Search results for: "The Breath"

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  2. Feeding on the Breath
    Feeding on the Breath July 25, 2012 The mind’s basic habit is that it’s constantly feeding. Just as the body feeds on physical food, the mind feeds on sensory contact, its awareness of things at the senses—sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, and ideas—and its intentions with regard to these things. It’s always trying to fix its food. So … 
  3. Imagine
     … The same with the breath: When you reach the point of fullness, you stop making so many adjustments, so many changes. You can just be with the breathing. From this point on it’s more a question of how the mind relates to the breath, whether it feels that it’s separate from the breath and watching it, or whether it’s more immersed … 
  4. One Thing at a Time
     … It’s here to serve as a fence, so that when your attention leaves the breath, you run into the talk. The talk is there to remind you, “Go back to the breath.” It’s also there to give you some ideas of what to do when you go back. We’re not simply here watching whatever happens with the breath. When the Buddha … 
  5. Anapanasati Day
     … If you’re holding on to the breath, you notice how feelings are related to the breath, what the feelings do to the breathing, what the breathing does to the feelings, what the mind does to the breathing, what the feelings do to the mind, how subtle intentions are related to the breathing. Even when you get the breathing really, really still, the intention … 
  6. Freedom from Beliefs
     … This is one of the reasons why we focus here on the breath. You know that if you’re not staying with the breath, you’re off target right now. Anything else that comes up that’s not related to the breath is something you want to put aside. And it may shock you sometimes to see how much you have to put aside … 
  7. The Four-in-One Establishing of Mindfulness
     … If you’re wandering away from the breath, it could be because of sensual desire, ill will, torpor and lethargy, restlessness and anxiety, or uncertainty. If you’re with the breath, it’s because of mindfulness; the analysis of qualities, which is basically your evaluation, as you evaluate how well the breath is going and how well the mind is staying with the breath … 
  8. Keep It Simple
     … Try to be alert to the breath and keep remembering to stay alert to the breath. For the time being, any other thought that comes along not related to the breath can be dropped as an unskillful thought. So you’re staying with the breath, mindful and alert: that’s right effort right there. It shades into right mindfulness: just being with the breath … 
  9. A Strong Mind
     … But those things develop as you stay focused on the breath. When you wander off, you’ve got to know how to come back to the breath. You have to know how to be sensitive to the breath in the present moment. It’s really not that hard. The hard part is sticking with it. And the sticking with it is what develops the … 
  10. Getting the Most Out of Now
     … You want to evaluate the breath, evaluate your progress in a very matter-of-fact way. And it’s best to focus your conversation on the breath and the mind’s ability to stay with the breath with a hopeful purpose. In other words, how can you do this so that the mind will be willing to stay for more breaths the next time … 
  11. Breath Meditation, Step by Step
     … The point where they meet is at the breath, so bring your attention to the breath. When it comes in, know it’s coming in. When it goes out, know that it’s going out. Keep reminding yourself to stay there with the breath. It doesn’t do any good to be with the breath for a few minutes and then wander off other … 
  12. Strengthening Your Goodness
     … Because it is pleasant to be with the breath, to just settle down with the breath. And it’s pleasure of a different order. The pleasure of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations: That’s called sensual pleasure. That can often irritate the mind, in other words, get it to do things that are unskillful. But the pleasure of just being with the breath … 
  13. Perceptions of the Breath
    Perceptions of the Breath March 23, 2010 To bring the mind to the breath, you need to have a perception—a label or a picture in mind—as a way of reminding yourself where you want to stay, and exactly what topic you’re focusing on. That’s because all the states of concentration up to the dimension of nothingness are called perception attainments … 
  14. Gather Around the Breath
    We’re practicing mindfulness of breathing—and because it’s a mindfulness practice, some people think it means just following the breath wherever it’s going to go or following the mind wherever it’s going to go; being non-reactive; non-judgmental. But mindfulness means keeping something in mind. In this case, you keep in mind that you want to stay with the … 
  15. Fabrication Theory
     … The difference comes from sticking with the breath as long as you can. No matter how compelling your thoughts may be, you’re going to stay with the breath. Remind yourself that even though there is a thought going through the mind, it doesn’t destroy your breath. The breath is still here. So the thought hasn’t pushed you off the breath. You … 
  16. The Breathing Game
     … The simple thing we start out with is the breath. Can you stay with the breath? Focus on any part in the body where you have sensations letting you know that now the breath is coming in; now, the breath is going out. See if you can keep in touch with those sensations all the way through the in-breath, all the way through … 
  17. Friends Inside
    Tell yourself while you’re meditating here that you’re going to make friends with the breath—because that way, wherever you go you’ll have a friend going with you. Whenever you need a sense of ease, a sense of nourishment, you can just turn to the breath. If you’re on really good terms, the breath will provide that energy and nourishment … 
  18. Goodwill Is Respect
     … But what happens when you give it your full attention, i.e., all around? Think of the breath coming in and bathing the whole body. It’s not so much that you’re watching the breath. You’re letting the body be bathed in the breath. You’re feeling the breath, wherever it can be felt. All too often, the breath doesn’t get … 
  19. A Thread into Awareness
    We focus on the breath to catch the mind. You can’t grab hold of the mind directly; you’ve got to give it something you can get interested in. And so we work with the breath to notice what way of breathing feels good, what way of breathing doesn’t feel so good right now. And sometimes it’s not a matter of … 
  20. Peace of Mind
     … Take a couple of good, long, deep, in-and-out breaths, and notice how that feels—because if you stay with the breath, you’re staying with the part of the body that’s closest to the mind. Without the breath, we wouldn’t know about the body at all. The breath can have a soothing effect on the mind, too. Try to breathe … 
  21. Even Shame Can Be Skillful
     … It’s the same with the breath. The breath is your shore. The breath is your reference point. If the mind moves away for the breath, you know it’s moved. And you can ask yourself: How does that movement feel? Because it’s not going to just be mental movement. There’s going to be a sense of physical energy going along with … 
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