Release Tension, Stress & Mental Blocks

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Today I thought to go back into explain,

Explain something that perhaps most of us understand,

But to explain it from a new perspective.

Sometimes the simple things are difficult to understand because sometimes for the mind that is used to complex issues and used to challenges that sometimes are very difficult to comprehend,

Simple things just don't seem to grab our focus or attention in the same way and so we don't really give it give the simplicity of certain experiences enough of our time or enough of our energy to comprehend what it really means.

This is the case for example with music.

If you try to understand music through mental concepts of course you can understand the history of music and you can understand the various aspects of music that can be conveyed through words or can be conveyed through language but music in itself is a very different language and can only be understood by listening to music and immersing oneself in music.

So this is the simplicity I'm speaking about.

Sometimes we need to go through the understanding of simple aspects of meditational practice several times so that it makes more sense and one of the things that I speak a lot about and perhaps some of you will think oh Tony's going to speak about breathing again.

Yes that's correct and one of the things that I speak a lot about is breathing simply because it's something we all have to do to remain alive something that requires no effort but is central to everything that we experience central to the way we feel central to the energy of how the body reacts to certain situations central to just life itself and even the way that we think depends upon very often the way that we breathe and sometimes the way that we breathe also changes all sorts of physiologies in our bodies that we are not aware of is dependent upon breathing for example the microbiome in the gut system and is very often created by certain patterns of breathing so if you breathe in a very stressed or shallow way then you encourage a certain microbiome that affects the way that you think and feel because as we know the microbiome and the gut system affects thought and feelings and so everything is so very connected to the breath in such a simple way that sometimes we are we get so very busy with trying to resolve all the more complex issues in our lives and we forget the very basic fundamental that helps to create the energy and the creativity to be able to achieve the goals that are truly important for the heart not the goals that the mind is very often focused upon but that which is really important important for just the enjoyment of life now this doesn't mean nothing is important everything plays a certain role in one's experience and one's engagement and communication to the world but there are certain aspects that are very very important and one is a positive perception of your experience as soon as we begin to fall into say judging our thoughts or our feelings from a perspective of negativity as soon as we do this we change the fundamental structure of how we breathe and this even if you know what you're doing it's very difficult to change the way you breathe if your perception is negative so we can we can say relax our breath for a few moments and breathe in a more profound and deep way in a more circular way than the shallow breathing that often accompanies negative thought but that will only last for a few minutes as we drift back into our thinking or the habits that our thinking allow us to sort of engage and utilize a lot of our energies and put a lot of our focus and attention onto the negatives that become very prominent as we do this as we lose ourselves in that perspective of our experience then the breathing changes even if we we relax the breath doesn't last for very long so actually the easiest way the most simple way to change breathing is to be spontaneously creative and open to the positivity of life now that doesn't mean to go around and pretend that you're happy you know like pretend that you're smiling at things that aren't so don't create such happiness you know it's not about negating how you feel inside but rather about restructuring the foundation that allows you to understand your experience and that is part of the creativity I'm speaking about it's not about smiling when you're sad but understanding that the smile still exists deep within even if there is a level of sadness that is being experienced as part of the changes and part of the transformations that are happening in life so I say this just because very often the mind being so fixated upon controlling situations once whatever situation never to change to be sort of static to remain structured in a certain way that it feels the mind would feel sort of I'm in control of this situation and but of course that's just not going to happen even if you are creating that within yourself it's just not going to happen deep inside because everything changes and so part of creativity is accepting this change and accepting that not everything is as structured as the mind wants it so when we come back to a state of positivity part of the creativity of accepting and being receptive to to this positive flow of energy is understanding that we don't need to sort of smile or hold on to happiness from one perception of the mind that actually happiness happens spontaneously and if we let go and we allow ourselves to be open to the creativity then we find we're not holding on to ideas that make us happy I will only be happy if I and then you know you fill in the blanks and whatever it always changes but you think for a little while that's as you fill in the blanks that's the reason and that's the only thing that will make you happy and so your focus is there but as we become more creative and open to infinity of experience we realize that the breath also reflects that openness and that creativity so if we breathe in such a way we open up the breath so that the breath is not limited to physical constraints in the body for example stress or tension in the body or even emotional blocks or mental blocks for if we open up beyond such a perspective of understanding the world then our breath naturally opens up to the creative perception that is part of relaxing the breath and being spontaneous and saying yes I'm open see just by saying yes and perhaps now just as you say yes deep from deep within as you say yes perhaps opening the palms of your hands and just saying yes I'm open to this wonderful creative force that is life even if I'm suffering or sad or thinking about something totally different whatever and deep inside I'm saying yes to life see this is a wonderful picture that moves everything moves your breath moves the fundamental how you breathe and creates a playful childlike activity within your breathing so you breathe in the sense of a little bit of excitement you know when you breathe in in this way I don't know if you feel this but when you wake up in the morning and you feel wow it's another day it's so great the excitement that I'm speaking about you know when you wake up in the morning I don't know if you have this and you feel super excited because there is so much going on and your breath is open and receptive to to the learning in this way so it's not that you know you wake up in the morning and you're super happy okay this is a wonderful day but there is this sort of tingling feeling and the way that you breathe that says yes to life and yes to all aspects of life not just you know this is where the mind works in funny sort of manipulative ways not just sort of saying okay I'm only happy if I'm happy I'm only happy if what I'm experiencing is good according to my perceptions so then you're judging your experience and you're not open to the yesness of life you're just open to the yes that you feel or receive as important but actually sometimes we learn from the from we learn from our experiences and we learn most from the unknown aspect that becomes obvious and sometimes in the beginning is challenging I remember traveling and living in the rainforest with native people it was so challenging in the beginning it was so challenging it really was you know I thought what am I doing in the rainforest why am I here this is crazy you know I need to go back this is you know I I sort of had one of those moments where I thought about doing something but the reality of the situation is totally different but you know after a while you embrace what you're experiencing from this yesness and there is an excitement that happens because this excitement is a sort of commitment to the experience but the nowness of the experience so the yes to the experience is not a yes to the outcome of the experience but to the actual experience so you sort of immerse yourself and connect to the experience from within the experience even if the experience is one that is challenging so sometimes those things that go wrong those things that don't work out are great and very useful lessons that you know and if we were to look back at our experience and look back at how we breathe through the experience we would just sort of let go and open up more because that experience becomes so very important in in the context of the big picture rather than just a little experience that you're having in that moment so part of yesness breathing in in this wonderful way is to trust your experience to trust your breath to trust that as you breathe in like music as you listen to music or as you participate in a musical event that music will happen the breath will open up and allow you a state of receptivity that naturally connects you to the oneness of life to the oneness of experience you connect to your being you connect to your essential qualities and that is happiness see when we're separate from our thoughts or feelings or the way the body reacts to situations even the way the breath reacts to situations when we separate ourselves and place perception as the sort of intermediary sort of way of understanding the experience then there is a sense of separation from the world from everything that's happening we we sort of are standing back and looking at things from a perception rather than from an engagement to the experience but if we breathe in in this relaxed manner so you you can practice this now as you breathe in and you breathe into the abdomen you know you relax the diaphragm and the diaphragm being relaxed means that the breath really fills the lower part of your body in a way where you're breathing in in a full way in a way where you're just breathing in and allowing the breath to fill the space not your thoughts or your worries or your stresses but the breath to fill the space and then breathing out and letting go and so if you're doing this your focus is here not over there somewhere with whatever thought or feeling that happens outside in the perceptive mode of thinking but you're here in connection with your experience so this is all this is why I'm explained in the beginning very difficult to put into words the simplicity of breathing but hopefully I've sort of helped to create an understanding that this full breath this relaxed open way of breathing is the core of meditation in the end all the other specifics that I speak about depend upon this fundament this core way of breathing that you're breathing in in a very full and open and receptive way so as you breathe in and breathe out let go deep breath deep breath so wonderful just to let go and breathe in this beautifully relaxed manner do remember as you breathe in and breathe out that you're not receiving the breath that you're engaged in the breathing process from a space of excitement it's wonderful to breathe it's wonderful to be alive it's wonderful to be here we just observe the breath or observe the way that we are breathing and we're just repeating the same sort of perceptive mode of separating ourselves from the experience and connecting that to the to a breathing technique but if you let go just feel the space feel the space of breathing expand and feel the excitement expand within yourself and create a space of yesness trust as you breathe in and breathe out trust your breath trust your body trust your inner wisdom deep breath you may wish to continue this meditation for a few more moments it's wonderful just to give yourself a few moments in deep silence as you breathe in and breathe out letting go just opening up to the space of breathing breathing in into the space of infinity your body breathing in but also all aspects of your being saying yes to the breath so you're breathing in the breath of life deep breath thank you you you you