She comforts herself in the wee hours of the morning with the sound of the Universe gently humming in her ears. Three to five hours after retiring she would routinely awaken,unable to return to sleep. Either the throbbing pain of her fractured foot would wake her, or the need to relieve herself of the large cup of chamomile tea habitually consumed prior to bed. She could no longer remember sleeping through the entire night. And she could no longer remember a time before the comfort of the sound of the Universe.
This sound, Universal sound, comes to her ears unbidden, constant and gentle. It needs only stillness and silence to appear, and it never fails. This thin subtle sound, a delicate hum, maybe a G major (but giving it clear definition is too limiting; just as we can never truly define the essence of the force which permeates all). This sound fills her entire being with the essence of All; it allows her to ignore the constant pain; allows her to again find sleep and peace. It takes the place of thought.
She is sleeping now nine to ten hours each night. The daily pain grinds her down, saps her energy and will. She thankfully does not work; retired now after years of excess labor. The insanity of sixty hour weeks, plus food shop, home and garden chores, and the normal social responsibilities of middle age. Now she is able to sleep more than a third of the day. Enabling the bone to knit together, build and heal, as it does in sleep.
The delicate sound of All, now comes unbidden, ears fully open, requiring only stillness to reverberate in her being. It took years and years of purposely listening, purposely sitting in the prescribed posture, purposely closing out the world, closing her ears to hear this sound of All trickle into her consciousness. She practiced Surat Shabd Yoga, finding joy when the Universal sound flowed into her being. Advanced practitioners, and she was not, were known to hear entire symphonies of ethereal music. She was pleased to just be able to sit, actually hover, balanced over her two feet planted on the ground, knees up and supporting her arms, her hands on either side of her head, fingers closing off her ears to the world. In the early years this sound of All mostly eluded her, but she performed the ritual of hearing with full hope.
Now, more than thirty years later, with equal days not sitting/hovering, not bidding the sound of All to attend to her Soul; the sound of the Universe comes to her nightly. This sound allows her to trust and believe and stay positive and have faith that the Essence of the force which permeates All remains in her heart; has never left her; continues to return, predictably now, provide peace comfort and joy.