed it, and I am desperate

for guidance.

Dear Tony, I think I have posted this technique on the site, or

somewhere, at some time. When I find it, I will post it here. In the

mean (I hope gentle) time, I will try to keep this short and simple...

When placing attention on the inner sounds, using earplugs definitely

makes it easier. Relax and position yourself in the posture you

have found to be most condusive to sustaining meditation. Then,

silently focus with full attention on the (inner) right side. The 3rd

Ear! As you listen, there are traditionally 10 sounds that will be

heard, but rather than naming them, which I think may cause mind

chatter ("Oh, there's that sound, now let's see if the next one will

appear, etc...), I want to suggest just Witnessing without

comparisons, judgements, or commentary. When you are aware of a sound

that is not on the right side, it's OK to let your awareness follow

it and float where it goes. When it fades away or changes, go back to

inner right attention. That's really all there is to it, and it

seems so easy that it would be tempting to discount its potency, but

it can be a divinely deep experience. There may come a time when 1000

jet engines could go off right next to you and you won't notice,

because of the infinite ecstatic nature of your connection with

sound. It is there. All you need do is become aware of it. Empty,

Witness, and you will fill with the celestial harmonies that are the

precursors of Pure Silence.

A few posts have mentioned inner sounds. COuld someone explain this to me?



THanks!

Sara







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Yes, I was wondering the same thing.



Tom

_____________________________________________________________________



Message: 3

    Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 07:12:27 -0800 (PST)

    From: "Sara M. Leiste" <leiste@...>

Subject: Inner Sounds



A few posts have mentioned inner sounds. COuld someone explain this to

me?



THanks!

Sara

__________________________________



Hello Sara,



I will be glad to share my personal experience of inner sounds

meditation. First let me say that I am not an expert in meditation - my

knowledge does not extend very far outside of my personal experience.



Also, to keep things in perspective, let me say that this is just one of

possibly hundreds of meditation techniques. Again, with my limited

experience, I am not sure any technique is fundamentally superior to any

other. I suggest just going with whatever you are comfortable with.



And just to stretch my current thinking a little more, let me give you

the disadvantages of this technique first.



1) I think that once you start and make progress, it is harder to switch

to other techniques.

2) Once you get used to it, it is very hard to meditate outside of your

normal meditation place. For instance, if you were in a crowded airport,

people who use other techniques would likely find it easier to meditate

in that environment.



Basically, inner sounds meditation is using ear plugs to cut out

external sounds so you can concentrate on your natural, inner sounds to

guide you to deeper levels of meditation.



When you put in ear plugs and remain calm, (closing your eyes will help)

you will notice that there is a faint background sound that appears to

come from inside you. It is like the sound of wind through pine trees or

the sea when you put a sea shell against your ear.



At first this sound appears constant - like the white noise you get when

a TV is not tuned to a station. After a while you begin to notice subtle

variations. After some months of practice, you should be able to hear a

complex kaleidoscope of sounds swirling as in a dance. Eventually you

will begin to appreciate that these sounds ebb and flow with your state

of mind. As you go deeper and deeper into your meditation you should

notice that the sounds change octave. My thinking is that eventually you

should be able to interpret the sounds as feedback of your meditation.



One of my favorite uses of the inner sounds is to guide me in a

meditation direction. What I do is select one of the sub sounds and

simply focus my attention on it. As that sound becomes more prominent,

my meditation goes in a particular direction. For me the discoveries are

fascinating.



One word of advice is to exercise patience. Let your body relax first.

Be more of a passive listener than an aggressive searcher. The more

passive and introspective you are the clearer you will notice the

variations in sounds.



I hope you will try out this type of meditation and share your

experiences with us.



...Tony

Hello Everyone,



Since there was some interest in inner sounds meditation, I decided to

approach today's session as if I were new to this technique and see what

suggestions I could give.



My first reaction was that nothing was happening. I was sitting there

with earplugs in, eyes closed and yes I could hear a faint background

sound, but that was it.



My comment here would be that the quality of sounds that are possible is

the result of going deeper in to meditation rather than the objective of

meditation. In other words the sounds respond to your meditative state,

rather than causing your meditative state (so far as I know). So we need

to relax and calm our bodies. It takes about 5 - 15 minutes for my

physical body to become calm enough for me to effectively use my inner

sounds to guide me. I am so used to calming my body that it happens by

itself - it is like entering an elevator and simply waiting to get to

the floor you have selected. I suggest focusing on your breath or some

other technique to get you to a calm enough level to appreciate your

inner sounds.



Some external sounds still enter despite using ear plugs.



My comment would be to just ignore them and focus on claming your body.

It is possible that an external sound will trigger a physical reaction

in you and this will result in a distinct change in the inner sounds. I

see this as a good sign because you are now using your inner sounds to

monitor your physical reactions.





Another comment is on the subtlety of the inner sounds. They respond to

even the slightest thought. However you will not be able to detect that

change until you reach a deep enough level of relaxation. The analogy

that might work is to picture a bath that is full of water. The bottom

of the bath has a miniature landscape with hills, valleys and all kinds

of activity. Imagine you are at the same scale as the miniature

landscape, but floating on top of the water. From that perspective,

nothing is happening. You just see the flat surface of water. It is not

until you drain the bath and gently  descend to the level the miniature

landscape that a whole new world unfolds. From my experience the best

way to drain the bath is to not drain it. That is, do not think about

it, let it happen on its own.



Hope that helps...Tony

Hi Bob,



Thanks for your encouragement and the information on inner sounds. It

has been a great help to me - both in knowledge and inspiration.



Many thanks also to Jeff and Sandeep - I always look forward to your

posts.



...Tony

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your encouragement and the information on inner sounds. It
has been a great help to me - both in knowledge and inspiration.

Many thanks also to Jeff and Sandeep - I always look forward to your
posts.

...Tony