To breathe

[Gem]

The breath is already there, so there is no need to 'make it happen'.
In the art of meditation there is no one to control the breathing, no one to imagine anything nor perform other volitional activities. There is only one aware of what 'already is'.

The breath will start as it is, and as one starts to relax, it slows down, and generally becomes very shallow and light. In a deeper relaxation the breath barely moves at all.

In fact, anything you have to do is counter.

Just watch what is 'already there'. I believe this is best started by watching the breath, by which I mean feeling the sensation caused by the breath, as it 'already is'. Of course, as the attention returns to this moment of experience, the endless thoughts and anxieties over the future subside, as do the re-runs of memory, and as a result, the mind calms, and the breath settles as body tension relaxes.

Feel the air as it comes and goes. Just that. Nothing more.

[kellyshane]

Thank you so much for the advice. I was wondering how to start meditation. I will start with the breath.

[Tomma]

Thank you Gem. You explained it very simply and beautifully.

Nothing to do but watch ... Yes.

In a deeper relaxation the breath barely moves at all.

It happened to me twice that during a meditation I completely stopped breathing - there didn't seem to be the need. I felt so peaceful and happy. After a while breathing started again.

This should be pinned so it's always on top for anyone who comes and wonders 'how to meditate'.

[Gem]

Just watch. To watch is to feel what is actually there, as the breath is not seen, heard, or imagined, but felt as a sensation in the body. Only feel it as it feels to you, just to find out for yourself what it really feel likes. With attention now resting in the sensation of breathing, start to examine that feeling - feel the subtler nuances of the sensation - discover more about how it really feels.

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Rationale:

The main concern we usually associate with breath meditation is 'keeping attention on the breath'.

The real lived experience of the breathing sensation is a myriad of changing phenomena that together make up 'breathing sensation'. No part of the sensation has any enduring quality. In short, there is a felt sensation, but there is no enduring 'object' to fixate on.

In meditation, we are looking into what is 'actually happening', so we turn attention to the real lived experience of the breathing sensation, and examine it in detail to find out how it really feels.

If you feel more closely what is there to be felt, the mind is required to focus. Hence, you don't 'try to focus the mind' in a disciplined and controlling way, but rather, the mind automatically focuses as you try to feel the subtlest nuances of your breathing sensation.

[Starman]

Stretch, breathe deeply, and feel gratitude for this moment.

[Gem]

Originally Posted by Starman

Stretch, breathe deeply, and feel gratitude for this moment.

This meditation is about observing the breath as it 'already is', so there are no instructions on breathing or feeling any particular way.


During the meditation the breath naturally becomes shallower and slighter as one relaxes, caveat being, if emotional feeling arises and/or a relatively intense 'energy flow' starts, the breath deepens accordingly.