A digest for conscious living
I am trying something different at the moment. I have been trying to meditate immediately after getting out of bed and then doing my Yoga after my meditation. I find my energy is slower and it takes longer to get it flowing through me, but my mind seems to be less agitated. Its as if I begin meditation before my mind really has a chance to start its incessant movement. I will try this for a few more days before deciding which order is most effective.
I am really amazed at what an effective mechanism the internet has become for disseminating important information of every kind. Although I consider the majority of the content of a site like Youtube to be of little value, if one looks for it, one can find wonderful information from phenomenal sources.
A few days ago, I watched a video of a Buddhist monk holding discourse about the practice of meditation. One of the things that he spoke about really hit home with me, and over the past few days, I have had a new insight in my own practice.
His idea was that it is helpful to think of the breath as a meditation object. Rather than thinking of it as something that one is doing, one can consider it something that one is spending time with. In other words, rather than thinking that my meditation is based on the idea that I must or should focus on my breathing, I should find a way to see the breath as the object of my meditation and simply be with the breath. Rather than think that I must concentrate on my breathing, I should find a way to prefer “being with the breath” over being with other thoughts or states of mind. The difference in explanation is subtle, but the effect of changing my perspective in this slight way has been very interesting.
“Being with the breath” implies that I am objectifying the breath. The emphasis moves from the act of breathing, to the act of observing the object- the breath. This is important, because it gives me a distance, a perspective, which has allowed me to realize what the breath really is. With this mindset I realize that it is not “me” who is breathing- it is the breath which is present with me, as much as it is I who is present with the breath- it is not “my” breath, it is the breath of life.
It is the most fundamental source of my life as a human being. It provides my body with oxygen- the catalyst which makes possible the fire that burns in each of my cells. It is the most fundamental relationship I have with anything or anyone, it welcomed me to this world at birth and will usher me out at death. The first to come, and the last to go, the breath is with me all my life- every moment. Whether I choose to realize its presence or not, it is always here. Few people choose to conscisously be with the breath, but the breath is with every one of us all the time, even when we are not aware of it.
By choosing to be with the breath, I honor it- it gives me peace. By observing the breath, I can learn from it and grow in wisdom. And when I simply sit quietly with the breath, I recognize it- unspeakable Love. It is easy to prefer being with the breath when one realizes that one is in the presence of God.
Goodnight,
Kikta