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Meditation on Sound and Breath

Audio May 4, 2020
An impressionistic painting depicts a cloudy sky and rolling waves crashing on a beach. A dark sailboat rides the waves in the distance.
For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life—the light and the air which vary continually. For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value.
Claude Monet

Enjoy this guided meditation focused on sound and breath paired with Monet’s The Sea at Le Havre. Follow along with audio or the text below.

Step-by-Step Meditation on Sound and Breath

  1. Look at this painting and take five breaths.
  2. Imagine the sound of the crashing of the waves followed by their release as they go back out to sea. Consider how the waves move naturally at different intervals.
  3. Continue to meditate on the sound of the waves coming in and out, while bringing awareness back to the breath.
  4. Observe the breath without changing it and allow it to come in and out at different intervals like the sound of the sea.
  5. Continue moving your attention from the sound of the waves back to the breath for as long as you like.