Rubbing the hands and listening

Sit comfortably. Rub your hands together for about twenty to thirty seconds, as if you were warming them on a cold day. Not too hard, not hurried. Simply rub them in a lively way.

Then slowly hold your hands in front of your body. The palms face each other. There is about five centimeters of space between the hands.

Now comes the most important part: do nothing. Simply hold the hands like this. Sense into the palms. Let the shoulders relax. Let the breath become calm.

After one minute, very slowly widen the distance to ten or fifteen centimeters. Then bring the hands a little closer together again. Move them so slowly that you can notice the subtle changes.

You do not have to produce anything. You only observe.

Perhaps there is warmth between the hands. Perhaps a slight pull, a magnetic feeling, a gentle resistance or a sense of density. Some people sense tingling in the palms or pulsing in the fingers.

If you sense nothing, remain friendly with yourself. Then simply notice: What exactly does "nothing" feel like? Are the hands really completely neutral, or is there perhaps a small difference between inside and outside, right and left, near and far?

Many people do too much at the beginning. They push inwardly; they absolutely want to notice something. That is exactly what makes perception coarser. Let it become lighter. Your hands do not have to perform. They are allowed to listen.