One of the most accessible ways to open to spacious awareness is by listening to the sounds of the universe around us. Because sounds come and go so naturally, and are so obviously out of our control, listening brings the mind to a naturally balanced state of openness and attention.
Sit comfortably and at ease; let your body be at rest, let your breathing be natural. Close your eyes, and take a couple of deep breaths, letting each one release slowly and gently. Allow yourself to be still.
Slowly shift your awareness away from the breath, and begin to listen to the play of sounds around you. Some are loud, some are soft, some are near, some are far. Just listen. Notice how all sounds arise and vanish, leaving no trace. Listen for a while in a relaxed, open way.
And as you listen, notice that your mind is not limited to your head. Notice how your mind is expanding to be like the sky — open, clear, vast like space. There is no inside, no outside; it all just is. Let the awareness of your mind extend in every direction like the sky.
The sounds you hear arise and pass away in the open space of your own mind. Relax in this openness and just listen. Let the sounds come and go, whether far or near, like clouds in the vast sky of your own awareness, appearing and disappearing without resistance.
As you rest in this open awareness, notice how thoughts and images also arise and vanish like sounds. Let the thoughts and images come and go without struggle or resistance. Pleasant and unpleasant thoughts, images, words and feelings all move unrestricted in the space of mind. Problems, possibilities, joys and sorrows come and go like clouds in the clear sky of mind.
After a while, let this spacious awareness notice the body. Become aware of how the sensations of breath and body float and change in the same open sky of awareness. The breath breathes itself, moving like a breeze. The body is not solid. It is felt as areas of hardness and softness, pressure and tingling, warm and cool sensation, all floating in the vast space of the mind's awareness.
Let the breath move like a breeze. Rest in this openness. Let sensations float and change. Allow all thoughts and images, feelings and sounds to come and go like clouds in the clear open space of awareness.
Finally, turn your attention to the awareness itself. Notice how the open space of awareness is naturally clear, transparent, timeless and without conflict — including all things, without being limited by them.