[Shivani Devi]

Devi says:

"Oh Shiva, what is your reality?
What is this universe, full of wonderment?
What constitutes seed?
Who centres the wheel of time?
What is existence beyond and pervading all form and how may we experience it?
What is beyond all space, time, form and perception of form?
Please enlighten me!"

Shiva replies:

"Oh Radiant One,
The experience may dawn between two breaths,
In that space where inhalation gives rise to exhalation,
Where exhalation gives rise to inhalation - the beneficence.
The awareness, when placed between the respiratory cycle,
Leads to a stillness of timeless realisation.
Just rest at that point where the inhalation and exhalation touch and merge;
Where the exchange of energy (prana) takes place.
For where there is no breath, there is no association with causality.
At this juncture, the ego fully dissolves into itself.
This is difficult only when the mind is full of impurity."

This is the very first technique described in the Vigyan Bhairava Tantra and it is the most important one. Here, Shiva is describing the very act of mindful breathing awareness during meditation.

Breathing is something that happens quite unconsciously and we only tend to notice it when it becomes obstructed by a respiratory complaint such as a cold, or asthma. Breath is the "life force" of the body and without it, we would perish and yet, it is something we all seem to take for granted.

We also notice how the breath and emotions are tied together...when we are in a state of anxiety, hyperventilation happens which can exacerbate the anxiety into a full-blown panic attack, due to an oversupply of oxygen to the brain.

When the awareness is centred between inhalation and exhalation... between exhalation and inhalation, nothing is happening.. nothing is going on, and so there is no association with life (the inspiration) or death (the expiration) as the duality of both is transcended by being in that space which incorporates neither as a doorway to the eternal Self.

The next technique will follow.

Aum Namah Shivaya