The Amplified Sound Meditation or ASM, is based on the premise that the most powerful form of meditation is listening to the silence in the silence.

When just starting out in meditating that can be a very daunting task. This explanation will be helpful for you to understand what to expect and then how to effectively build your connection to the silence, that is your diving guidance, higher self god, call it what you will.

After a while you come to the realization that there is a communication going on within the silence. Not words or even thoughts, but a deeper form of communication with yourself.  That is the key, to stop the thoughts from your “monkey mind” as it has been called.

The thing to realize about the “monkey mind” and stopping the thoughts is 1) you are not your thoughts. Most people are run by their thoughts as that is their point of reference. The monkey, or ego mind is a jumble of programming from your past, and all it does is react, react, react. I didn’t say respond, I said instantly react. This will create anxiety, stress, and yes, a bombardment of even more thoughts!

We have some 60,000 thoughts a day, and 95% of the thoughts that you thought today, were the same ones you had yesterday, and the day before…and the day before that. Have you ever seen the show “Groundhog Day?” Thinking the same thing over and over and over again. That’s the way most people’s lives are. And then you add the fact that most people complain about their lives and say they want change. I believe that is the definition of insanity!

So the key is to realize you’re not your thoughts and to not let them run you by you thinking they’re real and therefore by acting on them. This can be a very difficult thing to do in the start because we’ve never been told or show anything different.

This is why we meditate. If we slow down our mind, our thoughts, then we can see them and have a choice around and about them. But if we just let them run rampant, then we are run by our thoughts, and are out of control being run by programming from our past. Which may have absolutely no bearing on or correlation to what’s going on now! 

The next thing to know is 2) The ego mind dies in the present moment, and will fight to stay out of it. The ego mind is either in the past, or the future, it cannot exist in this present moment. *This is very valuable information to know, as it can be uncomfortable trying to still our thoughts, but when we know it’s just the ego minds discomfort – not who we are, wanting to stop us and take us into the future, or the past, then we can understand what’s going on, recognize it, and not react from it, but know that we’re on track to taking charge of our mind back.

I know that the moment I start to have a strong negative thought or one of conflict, that I am on track and it no longer throws me, but is a sign that I’m almost there!

3) The ego is also a very tricky thing. It will create annoyances, thoughts, and things for us to do to keep us from being still and quiet – in the present moment. The important thing to remember is that it’s job is to create conflict, or opposition. That being said it’s important that we don’t try and force our thoughts out or fight against them. That’s exactly what the ego wants.

When a thought comes up don’t fight it or resist it, but just recognize it as a thought by doing one of two things. You can recognize it and say “Aaah, a thought.” And return your attention back to listening to the silence. Or you can recognize it as a thought and say “Thank you for sharing”, and return your focus back on listening to the silence. No fight, no resistance, just allowing it to pass on through like you’re watching a cloud, and taking your attention back to listening intently. Now that we have the gist of meditation, now we can look at the Amplifies Silence mediation.

Turn off your phone, computer, or anything that will make noise or bother you. Get in a quiet, comfortable place where you will be alone and not bothered. It’s best to start with at least 15 minute periods in the start, for as many days as you can in the week (a minimum of 3 times a week) and work your way up to doing 30 minutes at a time every day. Trust me, once you experience the results of true meditation you won’t want to miss a day. Good luck, and have fun!

Amplified Silence Meditation

In the Amplified Silence Meditation we use earplugs. This is how the sound of silence gets magnified and it makes it much easier for us to tune into the sound and away from the continuous thoughts coming in. This is very effective for two reasons. One is that the sound becomes easy to hear,; and two because it gives the ego mind something to do. You will also find that you can’t listen and talk ( therefore, think) at the same time.

When you put the earplugs in you will notice a high pitch sound coming from your left ear. Your job is to tune into that sound. As you connect with the sound it may change within the period of meditation. I say intently listen into the high pitch sound but don’t get that mixed up with intensely. You’re not to be intense but relaxed. Be consistent and persistent but always in a relaxed state. You can equate this to working out, or a muscle; the more you use, or work it, the stronger it gets. The more you meditate the easier it will be to get into a state of peace, and calm, and the faster it will happen for you.

So listen intently into the high pitch sound in your left ear, and if you have a thought just say “Thank you for sharing”, or “Aaah, a thought”, and return back to listening. The more you do this the easier it will become and the longer the intervals will be between thoughts. Hence, the more peace, calm, and clarity you will experience.

As you stay with this meditation practice you will notice a static type of sound at the end of the high pitch sound. This may take quite a few times to recognize, or you may notice it sooner. It doesn’t matter, the goal is to still your mind, that’s it. But when you do find the static at the end of the high pitch sound listen into it. As you do the sound will become bigger, and bigger, and bigger, until eventually you will go right through it and your mind will stop! This may take months or even years to happen, but once again, the more you do this the easier it will become.

The sound starts in the left ear and will travel over to the right side. As the sound goes from the left to the right it will continue to change slightly. Don’t try and go over to the right side, just keep listening into the high-pitched sound and it will guide you.

When I started this meditation I did it only because I had moved into the city and the sound made it hard to meditate, so I started using earplugs. As I did this I noticed the high pitch sound, and as I continued doing it more, I noticed the sound of static at the end of it; and as I kept listening it kept getting stronger and stronger, and stronger, until I went right into it, and my mind stopped! I couldn’t believe what had happened! I thought I’d discovered a great miracle, a great new way to stop your mind!

About a year later, after I’d been doing this meditation for a couple of years, I saw an ad for a mediation class being put on by an eastern yogi, that wasn’t too far from where I lived. I went there and the first thing they did to my great surprise, was hand me earplugs! They explained that I would hear a high pitch sound and said that there were seven levels of sound that would take me from listening from the left ear to the right! I was completely dumbfounded. I was the only person that showed up for the meditation class. By design lol!

The reason I tell this story is because if you meditate you will get whatever information you need. Not just on how to meditate, but in any and all area’s of your life. The more I live, the more I think our biggest job is to get out of the way! And what we need to get out of the way is our old programming, our old thoughts that want to run us on auto pilot. How we do this is by creating a separation from our thoughts so we have a choice about them. That is our true power, our power to choose. Meditation is the way that allows us to see and allow a new and better way.

You will gain more clarity and understanding in your life. Your senses will be much more acute as smells will be more vivid, colors will seem deeper and more vibrant, things will taste much better and your touch and sensation will be more sensitive. Meditation will tune you in to a higher frequency, a higher degree of awareness that will make your life richer, easier, and a lot more fun! It will welcome you  back to your authentic self. Welcome home!

Dane Stevens