Your Inner Cook

One thing that defines us as living beings is that we have to depend on food. There’s food for the body and food for the mind. The food for the mind is most important.

Sometimes we can depend on the strength of the body, but sometimes the body is not there for us to depend on. It gets sick. It gets old. It gets injured. So we really have to depend on the mind, because that doesn’t have to get sick, and old, and injured. But we have to feed it well.

We feed it with our intentions. We feed it with the things we think about, the things we focus on as we look at the world around us. But most importantly, we feed on our intentions. The better our intentions, the healthier the mind will be.

So right now, make the intention that you’re going to stay with the breath. Intend to follow the Buddha’s teachings on how we can get out of suffering. Part of that requires developing right concentration, staying with one object, and being on good terms with it. Again, if you’re going to be feeding off your breath, feeding off your intentions, you want the breath to be comfortable. You want your intention to be happy to be here. Otherwise, you’re going to go looking for food someplace else.

So. Experiment with your breathing. Notice what feels good right now: long breathing or short, fast or slow, heavy or light, deep or shallow. You can experiment as much as you like and choose what you like. The important thing is that you find something that’s good to stay with. The better it is for the body, the easier it will be to stay here. So focus on the breath. As for any intentions that would go someplace else, regard that as junk food for the time being. You’re trying to develop good, healthy food—nourishing food—food that strengthens the mind.

As you go through the day, remember that you’re feeding off your intentions. So be careful to notice what your intentions are. If you find yourself feeding off of junk food, remember you’ve got good food right here, maintaining the intention to get the mind settled in a good foundation.

The Buddha gives instructions on right mindfulness, which are basically his instructions for how to get the mind into concentration. You keep track of the breath; you’re mindful; you’re ardent; and you’re alert. You’re mindful—in other words you remember to keep the breath in mind. You’re ardent to do this well. And then you’re alert to notice what you’re actually doing. If it’s not coming out right, then you make some changes.

It’s like cooking food. You taste it. If it’s too salty, too sweet, you can make compensations. You’re the cook, so cook your food well, because the health of your mind depends on it.