Find a noisy place to meditate!

Okay, I’m kidding about the title. But it’s worth remembering that if we can only meditate when it’s quiet or have everything just so, we may not meditate at all. The true value of meditation comes from regular practice, regardless of conditions. Learning how to meditate anywhere also helps us be more at ease in stressful situations. Sure, it’s wonderful to sit in a tranquil setting, especially with a sangha of like-minded practitioners, or in a room set up just for that purpose, but let’s not keep this valuable practice in a gilded cage for special occasions. Let it be a vital technique for cultivating awareness and compassion in all areas of our lives. And sometimes meaningful meditations come from sitting amid sensory challenges. 

Yesterday morning workers were jackhammering concrete on one side of the house and in the street below arborists were feeding tree limbs into a shredder.  That was sensory bombardment! Then this morning there were garbage and recycling trucks on the street below, the percolating sound of a humidifier in the room, and our neighbor pulling the trash bins up the driveway.

This might not seem like perfect conditions to meditate. But actually, they were. Because I could focus on awareness of sound. And then I could further cultivate awareness of awareness.

Our first awareness is simply noticing and naming the sound. This labeling activates opinions, memories, aversion, desire, and other mental activities. And that entangles our attention. So we purposely expand the field of awareness and tune it to pure sensation. We let go of the habit of identifying the causes of sounds and just pay attention to the sounds themselves in what I like to call The Symphony of Now, a unique set of sounds never to be repeated in just this way. We accept the precious invitation to this moment just as it is.

If there hadn’t been sound, I would focus on the sense of touch, the felt sense in the body being supported, the feel of the breath, and/or any aches or pains that might be present. But the process would be the same. First awareness, and then awareness of the awareness unburdened by labels, opinions, judgments, memories, worries, etc.

With this meditation, we can do our practice pretty much anywhere. We don’t need perfect conditions. Of course, we can’t meditate while driving or in any other situation where our full attention is required. But life presents many opportunities to relax and be present, eyes open or closed. Any time we are passively waiting and nothing is expected of us, we can trade in the word ‘wait’ for ‘meditate’. What a gift to never have to wait again! For example, at a gate at the airport, waiting for our flight that has been delayed. We are no longer ‘waiting’ for the plane! How freeing! We can let go of all the anxiety, frustration, boredom, etc. that seems inherently entangled in the idea of waiting. Instead, we are meditating. And with the gift of the practice, even after we stop meditating we feel refreshed, suffused with ease and lovingkindness that we can radiate toward other passengers and staff at the gate, and appreciate the aliveness of being.

So if you’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to meditate, stop waiting! This is it!