Pause: Practice Attentive Listening
Today’s two-minute guided meditation, “Attentive Listening,” is more than just an opportunity to slow down and be present—it’s also an attention training technique from metacognitive therapy that’s helpful for rumination and anxiety.
Metacognitive therapy emphasizes that our well-being is greatly impacted by our relationship with our thoughts. Do we get sucked in and follow them blindly wherever they may lead, no matter how upsetting and anxiety-producing, or are we able to identify what’s going on, and then shift our focus to something more pleasant and nourishing?
Katie Dutcher—the therapist and mindfulness teacher who created this meditation—says, “By intentionally focusing on one sound while filtering out the rest, and then deliberately shifting to another sound, we strengthen our ability to choose where our awareness goes. This is a powerful, transferable skill. The more we practice, the more we can step out of unhelpful thought patterns and place our attention where it better serves us.”
Developing the ability to consciously shift our attention isn’t about avoidance or bypassing what’s difficult. Rather, it’s about recognizing when the mind has moved into unhelpful repetitive rumination, and choosing to redirect it.
Trudy Goodman
After doing this practice just a few times, I’ve found myself noticing sounds more often—the layering of birdsong, the movement of wind through trees, my dogs’ paws traversing the ground. In addition to gaining more agency over my thoughts, attentive listening has turned out to be a very helpful tool in helping my busy mind quiet down and maintain present moment awareness.
Katie says, “All of our senses are wonderful portals to presence and calm. Paying close attention to what you can hear gives the mind something to focus on. When we notice the sounds around us, our attention moves outside of ourselves, and we’re no longer solely focused on the tiny world inside our brain. As our perspective expands, we’re making room for more peace and joy.”
