Search results for: "The Breath"

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  2. Right View & Right Resolve
     … How do you let it spread? You think about the breath going through the body and taking that sense of well-being with it: down the spine, out the legs; down the shoulders, out the arms; through the torso; throughout the head. Notice what ways of perceiving the breath—what kind of labels or mental images you have for the breath—allow the breath … 
  3. Laying the Infrastructure
    Try to be as sensitive as possible to the breath. Get down to the details of the breath, because the more sensitive you are to this one thing, the more you develop the quality of discernment that we’re aiming at. And keep your eyes on the road. In other words, don’t anticipate where you’re going to go with this. Just keep … 
  4. The Pleasure of the Middle Way
    Focus on the breath. Experiment with the breath to see what kind of breathing is comfortable right now. Sometimes it’s short breathing, sometimes it’s long, deep, shallow, heavy, light. It’s often good to begin with some long, deep in-and-out breaths just to emphasize the feeling of breathing in the body. And as long as long breathing feels good, you … 
  5. Goodwill First & Last
     … Then actually being with the breath is a very good way of showing goodwill for yourself right now. There’s enough suffering in life. You don’t have to compound it by breathing in a way that’s harsh, uncomfortable, or unhealthy. So you look at the breath and see how it’s affecting the body in different parts: where the breath energy seems … 
  6. Meditate Because You Have To
     … The perceptions here are the perceptions you hold in mind to stay with the breath, your images of what the breathing is like. When you breathe in, where does the breath energy comes in? Where doesn’t it come in? You can play with that to see how the perception of the breath alters the way you breathe and then you notice the feelings … 
  7. Guardian Meditations
     … In between each breath, you don’t have to squeeze them a little bit to make a little marker to tell yourself now the breath is coming in, now the breath is going out. Think of the breath flowing into the breath, or the breath breathing the breath. That way, it’s easier to develop a sense of full well-being. That’s mental … 
  8. Grounded in the Elements
    When I first translated Ajaan Lee’s Keeping the Breath in Mind, I added a little introduction in which I talked about the properties or the elements—the six properties of earth, water, wind, fire, space, and consciousness. I explained to Ajaan Fuang why I did that—that these concepts would be very foreign to Westerners. He gave me a quizzical look, “Why would … 
  9. A Cocoon of Energy
    In one of the very early editions of Keeping the Breath in Mind, Ajaan Lee gave some instructions about sending the breath energy down the spine, both inside the spine and on the outside side of the spine—in other words, outside the skin. I didn’t encounter this version of his instructions until many years after I’d first encountered his method. Sometimes … 
  10. Defilements with Their Bambi Eyes
     … So just stay with the breath. Try to be as fully conscious of the breath as you can. Fill your awareness with the breath. Think of the breath as being the only thing you notice in the body right now. Everything you notice in the body, think of it as breath. Let your body, the breath, the sense of ease, and your awareness all … 
  11. Settling In
     … This is why we focus on the breath. The breath is an energy that permeates the whole body. It’s not just the air coming in and out of the lungs; that’s the effect of the breath energy in the body. The breath energy in the body is what gives life to your nerves, lets you know that you have a body, and … 
  12. Breath Meditation: Four Sets of Tools
     … First the Buddha tells you simply to be aware of the breath coming in and going out, and then to focus on the body, noticing whether the breath is long or short, then trying to be aware of the whole body as you breathe in and breathe out, and then to notice the effect of the breath on the whole body. Some ways of … 
  13. Breath Meditation – The Four Tetrads
    Ajaan Lee often made the point that when you’re sitting here focused on the breath, you’ve got all four frames of reference for the establishing of mindfulness. The breath is the body. The feelings of ease or disease associated with the breath are feelings. The quality of your mind, of course, relates to mind. And the good and bad qualities that are … 
  14. Skillfully Shaping Your Life
     … That’s the kind of attitude you want to have to the breath, to give it a chance to show its stuff, to learn how to flow unimpeded through the body. So simply the way you focus on the breath, the way you pay attention to the breath is going to create feelings, and you want to use that fact to create feelings of … 
  15. Wearing the Breath
    Wearing the Breath January 10, 2022 We often say to watch the breath when you meditate, but that may be an unfortunate choice of words. Subconsciously, it can make you think that your eyes are somehow involved. And, because your eyes are in your head, you’re up in your head, watching the breath in another part of the body, but that’s not … 
  16. The Six Properties
     … So as we’re working with the breath, we’re going to perceive the breath in different ways. As I said, first there’s just the energy flowing through the body, then you perceive the breath as originating in the body, then you allow it to spread smoothly. You think of that sense of radiating energy from any of the resting spots that Ajaan … 
  17. Suppressed Emotions
     … For example, you’re dealing here with the breath, and you may notice that some ways of breathing are more comfortable than others. Then you begin to realize the connection between the discomfort and the breath, the comfort and the breath. And because the breath is something you can control to a certain extent, you’ve got your handle. You can try breathing in … 
  18. Do. Maintain. Use.
     … Get the mind to the breath. Try to keep it with the breath. Experiment with different ways of breathing to see what’s comfortable right now. Experiment with different ways of conceiving the breath that allow the mind to settle down and stay with the sensation of breathing and to connect that with the different sensations in the rest of the body. You want … 
  19. Determined to Stay with the Breath
     … Explore the different ways that the breathing feels in the body. When you breathe in, which parts of the body are participating in the breath process? Which parts are actually doing the work? Which ones are getting some nourishment? And which parts don’t seem to be having any role at all? Can you get everybody involved? Think of the breath not just as … 
  20. Heedfulness
     … You’re focusing on the breath. You’re focusing on making the breath as comfortable as you can. This is going to require getting interested in the breath. If you see the breath simply as the air coming in and out of the nose, there’s not much to get interested in. It comes in, goes out, comes in, goes out. That’s it … 
  21. Seeing with the Body
     … Simply stay with the issue of how the breath is coming in, how the breath is going out. Are you enjoying it? Even though the breath moves between two different types of pain, if you adjust it properly you can make the experience of the breath in between, the feel of the breath in between, really gratifying — as it feels good coming in, coming … 
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