So this is where we're headed in a sense if we have a direction in meditation.
In a sense headed into the void,
Into a place where we are not,
Maybe that's it,
Where we are not headed into a place where we don't have to judge,
We don't have to discern,
We don't have to know,
We don't have to accomplish,
We don't have to protect.
And moving into that place requires a shift because our normal state is not that.
Our normal state is constant mind movement,
Constant body sensitivity,
And to some degree of,
You know,
Some level of stress in the system which makes our perception world seem dangerous to whatever degree.
So one of the superpowers of meditation is to help us breathe because using the breath is a great focal point.
It's something that we can adjust ourselves in our own physiology,
Working with an organ that we can actually take advantage of and guide with our conscious attention,
Which in turn has an effect on our nervous system to bring us into a deeper state of relaxation.
And as we relax,
As we breathe,
And as we let go a little bit,
We can enter,
We can separate a little bit,
We can turn our attention away from the incessant mind towards that place of mystery,
Of unknown,
A place where we don't have to be anything in particular,
We don't have to know anything in particular.
We can just really release protection,
Release all of what we do on a normal everyday moment-by-moment basis to feel as though we're in control.
We can let go of that,
Which at first can be a little frightening.
We learn over time by doing this again and again that there's a place in there that's safer,
More comforting,
More supportive,
Quieter,
Filled with both mystery but bliss as well.
And we can arrive there gently and slowly through shifting the breath,
Bringing that breath in and down into the belly.
The moment we make that shift from a shallow breath in the chest to a deeper belly breath,
Already feel a change in the intensity in the body.
And as we breathe out,
As we breathe out,
We can release a little tension,
Let go of a little bit of holding.
So each breath,
Each round of breath,
Each in and out,
Brings us a bit of shift of the nervous system to a calmer place,
A quieter place,
More peaceful place,
And allows us to release and let go of all that we're carrying in this moment.
Because what we are carrying in this moment is only what we are thinking about.
So as we shift our attention to the breath and move through these deeper belly breaths,
We can shift the attention away from the thinking mind,
Away from the thoughts that are carrying all that we are generally unwilling,
Sometimes unaware,
We can let go of.
We drop deeper into this moment here now,
This life happening,
Moving to a place where there's not a person or a character that needs to be protected.
There's not a story that needs to be defended,
Or that even needs to make any sense at all.
Completely let our guard down.
And for a few moments,
Just be,
Just be.
Not even a person,
Not even an organism,
Just alive.
We can start elongating that out breath,
Be a little bit longer than the in breath.
As you get towards the end of that out breath,
Just starting to pull in the abdominals,
Starting to squeeze out a little bit of the air at the end,
Getting ourselves closer to an empty state before we receive the beauty,
Fullness of another breath.
Noticing your mind,
Noticing your attention,
Notice jumping around,
Jumping around.
Difficult to stay completely present and attentive to the active breathing.
There are other sensations that show up,
Thoughts creep in,
And we will attend to those until we remember to pull ourselves back,
To let them just be.
Thoughts just happen,
They'll continue happening.
Sensations will happen,
Some pleasant,
Some unpleasant.
Just bringing the attention back to the breathing.
Really filling in,
Filling up,
Taking a nice big in breath.
When you get to that edge,
The outer edge of that in breath,
Holding the breath for a few seconds.
In those few seconds,
Just noticing the sensations of that pause,
Of that fullness.
And as you release that breath,
Noticing what it feels like to let go,
Just that moment of releasing.
The breath naturally leaves on its own,
That's letting go.
And then towards the end,
The out breath,
Pulling in the belly,
Squeezing out the breath and holding the breath in that empty state.
Tension builds up a little bit,
Waiting for that breath to come in again.
And then allowing ourselves that pleasure of being filled,
Of being full,
Of taking in that source of life that we were restricting for a moment.
Doing a few rounds like this,
Full breaths in,
Holding for a few seconds,
Releasing,
Noticing the letting go.
Then we squeeze out the air and hold again without any air,
Waiting for that sense of needing,
And then pulling the air in,
Satisfying urge,
Really being with this basic element of life-giving energy,
The breath.
Each time we let go,
We drop a little bit deeper into the void,
Into the mystery,
Into a deeper place of safety.
And then just letting go completely,
Not controlling the breath,
Not trying to control anything at all,
Simply noticing all that's happening without connecting or attending,
Just watching,
Being all the sensations,
All the thoughts,
All the activity within it,
Within you,
Within you is an awareness,
Aware of it all,
Just being with that awareness.
And bring your attention back to the body,
The breath,
Taking full breaths in without any pauses,
Just feeling into your hands and your feet,
Fingers,
Toes,
Slowly and gently opening your eyes,
Keeping a soft focus,
Bringing some of that mystery,
Quiet,
Peace back into your day.
