The peepers are out today, chirping away. Are those crickets too or is it white noise again, the steady buzzing in my head.
I heard this sound 3 years ago and decided it was OM, the sound of the universe talking to me. It wasn’t. It’s tinnitus. I know some people have a terrible time with this condition but I don’t. Most likely because I like pretending that it is indeed the universe talking to me.
Last week I went for my annual ear appointment to see if my mild hearing loss was changing. It’s not like I’m all that concerned nor do I notice.
Me: “I have an audiologist appointment today.”
Honeybun: “When is it?”
Me: “What?”
Getting your hearing tested is fun. You sit in a booth with big headphones and lift a finger every time you hear a sound. I decided that I was going to put all of my yogic powers of concentration towards improving my hearing. I was going to focus.
The “hoot” sound moved from ear to ear.
Me: “Wow, that sounds like an owl. Wouldn’t it be cool if each tone was the start of a bird song. I can name that bird in one note! That would be so impressive. Actually an owl sounds like “who cooks for you”. Bear hoot.”
I got so involved in my inner dialogue that I ignored the new “ping” sound. I have no idea how many seconds passed before I realized I was no longer lifting my finger at anything. I almost stopped the session and asked for a do-over. My hearing loss is at the same level and so is the white noise. I’m okay with that.
Sometimes we hyper focus and miss all kinds of stuff. Sometimes we don’t focus and miss all kinds of stuff.
I was at the ATM depositing a check thinking about nothing really.
Me: “This is taking forever and what the heck is that beeping sound?”
Was I standing there for seconds? Minutes? I have visions of bank security reviewing video footage wondering why I took so long removing my debit card.
Staying focused isn’t easy. Dharana (dara-na) is the 6th limb of the 8 limb path of yoga. It’s training the mind to concentrate on one thing. The idea is to notice when concentration takes a wander and bring it back. It’s the beginning of meditation.
How often are we hyper focused or lacking focus physically or mentally? What are we missing out on? Can we practice listening to nothing?
Wait, what did I say? I SAID NAMASTE!
Alexandra Langstaff 