Search results for: "Feelings"

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  2. The Hedgefox
     … Perception might be one, feeling might be another. Learn to be a connoisseur of the feelings that the breath can create. As the Buddha says when he discusses feelings in the establishments of mindfulness, some feelings are just what he calls “feelings of the flesh,” i.e., your ordinary, everyday feelings of pleasure, pain, neither-pleasure-nor-pain that are associated with the senses … 
  3. The Power of Perception
     … Or you may create a particular feeling through the breath. You can focus on a point someplace around the middle of the chest and find a quality of feeling there that feels nice. You try to maintain that niceness, that pleasant feeling, so that nothing in the in- breath and nothing in the out-breath touches it or disturbs it. This is where the … 
  4. Exploring the Basics
     … How does the breathing feel? Does it feel good? What could you do to make it feel better? What would “feeling better” feel like? What kind of breathing would you like to breathe right now? It’s not that you hold in mind some idea of what the ideal breath must be and strive toward that. Just ask yourself: What would feel really good … 
  5. Unfabricated Happiness
     … Then he says to breathe in and out sensitive to mental fabrications, which are feelings and perceptions. Now, you’re already dealing with feelings, and in particular, that feeling of ease. Then there’s the step of breathing in and out calming mental fabrication. So again, why did he use the technical term? The answer is that the Buddha’s trying to get you … 
  6. The Six Properties
    The Six Properties March, 2003 In English we have a very limited vocabulary for describing how the body feels from the inside. We feel “tingly” or we feel “heavy.” We have ants crawling on our skin or butterflies in our stomachs. There are not that many words, and nothing really systematic. This is where the Buddha’s teaching on the properties is helpful. It … 
  7. The Mind in Good Shape
     … Allow the breath to settle into a rhythm that feels calm but energizing—basically, a rhythm that you like, something that feels good. If you’re going to stay in the present moment, it’s easier when you can stay with a sense of comfort and ease. So explore to see how the breathing feels and what kind of breathing would feel best right … 
  8. Fourth Truth, First Duty
     … That’s going to play a huge role in the rest of the breath meditation, because you can then intentionally train yourself to breathe in a way that feels refreshing, train yourself to breathe in a way that feels pleasant, train yourself to be sensitive to how feelings and perceptions play a role in influencing your mind. In this case, that means the feelings … 
  9. The Stages of Meditation
     … Try to notice what kind of rhythm feels good right now. Long breathing, short breathing, deep, shallow, fast, slow: there are all kinds of variations to the breath. You’ve got a whole hour to test them, to see what rhythm feels best right now, what texture to the breathing feels best right now. If you’re feeling tired, you’ll want a rhythm … 
  10. Rapture
     … Some people feel this sense of potential fullness most easily in their hands. Other people feel it most easily in the chest. It really varies from person to person where you’re going to feel it first. Once you notice that there’s an area that does feel relatively full of nice energy, think of it spreading out from that spot. This is something … 
  11. A Good Dish of Concentration
     … Does it feel good? Does it not feel good? If it doesn’t feel good, what can you do to change it to make it feel better? Here it’s useful to remember that you can change either the form, i.e., the breath, or you can change the perception. Once it does feel good, what can you do to maximize that feeling, spread … 
  12. Set Your Heart on the Breath
     … Sometimes, simply the act of maintaining that sense of openness in and of itself will also adjust the breath, so that the breath feels just right all the way in and all the way out. Sometimes it doesn’t, and you consciously have to think about what kind of breathing feels good. Would longer breathing feel good? Would shorter breathing feel good? Experiment and … 
  13. Peace of Mind
     … Try to breathe in a way that feels really good. The parts of the body that are tense: Try to breathe in a way that’s relaxing and soothing for them. If there are parts that feel weak, try to breathe in a way that feels more energizing, because well-being isn’t just relaxation. There also has to be energy—not nervous energy … 
  14. Between You and Your Eyes
    The Buddha’s teachings are primarily about things that are immediately present to our awareness—the feeling of the breath, the movements of the body, thoughts moving in the mind: things immediately present, but things that we tend to miss, things we’re pretty ignorant about. When we suffer, we think we know suffering, but we don’t really. When we have a desire … 
  15. Addictive Thinking
     … It’s partly out of force of habit and partly out of an inability to imagine ourselves doing anything anyway else, thinking anyway else, feeling anyway else. So in the meditation, we have to have a technique, something to focus on, and another way of thinking to remind us there are other ways of reacting to feelings of pain, feelings of discomfort, feelings of … 
  16. Rooted in Desire
     … perceptions and feelings. Perceptions are the labels you put on things, the images you use to identify what they are and what their meaning is. Then there are feeling tones of pleasure, pain, neither pleasure nor pain. We fashion these things intentionally. You can stop and think about that: You don’t usually think of your feelings as something you do intentionally, but there … 
  17. Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, Space
     … Even though Western doctors might say that it’s due to this or that chemical imbalance, you feel the imbalance in the properties directly. You don’t feel chemicals. You don’t feel oxygen. But you do feel these properties. And if you’re sensitive to them and learn how to strengthen ones that are weak, you can bring things back into balance. When … 
  18. Feel-Good Religion
     … When you’re acting from a good foundation, your actions are going to be good, the things you say are going to be good, because you’re not feeling oppressed. You’re not feeling squeezed out. You’re not feeling burdened by things. This is how being in touch simply with the body in and of itself, being in touch with the breath, is … 
  19. The Particulars of Your Suffering
     … And you’re going to encounter feelings. There’ll be feelings of pleasure, feelings of pain, neither pleasure nor pain. You want to learn how to deal with those feelings in a way that allows you to settle down. This is where perception comes in. You perceive the breath not only as the air coming in and out of the lungs but also as … 
  20. Factors for Awakening
     … If you’re feeling tired, breathe in a way that feels more energizing. If you’re feeling tense, breathe in a way that feels relaxed. Try to find the right balance. When you’ve found what seems to be the right balance, see if you can maintain it. If, after a while, it doesn’t feel so good anymore, you can change again. You … 
  21. Right View, Right Attention
     … What kind of breathing feels good right now? What kind of breathing would lead to a sense of pleasure? When you find something that feels good, you stick with it, but don’t go on automatic pilot, because the rhythm that feels good right now may not feel so good five minutes from now. So you keep on top of this: “What does the … 
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