Breath

Breath

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.” ~ Thich Nhat Hahn

Theory

Noticing and focusing on the breath is the foundation of most Mindfulness practice(s). This is an awareness practice, not an exercise in breathing; there is no need to adjust your breathing in any way. Simply observe the breath, getting to know it as it is: shallow or deep, long or short, slow or fast, smooth or rough, coarse or refined, constricted or expansive. When we get distracted by thoughts, emotions, or any other physical sensations we kindly and gently redirect the attention back on the somatic experience of feeling the breath. Because of the mind's tendency to be scattered and easily distracted, we use the breath as a anchor or “Home Base” to the present moment. Each unique breath only happens within the present moment and it is always happening to be used for bringing your Awareness back into the Here and Now.

Mindfulness of breathing is a powerful ally in our lives. With steady awareness of our inhalations and exhalations, the breath can become an constant through the “ups” and “downs” of our daily life. Resting with, even enjoying, the cycles of breathing, we are less likely to be caught up in the emotional and mental events that pass through us. Repeatedly returning to the breath can be a highly effective training in letting go of the identification and holding onto thoughts, feelings and physical sensations which frees the mind and heart.

Practice

Sit in a comfortable but alert posture. Gently close your eyes. Take a couple of deep breaths, and, as you exhale, settle into your body, relaxing any obvious areas of tension or holding. Then, breathing normally, bring your awareness to your body, sensing for a short while how the body presents itself to you. There is no particular way to be; just notice how you are at this moment.

Then, from within the body become aware of your breathing, however it happens to appear.

There is no right or wrong way to breathe while doing mindfulness practice; the key is to simply notice how it actually is right now. Let the breath breathe itself, allowing it to be received in awareness. Notice where in your body you feel the breath most clearly. This may be the abdomen rising and falling, the chest expanding and contracting, or the sensations of air passing through the nostrils, back of the throat or over the upper lip. Select one of these areas to be the home, the center of your attention while observing the breath.

Keep your attention connected with the inhalations and exhalations, sensing the physical sensations that characterize them. Let go of the surface concerns of the mind. Whenever the mind wanders away, gently come back to the breath. There is no need to judge the wandering mind; when you notice that the mind has wandered, simply return to the breath without judgment or evaluation.

To help maintain contact between awareness and the breath, you may use a label or mental note. Softly, like a whisper in the mind, label the in-breath and out-breath, encouraging the awareness to stay present with the breath. You can label the inhalations and exhalations as "in" and "out," or perhaps use "rising" and "falling" for the movement of the abdomen and chest. Don't worry about finding the right word, just use something that will help you stay focused and attentive on the breath cycle.

Loving Kindness (METTA)

“In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived. How well we have loved. How well we have learned to let go” ~ Jack Kornfield

“Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.” ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Theory

Loving Kindness is considered one of the natural qualities of the Heart and Mind readily available for us to tap into and access at any moment (even during the difficult and unpleasant ones). One definition for Loving Kindness provided by Dr. John Welwood is holding an attitude of unconditional friendliness to Oneself and towards others. However, what we think and how we think develops through experience. We cannot simply replace the thinking that is happening with preferred thinking. If we could, we would. If we are experiencing negative thinking, we might try to replace it with positive thinking. This usually doesn’t work because the positive thoughts feel fake while the negative thoughts feel real.

You can’t make positive thinking feel more real, but you can cultivate thinking and feeling that is more positive. “Cultivating” means preparing or developing and using. You cultivate preferred thinking by practicing evoking thinking that is honest and true in intention, mindfully hanging out with the thinking and noticing the effects of this effort. With consistent practice eventually, this effort can produce more positive thinking and feelings. They don’t just happen, but they grow over time just how a flower blooms as long as the seeds receive enough water and sunshine.

In cultivating loving kindness, you are evoking thoughts from your intention and good wishes. They may not feel true yet, but the intention is and, with practice, your thinking and feeling will gradually align with the intention and good wishes.

You practice by thinking of a being that you want to work with. That being can be a person, a pet or an animal. You can practice with one being or another or you can work with several beings in the following order;

• Beloved Person (Family Member, Friend, coach, Mentor, Teacher, Pet…)

• Neutral Person (Store Clerk, Bus Driver, Stranger Passing, Homeless Person…)

• Difficult Person (Someone that causes you an adverse stress response just thinking of them)

• Yourself

• All Beings Everywhere

In the presence of the thoughts and feelings evoked by this being, you say the phrases below (or make up your own). You say each phrase and sit mindfully in the presence of this being and your wish, noticing how it affects thinking, feelings and physical sensations. You don’t have to believe what you say or feel it or try to make it anything other than what it is in this moment: a statement. You just say it and “hang out” with it. Then you say the next phrase in the same manner. When you’ve said all the phrases, you can be mindful of your current experience for awhile and then you can repeat the series of phrases again and repeat this process for the duration of the meditation.

You can practice with just one being below or you can do the entire series, bringing to mind each being in each category and saying the phrases to yourself (or out loud). If you are practicing with all of the beings listed, you might say each series of phrases three times for each being before moving to the next being.

Loving Kindness Phrases

• May I, You, We be safe and protected

• May I, You, We be healthy and strong

• May I, You, We be happy and joyful

• May I, You, We live with ease and well-being

• May I, You,,, We have and be filled with Loving Kindness

Practice

Decide on how many steps of the Loving Kindness practice you will perform in the meditation (working with just one being, several beings, or all the beings in all of the steps). It can help to decide in advance whom you will think about for each step. Decide what phrases you will use. You can use those provided, find others, or make up your own.

The specific phrases are not as important as selecting words that ring trueand connect the Mind with the Heart. Begin with Mindfulness of Breath Meditation. Once you feel “settled”, think about the being you will begin working with. When the being feels “present” enough in your thoughts and feelings and body sensations, say the Loving Kindness phrases. Use the being you are thinking of and the phrases as your anchor in this meditation, noticing when attention wanders off, gets lost or caught up in something else and bringing attention back to this anchor. If you are working with only one being, say the phrases over and over for the duration of the meditation. If you are working with more than one being, then say the phrases at least three times for each person.

Remember that you don’t have to feel each statement as a truth. You are cultivating the possibility for these feelings, not making them happen. You say the phrases and mindfully notice the effects. You let them have whatever effect they are having in this moment. What is most important here is your intention in saying the phrases, in cultivating the thoughts and feelings and in letting the results be whatever they are for now.

Emotions & Feelings

“Emotion, the body’s reaction to the Mind. Mind in the way I use the word is not just thought. It includes your emotions as well as all unconscious emotional reactive patterns. Emotion arises at the place where the Mind and Body meet. It is the Body’s reaction to your Mind or you might say it is the reflection of the Mind in the Body. The more you identify with your thinking, your likes and dislikes, judgements and interpretations, which is to say the less present you are as the watching consciousness the stronger the emotional energy charge will be whether you are aware of it or not.” ~ Eckart Tolle

Theory

Over time humans have evolved and developed a sophisticated Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) allowing for the survival and evolution of our species. The ANS stems from the brain and spreads throughout the body readily available to detect any perceived threats of danger to trigger a “fight”, “flight”, or “freeze” response. This built in survival mechanism served our ancestors greatly when we were nomads and needed to be on guard against larger prey for making instant “life or death” decisions. However in modern day society there are few situations that are actually life threatening but the Mind perceives them to be as such therefore triggering the same physiological responses. Increases in heart and breathing rates, release of hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) into the bloodstream, development of tension throughout the Body, constricted thinking and many other reactions become activated to get us ready to run away or prepare for battle.

Emotions are physical sensations. They are happening in the body. It can be valuable to explore them as “just” physical sensations. Notice what emotion is happening and where in the body it is happening. You can only know that it is happening if it is happening somewhere in the body. What are the specific physical sensations happening? Can you explore these physical sensations without adding meaning (thinking) to them; that is, can you let them be “just” physical sensations rather than having ideas about what the sensations mean?.

Practice

RAINS Acronym; to be done on the spot and or during formal meditation practice as a way of reflecting back on a situation when you noticed strong bouts of emotions and or feelings.

Recognize, Realize; The first step in solving a problem or making a change is to first notice or become Aware that a problem exists. The same is true when it comes to Our emotions and Feelings. The first step is to realize, recognize, notice, become Aware that you have lost your balance and the Body’s ANS has been activated.

Accept, Acknowledge, Allow; Give the Feelings and Emotions room to exist within your Awareness without trying to get rid, push away, and fight what you are experiencing. Give the uncomfortable Feelings and Emotions space to “Hang Out” for a little bit until they momentarily pass.

Investigate (examples of questions you may want to ask yourself in your investigation); “What Feelings and Emotions am I experiencing?” “Is there another emotion underneath the surface?” “What caused me to get activated?” “Is this the first time this has happened or is this a pattern of reactivity?” “What Emotion(s) am I experiencing in relation to these Bodily sensations?” “What Thoughts are am I experiencing in the presence of these Feelings and Emotions?” “What story am I telling myself?” “Is there a more balanced perspective of the story?” “What is the quality of my thinking?” “Is it all or nothing? Either or? Black and White?”

Non-identify; Hopefully during your investigation you will experience an “Ah Ha” moment where you will discover the root source of what caused the Body’s ANS to become activated. Non-identify is also the recognition that we are imperfect by nature and having Feelings and Emotions are just a part of being human . Similar to water allow the Emotions and feelings to pass through your Body.

Self Compassion; The usual knee jerk reaction after getting triggered or activated is to react towards Oneself with criticism and Judgment for being a bad person or subpar human. It’s okay to have Feelings and Emotions. Remember to be kind, Loving and gentle with yourself especially during those moments you notice you have become emotional. It’s just all a part of being human and thank goodness for that otherwise we would be robots without any choice or freedom .