Breath Awareness With The Four Questions

A practice for regular meditators with an emphasis on breath awareness as a gateway into getting curious about how things really are. We begin by dropping into our connection with the earth, expanding into space, and deepening into our breath.

Then we explore our experience using four questions. What's actually happening (in our direct experience)? How is it (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral)? How am I with that? (habits of acceptance/rejection and/or ability to stay with it as it is)? What else is possible? (when we stop trying to control or resist our experience)?

Finally, we rest in the part of us that knows how to be ok, no matter what is happening.

Transcript

If you're already set up in your posture and you're feeling settled, Go ahead and take three deep breaths. So these three deep breaths can support us to. . . First of all, Just remember that we're alive and we're embodied, And also that we're connected to all of life through the breath. On the in-breath, Noticing how the body naturally expands into space. On the out-breath, Noticing how the body naturally descends into the earth. So just allowing that natural undulation with these deeper breaths. Expansion. Surrender. Space. Stillness. And you may also enjoy. . . I often do this when the conditions are right. On the out-breath, Sometimes I'll make a sound that feels good to me, That just helps me to settle a little bit more. So maybe that's like an ah. . . Or a mmm. . . Or maybe it's a bit more like a primal scream. So whatever works for you as long as you don't alarm the neighbors. Last Wednesday I went for a swim and I did quite a few primal screams under the water at the local pool and nobody seemed to notice, So now I know where to go. And then just allowing the breath to return to its natural rhythm. So I'll lead us in a mindfulness of breathing practice where we're going to use the four questions to get curious about what's happening now and what else is possible. So firstly, Let's just establish ourselves a little bit more in the posture. Just feeling that contact with the earth. And really feeling the solidity there. And also the stillness. The earth offering all the time so much stillness that we can connect with whenever we remember. You might even imagine as you breathe in that you're drawing that stillness up into the body, Allowing it to permeate all of your cells, All of your pores. And then out of this firm foundation, Just aware of the body rising up into space. Or if you're laying down, The whole front of the body opening to space. Feeling the support of infinite space stretching in all directions. And then when you're ready in your own time, Just start to become aware of the breath. We're just going to use the breath here as a bit of an anchor. Something we can gather our awareness around and in. A breath, A bridge into the body and a more subtle awareness and presence with the body. And particularly what's coming and going right now in the body, A sensation. So as we breathe, Noticing the rise and fall of the chest or the belly. Aware of the texture of the breath as it comes and goes, Changing temperature. Or using the mind's natural capacity to come into relationship with the breath and stay with it. So really being with it as it changes. So throughout this practice, The breath is a resource that we can return to, Particularly if we find ourself getting distracted. We can always pick back up the thread of the breath. Allowing it to naturally connect us with here and now. So let's just look a little bit at what's actually happening right now. And we'll start with the sound sphere. Just broadening the awareness enough to see what's happening as sounds come and go in awareness. How is that? Sounds might be pleasant or unpleasant or neutral. Or maybe there's not a lot of sound, Maybe it's a bit boring right now. What's it like to simply attend to the coming and going of sound? And how are you with that? How are you with the different sounds? Including now the sense of sight. You could open the eyes here and just have a soft gaze for a little while, Seeing how that is. Colors, Shapes, Light, Shadow, Movement. What's actually happening in the visual field? How is it? And how are you with that? Maybe it's pleasant. Maybe there's something about it that's unpleasant because maybe it's unfamiliar to meditate with your eyes open. So just noticing with curiosity. And then we'll just spend a little bit of time with smell and taste. These can be quite subtle, So we're just having a moment here to notice what's here. Maybe not so subtle, Depending on where you are and what's happening around you. Or something, Maybe you've just eaten or drank, Still residual in your mouth. How is it? And if at any point you notice yourself getting caught up in thought distractions, We could also just notice how it is to notice. So there's a moment, Can be quite mysterious sometimes, Where we sort of come to. And in that moment, There's a lot of clarity and a lot of awareness. So how is it to just also be aware that we've been taken away? And then can we get curious about what's here now in our direct experience? Maybe even something a bit uncomfortable or unfamiliar. You could even ask yourself, What can't I be with right now? And just see what responds to that question. So now we're going to open to the whole rich range of physical sensations in the body. Using the breath here to support that connection. The body, An ever-changing cloud of sensations, Coming and going. Some pleasant, Some unpleasant, Some neutral. Pressure, Warmth, Softness, Tingling, Throbbing, Vibration. Density, Numbness. Stinging, Itching. Tension. Release. How is it? And how are you with all of that? And maybe there's just enough awareness here to notice even subtle movements towards or away from particular sensations. Maybe there's some sensations that are more welcome and privileged over others. So without judging ourselves, We can just get curious about that. Or maybe there's certain areas of the body that you habitually inhabit more than others. Always thought to notice that. Always breathing with what's here, So never losing touch with the breath as we attend to sensations. So if you're feeling settled enough, Then the invitation at this point is to begin to open to the mind. Again, Without losing touch with the body. In the same way that we attend to sounds or physical sensations, We can also get curious about the arising and passing away of thoughts, Emotions, Images, Memories. Sometimes the mind can go a little bit quiet when we look directly at it, And we can just wait and see what happens next. We can get curious here about the quality of our mental objects rather than their content. So some thoughts might feel heavy, Others light, Others might feel like they're coming through like a freight train, Others a bit like a murmuration of birds. So what's it like? What are the thoughts like? How are they felt? What's their feeling tone? And how are you with that? And again, If you find yourself getting carried away with anything here, Just coming back to the body, The breath as a way to support that return to what can be known directly. Particularly the points of contact with the ground and support there. And then maybe even doing a little bit of looking for something pleasant in the body, This can help us to want to stay here. So maybe there's some tingling somewhere or warmth, Or the absence of pain in a place we sometimes feel pain. Where's a place you can go that can resource you right now in the body? What's it like to stay there for a little while? So I'm going to invite us now to, If you'd like to, To imagine it's as if you're sitting on a beach looking out at a vast ocean with many waves forming and dissolving, Forming and dissolving. So the whole of your awareness right now and all of what's coming and going is like this vast ocean. And your only job is to simply allow it all to play out and be known by you as it is. So resting back in awareness, Attending to what's here, What's coming and going in the six senses. And just beginning to tune into what else is possible when you don't get battered about as much. So maybe there's pleasant and unpleasant things coming and going, And maybe there's even a sense of the push and pull. And there's awareness. There's a part of you that can attend to that without getting drawn in beyond indulgence and suppression. So we'll just rest in that part of ourselves for a little while. The part that's untouchable. What else is possible? We stop trying to manage and control everything, And we're able to rest and allow. What else is possible? Breathing with that part. That knows how to be here. That knows how to be okay. That knows its way home. Knows how to be whole. So we're going to be drawing this meditation to a close in a moment. So we'll just start by taking a few deeper breaths here. Noticing any parts that might be coming in as we bring the meditation to a close. Maybe there's a part that's relieved, Or maybe there's a part that would rather keep meditating. Or maybe both are here. Starting to wiggle fingers and toes. And start stretching arms and legs. Making any movements that feel good to you. Rubbing, Caressing. Patting. Pinching. Rotating. One thing we might notice here is that awareness and the breath keep going. They don't end. They're always here when we remember. These wonderful resources.