This exercise is part of our newest on-demand course, Integrating Mindfulness into CBT.
In this short video, Beck Institute Senior Clinician Dr. Robert Hindman guides you through a mindfulness of sounds meditation adapted from Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). We encourage you to practice this exercise yourself, and also consider sharing it with your clients.
As Dr. Hindman guides you to pay attention to the sounds around you, you may feel your mind wandering. This does not mean that you’re doing the meditation incorrectly – it’s what minds do. When you notice this happening, gently bring your attention back to sounds, without criticizing yourself. Dr. Hindman will also ask you to bring an attitude of curiosity about the sounds you’re hearing, listening as if it’s the first time you’ve heard anything like them, rather than attempting to name what they are.
Once you’ve completed the exercise, scroll down to answer the reflection questions below.
– Did you find yourself thinking about the sounds instead of solely noticing the qualities of the sounds?
– What happened to your attention as you tried to focus on sounds?
– Were you able to notice when your mind wandered and then bring it back to sounds?
– How do you think you could apply this experience to your life?
Learn to integrate and adapt mindfulness into CBT treatment in our newest interactive self-paced course taught by Dr. Hindman.