Exercise One
Set aside a time and place to experience Realm-2. Of course, Realm-2 is within us and around us at every time and in every place, but when we make a space to focus on Realm-2 within our lives, then the spiritual worlds also focus on us.
Your space can be a separate room, or it can be a shelf or table where you ordinarily live. Add flowers to this space. If you can, light a candle at the commencement of the exercise.
Listening
Sit quietly in your space. As your breathing slows, become aware of the sound of your breath moving in and out. Become aware of the sounds in your home. Perhaps you can hear a clock ticking, or water dripping in a filter jug.
Now extend your hearing outside. Can you hear birds singing? Perhaps the sound of a car driving past.
Extend your hearing beyond your immediate home. What can you hear now? Perhaps a dog barking in the distance, the muted sounds of distant traffic.
When you have reached the limits of your hearing, bring your attention back to where you are sitting. Give thanks for the sense of hearing. Your first Realm-2 exercise is complete.
What the exercise does
The sense of hearing is the first physical sense to develop, and the last sense to depart at death. It is the first Realm-2 sense to develop. As we practise listening to the physical world, we become able to listen to the inner world. We hear the inner voices that chat to us. We also begin to listen more attentively to others. We listen not only to their words, but to the emotions and feelings behind the words. We begin to hear the sounds of their souls. When we can listen with understanding and without judgment, then we know we have developed Realm-2 ears.
On to Chapter Two …
I love this exercise. We do it every day, using the Pentecost Meditations. Afterwards we sit in silence for a long time in the atmosphere that has been created.
I agree with Melody that this is a most useful exercise. Over the years I have been constantly reminded that many people today are completely unable to ‘listen to’, and are, in fact possibly only capable of ‘listening for’. Mind you, I don’t think it s a conscious choice, this ‘listening for’ but rather an indication of how egocentric and disconnected much of humanity has become. Thank goodness for the emergence of ecological thinking and the acceptance of mindfulness as a practice … and this wee exercise.
Thoroughly enjoying these posts.
I agree with Melody that this is a most useful exercise. Over the years I have been constantly reminded that many people today are completely unable to ‘listen to’, and are, in fact possibly only capable of ‘listening for’. Mind you, I don’t think it s a conscious choice, this ‘listening for’ but rather an indication of how egocentric and disconnected much of humanity has become. Thank goodness for the emergence of ecological thinking and the acceptance of mindfulness as a practice … and this wee exercise.
Thoroughly enjoying these posts.