Meditation for Listening

Sefer Yetzirah teaches that the month of Av is when we elevate the sense of listening/hearing. Before we can begin to listen to others, first we need to listen deeply to ourselves: to our emotions, our intuition, our bodies, and our breath. Meditation is really a form of deep listening, of listening to the deeper parts of ourselves. How often do we tune ourselves out, ignoring our deep needs and inner authentic selves? This month, we cultivate the skill of inner, and then outer listening.

The very first organ to be fully developed in the womb is the ear. Our first interaction with the outer world was through our hearing. In the womb, the fetus hears her mother's voice, heartbeat, and breath. We also heard the womb water surrounding us, and the rhythm of our mother's footsteps as we were gently rocked back and forth. Deep listening takes us back to the memory of being cared for completely in the womb. When we open our sense of sound, we return to this primordial state. Entering the mikvah is as if we are returning to the womb, totally immersed in life-giving waters. Yet, Kabbalah teaches that the whole universe is the Womb of G-d. When we pay attention, we can hear our Divine Mother rocking us and soothing us.

Below is a video guided meditation to tune into the gift of sound, recorded at the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens. To explorer the gift of sound with yoga and meditation practices, join the Jewish Yoga course for the hebrew month of Av.

12-min meditation tuning in to the sounds of creation, with Jenna Zadaka