Search results for: "The Breath"

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  2. Strength of Concentration
     … And when the body is well-nourished like this, then the breath can be more still, more calm, and the body won’t be starved. So that’s something you want to work toward: breathing with the whole body, asking yourself, “Where in the body is the breath not going? Where are there patterns of tension? Where are you squeezing the blood, squeezing the … 
  3. The Desire to End All Desires
     … You do what you can to get the mind to stay with the breath. Sometimes you need to use a meditation word; sometimes you use counting. Ajaan Lee has an interesting method of counting. He says you start counting the breaths one through 10, and then one through nine, one through eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one. By that time, the … 
  4. Respect
     … For instance, we’re going to keep the breath in mind. But keeping the breath in mind encompasses the other frames of reference as well. As you’re focusing on the breath, you want to pay attention to how the feelings in the body and the feelings in the mind relate to the breath. What way of breathing is comfortable? What way of breathing … 
  5. Meditation as Play
     … Working with the breath means playing with the breath. What kind of breathing would gladden your mind right now? What way would be fun to breathe? Can you think of breathing in and out through the palms of your hands, the soles of your feet, through the base of your spine? What way of perceiving the breath would make it more interesting right now … 
  6. The Wear & Tear of Life
     … It’s just the breath—just keeping the mind with the breath. That helps you to put down some of your burdens for a while. And then as the mind stays with the breath continually, the fact that you’re not forced to jump around a lot—you can stay all the way through the hour if you want, because the breath is always … 
  7. Mindfulness 2.0
     … So anything related to the breath, anything that helps you settle down with the breath: Yes. And once you’re here, what do you do with the breath? Ardency in this case means being especially sensitive to the breath and to what kind of breathing would feel really good right now. After all, the purpose of right mindfulness is to lead into right concentration … 
  8. Fire
     … Then work on the necessary skills – like right now, as you’re working on the breath. There are different ways you can work with the breath. You can consciously tell yourself, “Okay, now I’m going to lengthen the breath,” – or “shorten the breath” and see how the body reacts. See how the mind reacts. And how about the quality of how heavy or … 
  9. Hope
     … In the body, of course, the first thing we’ve got is the breath. You can explore the breathing. There’s a lot more to the breath than just in and out. Try to notice, when it comes in, how does it come in? What are your subconscious actions around bringing the breath in? Do you have to tense up a part of the … 
  10. To Purify the Heart
     … And the breath is a good place to stay to see this. Without the breath, you couldn’t move your mouth, you couldn’t move your body. It would be possible for the mind to think without the breath, but it’d be a disembodied consciousness. It wouldn’t have an impact on the world outside. It’s through the breath that you relate … 
  11. Subduing Greed & Distress
     … The only thing to remember is the fact that you want to stay with the breath and you want to settle down with the breath. That’s what right mindfulness is all about. It’s there to get you into right concentration. You look at the frames of reference that are being offered there. There’s the body, there’s feeling, and there’s … 
  12. The Wisdom of Dualities
     … being here with the breath; noticing how the breath feels throughout the body; developing a sense of ease around the breath; and then allowing that ease to spread. Think of the breath as your first experience of the body, your primary experience of the body, so that when the breath is easeful, you can let that ease spread anywhere in the body. Give it … 
  13. Adjust the Flame
     … Find one spot in the body that’s sensitive to the breath, one that feels really good when the breath is just right, and not so good when it’s not right. Take that as your guide. Often this is in the area around the heart, but different people will find it in different spots. So, find your spot. Watch it all the way … 
  14. Mindful & Grateful for Lessons in Freedom
     … We’re remembering that it’s a good thing to stay with the breath. We remember the different instructions that tell us what we can do with the breath and what we can do with the mind so that we can get the breath and the mind to stay together. We’re trying to develop a state of concentration. And from the concentration, we … 
  15. Right Now
     … But as the mind gets settled down, the breath gets more and more comfortable, you finally get to the point where you don’t have to keep on evaluating the breath. The breath is good: feels good coming in, feels good going out. You’re pretty well established in it. The act of evaluating the breath then becomes a burden. You see that that … 
  16. Mindfulness Defined
    What does it mean to be mindful of the breath? Something very simple: keep the breath in mind. Keep remembering the breath each time you breathe in, each time you breathe out. The standard translation for sati —mindfulness—is probably derived from the passage in the Anglican Prayer Book that says, “Be ever mindful of the needs of others.” In other words keep their … 
  17. Into the Cave with the Tiger
    As you focus on the breath, you want to be alert to what you’re doing. You want to be sensitive to the fact that you are doing something right now. The mind is not totally passive. It’s an active principle. The fact that we experience the present moment comes from fabrication. If it weren’t for the fabrications we’re doing right … 
  18. Patience & Urgency
     … If you’re going to think, think about the breath, evaluate the breath, play with the breath, get to know it really well. The only way you can really know the breath is by playing with it, trying to make it comfortable. If it’s not comfortable, try other ways of making it comfortable. Keep trying to figure out, if things are not going … 
  19. Focus on What You’re Doing
    You probably notice that as soon as you focus on the breath, the chattering classes in your mind start in, commenting on the breath, commenting on how well things are going, or commenting on whether you should continue meditating. Some of the comments are useful; a lot of them are not. An important part of the meditation is learning how to sort these things … 
  20. Voices in the Mind
     … We’re not just here to focus on the breath. You find that being able to be with the breath helps pull you out of a lot of dialogues by creating a new dialogue focused around the breath. But then through the force of old habits you get pulled back into old dialogues—your parents, your old friends, all sorts of inner voices. And … 
  21. Sticking with an Intention
     … After all, the breath is the force of life and it’s very immediate. It’s not far off or dubious. It’s right here, right now. You can see that sticking with the breath and allowing it to be comfortable is bound to have a good effect on the body and the mind. So there’s no doubt there. After setting up the … 
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