What is the way to develop and practice continuously the method of full awareness of breathing,
So that the practice will be rewarding and offer great benefit?
It is like this,
Friends.
The practitioner goes into the forest or to the foot of a tree or to any deserted place,
Sits with stability holding his or her body straight and practices like this.
Breathing in,
I know that I am breathing in.
Breathing out,
I know I am breathing out.
Bring your body to its meditation posture,
Whether seated or lying down.
Let your spine be straight,
Your breath and energy free flowing.
Let your mind rest upon your body as your body rests on the seat or on the floor.
And establish a welcome sense of seclusion in your mind.
Rest now from expectations,
From responsibilities.
No need for those now.
And formulate an intention,
A motivation to practice here,
Now,
For your own growth and for how your growth can benefit others.
Bring attention through your spine,
Bottom to top,
Vertebrae by vertebrae.
Let the spine align itself.
Bottom to top,
Relaxing,
Aligning.
Straightness of your body encourages straightness in your mind.
Be here in the present moment.
Not the past that's gone.
Not the future.
It is not yet here.
Be here,
Now.
The present moment is your life.
Dwelling in the present moment,
Make mindfulness predominant.
Bring mindfulness to the foreground.
For a moment,
Be aware of the condition of your mind when mindfulness is present.
Experience the condition of mind,
Meeting it where it is.
And allow your mind to be open,
Spacious,
Soft,
Yet alert and awake.
And with mindfulness in the foreground,
Become aware of your breathing.
Inhilation,
Exhalation.
Just the breath.
In and out.
With a sense of inquiry,
Breathe in a breath and observe its length.
Breathe out and observe its length.
It's an opportunity to explore with attention.
Breathing the breath is to support the mind in mindful observation.
This process of observing the length of your breaths,
Long or short,
Makes it easy to see when your mind is about to wander and to bring it back to the comfort of the breath.
Not forcefully,
But gently.
Sustained by your investigation of curiosity to know about your breathing,
Its nature.
And with mindfulness in the foreground,
Become aware of your breathing.
And with mindfulness in the foreground,
Become aware of your breathing.
When you feel ready,
With a degree of stability in the breath,
Move on to whole body awareness.
Feel the link of your breath and your body.
Not in a particular place,
But in your body as a whole,
At one with the breath.
That the object of your field of awareness,
Your observation,
Shift quietly to the body.
Keep the breath now in a peripheral awareness,
Still mindful of the in and out of the breath,
But no longer focused on its length or its quality,
Only that the breath is.
Keep the breath as a background now to awareness of the whole body.
Keep the breath as a background now to awareness of the whole body.
Keep the breath as a background now to awareness of the whole body.
This awareness of the body is different than when we were working with settling into our meditation posture,
Less anatomical.
Now with the breath and our peripheral awareness,
Our attention to the body is more subtle,
More in tune with the energies of our body.
Our experience now is at the energetic level,
Subtle,
Inclusive,
Awareness pervading the body,
Resting on the peripheral awareness of your inhalations,
Your exhalations.
Keep the breath as a background now to awareness of the whole body.
Keep the breath as a background now to awareness of the whole body.
Keep the breath as a background now to awareness of the whole body.
And in our awareness of the body,
There naturally comes a calming of the body,
A calming of its activity,
A deep sense of relaxation.
Breath is calm.
Day is calm,
Settled,
Peaceful.
Calming bodily activity,
Finding tranquility in the body.
Not agitated,
Soft,
Relaxed,
Calm in your awareness of your whole body,
Resting on the peripheral awareness of your breath.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Calming the body,
Feeling the body,
Tranquil,
At peace.
We may notice the mind wandering,
And when we do,
Without frustration,
Without judgment,
We come gently back to the present moment,
To the breath,
To the body,
Relaxing back in the bodily tranquility.
And we may notice the mind wandering,
And when we do,
Without frustration,
Without judgment,
We come gently back to the present moment,
To the body,
To the body,
Relaxing back in the bodily tranquility.
And we may notice the mind wandering,
And when we do,
Without judgment,
Without judgment,
We come gently back to the present moment,
To the body,
To the body,
Relaxing back in the bodily tranquility.
And we may notice the mind wandering,
And when we do,
Without judgment,
Without judgment,
We come gently back to the present moment,
To the body,
To the body,
Relaxing back in the bodily tranquility.
And we may notice the mind wandering,
And when we do,
Without judgment,
Without judgment,
We come gently back to the present moment,
To the body,
To the body,
Relaxing back in the bodily tranquility.
Breathe in where you are breathing in.
Breathe out where you are breathing out.
Begin to find yourself in this space.
Back now with present moment awareness.
Come up.
Open your eyes.
Bring a smile to your face.
It's a beautiful day.
