Dharana 15 of 112 · verse 38

Bathing in a Continuous Sound

Let an unbroken natural sound — water, wind, rain — become the whole of attention.

00:00Ready

10 minutes. Seated or standing, eyes closed.

Beginner10 min

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The practice

Find a sound that does not stop and does not have a pattern: a river, heavy rain, wind in trees, a fan. Sit near it with your eyes closed and let it fill everything. Do not listen for features in it. Do not name it. Let it be a single continuous thing you are inside of rather than something you are hearing.

What it works on

Patterned sound invites the mind to predict. Unpatterned continuous sound gives it nothing to anticipate, and attention that cannot predict eventually stops trying. This is the gentlest sound dharana in the text and a good first one.

Notes

  • Running water is the traditional example and still the best. A recording works if the recording has no music in it.
  • The alternative given in the same verse — closing the ears and listening to the sound already inside them — is the same practice turned inward.

Practise gently

Shoonyaka offers educational and contemplative material, not medical, psychological or religious authority. Nothing here diagnoses or treats any condition. Stop any practice that leaves you dizzy, frightened or unwell, and treat a strong reaction as a reason to rest rather than to push on.