You’d like to create a good state of mind. You want to have the breath flowing nicely. What does that mean?

"You’d like to create a good state of mind. You want to have the breath flowing nicely. What does that mean? People get all tied up in knots, reading about how the breath has to be this way or that way. They think they’re actually going to be pumping air into their nerves. That’s not the case. The breath energy is already there in the body. It’s simply that in some places it’s not flowing well, or that you’ve been breathing in a way that’s laborious or unpleasant in the body. Part of that has to do with your perception of exactly what’s happening when you breathe.

So one of the important parts of meditation is learning how to play with your perceptions. Think of the breath energy coming in and out of the pores. See what that’s like. Think of it coming in at certain spots in the body where there’s a trigger point — in other words, wherever there are some knots in your muscles. Think of the breath energy coming in right there, going through the knot. Or you can think of it coming in and out the palms of your hands, the soles of your feet. Play with these perceptions and see what happens. Play with each perception long enough to see what impact it’s having.

When you’re evaluating the breath, what standards do you use to evaluate what’s good and what’s not? A common mistake is to think that somehow by stopping the way you breathe or getting the mind dizzy — in other words, getting it in a very abnormal state — that’s going to be a breakthrough to something really good. Well, no it’s not. Awakening happens when the mind is perfectly balanced and things are perfectly normal. Everything feels just right. So you’ve got to work on how to develop a sense of just right."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Focus on What You’re Doing"

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