A change in perception opens up new possibilities. It’s not simply that this is *the* one truth about the body or *the* one truth about the mind. But this is the most useful set of truths to hold to if you’re trying to put an end to suffering.

"It helps if you can visualize the body as a large sponge with lots of holes all over the place. In other words, all the pores of your skin are open for breath energy to come in and go out. It may be very subtle, and you may not feel anything for a while. But try to hold that picture in mind because you probably, someplace deep down in your brain, have another picture of what’s happening when you breathe, and that picture may not be all that helpful.

So bring a new perception in. When you breathe in, it’s not just a little pair of holes here in your nose that the breath can come in. It can come in anywhere in the body. In fact, if you have the perception that it is coming in everywhere, see what happens. It’s not a question of whether it’s true that there is breath energy there or not — or exactly what’s happening. But holding that perception allows you to work with the energy in the body in ways you might not have been able to do if you had other perceptions.

You can think of the breath energy coming in. Ajaan Fuang would often talk about there being kind of a line running down through the body, from the middle of the head, down through the middle of the torso, and then down both legs. When the breath energy comes in, it comes into that line. So it’s not just coming into your lungs, but it’s coming into the whole body. Then when it goes out, it goes out from that line.

Or instead of the question of whether the breath energy is coming in or not, just think of the fact that your chest is rising, your chest is falling; the abdomen is rising, the abdomen is falling; your shoulders may be moving; your rib cage may be moving. When these parts of the body move, they have an influence on other parts of the body that’s going to be more subtle, but it’s still there. Just maintaining your balance, as these parts of the body move, changes the balance in the rest of the body, too.

So there’s a slight sense of movement, or the possibility of a slight sense of movement, everywhere in the body. Just hold that in mind. You don’t have to create a sensation of movement, but just think of allowing it to happen. If the energy is too subtle, just think of surveying the body, going through the body section by section, and noticing where there’s tension, where there seems to be a blockage. Think of it dissolving away. If you can sense it dissolving, then try to keep it dissolved all the way through the in-breath, all the way through the out-.

In this way, you see that the change in perception opens up new possibilities. This is why we choose these perceptions. This is why we follow the path as a whole. It’s not simply that this is the one truth about the body or the one truth about the mind. But this is the most useful set of truths to hold to if you’re trying to put an end to suffering — if you’re trying to explore the choices you have here in the present moment of how you can relate to the body and also, how you can relate to the mind in a way that ends suffering and stress."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Choosing Freedom"