Learning to Listen
Every midwife knows
that not until a mother’s womb
softens from the pain of labor
will a way unfold
and the infant find that opening to be born.
Oh friend!
There is a treasure in your heart,
it is heavy with child.
Listen.
All the awakened ones,
like trusted midwives are saying,
“Welcome this pain.
It opens the dark passage of Grace.”
-Rumi
Listening is an art.
Listening is an art. Learning to listen is a mother’s responsibility. From the early days of pregnancy, she learns to listen deeply to her body, her baby and her intuition.
In a noisy world, listening becomes a sacred act of intimacy. Listening involves more than the physical act of perceiving sounds. A mother recognizes the importance of identifying and responding to energy, body language, emotions and what is said and not said.
The Benefits of Meditation
A regular meditation provides a sturdy foundation on which a mother learns to listen, to herself and to her child. Science reveals meditation’s numerous benefits. For example, sitting regularly and consistently has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce stress, increase focus and creativity as well as brain plasticity and augment the area in the brain linked to compassion. Meditation also illuminates a rich and vast inner landscape. Meditation is a loving pathway to knowing the Self intimately.
For a first-time mamma, there’s fear surrounding the upcoming birth of her child, and she forgets to listen. Often, doubts and anxiety arise as she imagines pain ahead.
Meditation is succor for a laboring mamma. It provides support and security giving her the confidence she needs to let go and surrender to the unknown.
Learning to sit, learning to listen.
How to Begin a Meditation Practice
While there’s no right or wrong way to meditate, here are some basic guidelines that will help you get started:
Commit to Sitting. Same place, at about the same time, every day.
Allow yourself to build stamina. Begin by sitting a 2-3 minutes at first. Build to about 20 minutes.
The mind id busy. Observe your thoughts. Let them come and go without getting attached and creating stories.
Use your breath as an object of focus to return to the body and the present.
Have compassion for yourself.
Begin Now
Pregnancy is an ideal time to begin a meditation practice. By learning to listen deeply to your heart and your inner wisdom, you’re prepare well for labor. It is often said that we birth the way we live. Labor and birth can be a meditation. How beautiful it would be if every child were to be born into a loving and peaceful environment devoid of fear and anxiety. Learn to meditate and model the behavior that can transform our world. Our children learn by our example. Show them the power of self-care, self-reflection and self-love.