Counting breath.
This beautiful Zen Buddhist practice is as revealing to the nature of our mental field as it is simple.
The basic instruction is to simply count the breath.
A full inhalation and exhalation is a count of one.
And then continue in this way until you count your tenth breath.
At the end of the tenth breath,
Simply return the count to one and start again.
If at any time you wake up to yourself having chased a thought down a rabbit hole and you've lost your count,
Just simply go back to one and start counting the breaths from one to ten.
If you're a seasoned meditator and you've established an excellent ability to concentrate the mind and stay present,
You can expand your practice of counting breath.
So whenever you start to sense the presence of a thought within your awareness,
Whenever you start to sense that initial pull at your attention,
Start again at one.
So I will guide you in now and then for four to five minutes the sound will carry you through your own personal practice of counting breath.
This practice can be experienced lying down or seated.
Whichever posture you choose for your meditation today,
Just take a moment to settle the body.
Make sure it feels even,
There's no tightness,
That it's supported in whichever way is best for you today.
Spine long and feel into a lovely alignment down the middle line of the body from the toes up the spine to the crown of the head.
Bring length and softness into your body and take a moment now to notice the character of your natural breath.
What story is your breath telling you right in this moment before you enter your counting breath meditation?
Is it deep and nourishing or shallow and weak?
Is it noisy or silent?
Is it jagged or smooth?
Connect with the nature of your breath right now.
And now our practice of counting breath will begin.
Breathing in and out.
One in and out.
Two in and out.
Three in and out.
Four in and out.
Five in and out.
Six in and out.
Seven in and out.
Eight in and out.
Nine in and out.
Ten in and out.
Six in and out.
Five in and out.
Six in and out.
Seven in and out.
Six in and out.
Seven in and out.
Six in and out.
Seven in and out.
Six in and out.
Seven in and out.
Six in and out.
Seven in and out.
Six in and out.
Seven in and out.
Making this breath your last count and allow your natural breathing rhythm to re-establish.
And notice the shift in your state of consciousness this beautiful practice generates.
Notice the character of your breath.
Calm and smooth.
Notice the quality of your thought field,
Cleansed and still.
And now observe the place from where you're doing all of this observation.
Behind your breath.
And behind your thoughts.
Behind your story.
Because you're not the breath or the thoughts or the story.
You're the intelligence that's observing them.
You're the intelligence that's observing them.
You're the intelligence that's observing them.
You're the intelligence that's observing them.
You're the intelligence that's observing them.
You're the intelligence that's observing them.
You're the intelligence that's observing them.
You're the intelligence that's observing them.
You're the intelligence that's observing them.
You're the intelligence that's observing them.
