Allow the breath to be a good place to stay, a comfortable place to stay. If the body seems tired or weak, think of breathing in a way that’s more energizing. If you’re tense, think of a way of breathing that’s more relaxing.

"Take a deep breath. Take a couple of deep breaths. Get a sense of the energy in your body: the energy of the breathing and whatever other energy there may be there. Think of everything being coordinated, everything getting along. Each breath as it comes in mingles harmoniously with the breath energy already there. You can focus your attention on any one spot in the body that seems convenient or you can focus on the body as a whole right from the start. The choice is yours.

What’s important is that you allow the breath to be a good place to stay, a comfortable place to stay. If the body seems tired or weak, think of breathing in a way that’s more energizing. If you’re tense, think of a way of breathing that’s more relaxing. If your mind feels scattered, think of everything coming together: a sense of unity right here."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Dealing with Confusion"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Breathe in a way that feels refreshing, soothing and comfortable to find a deep and lasting happiness

"So spend some time right here. Breathe in, breathe out, in a way that feels refreshing, that feels soothing, that feels comfortable — whatever the body needs right now, whatever the mind needs right now. Give it some good breathing. That way, you’ll be able to find the peace that comes when you’re not constantly being pulled into paying attention outside. And from that peace comes a deep and lasting happiness." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Paying Attention Inside"
Read more

The work becomes something you can easily keep on doing, because you feel refreshed in doing your work.

"Try to be as alert as possible to how the breathing feels. Try to make it feel refreshing. This way the work becomes something you can easily keep on doing, because you feel refreshed in doing your work. Sitting here, it feels good breathing in, feels good breathing out. Ordinarily large areas of the body are starved for breathing energy, so give them a chance to drink it in, to bathe in it. Think of the energy going to the different parts of the body — “Who wants this breath? Who wants the next one?” — until you’ve got the whole body nourished. If it feels good, do it again. Next time around try to be even more perceptive as to what’s going on, what’s needed where." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Generating Power" (Meditations2)
Read more

Thanissaro Bhikkhu's student went to visit a boy with Marfan Syndrome just out from a heart operation and no amount of medication could relieve the pain. She said "Breathe through your butt."

"I had a student one time who had Marfan syndrome. It’s a hereditary disease of the connective tissue, and people who have it tend to die about age 20 or 30. In addition to having the disease, and she was a co-founder of the National Marfan Foundation. She died around the age of 50 from a stroke. Before she died, she asked that I preside at her memorial service. So at the service, there was a combination of her Buddhist friends and her Marfan friends. At the beginning of the ceremony, I gave a guided meditation, like the guided meditation I’ve been giving to you. Afterwards, people gave eulogies. One woman talked about how her nephew had Marfan syndrome. When he was 13, he had to go in for a heart operation, and when he came out of the operation, no amount of medication could help relieve the pain. So my student went to visit this boy to see if she could help. She listened to his symptoms for a while and then she said, “Breathe through your butt.” The woman who was giving the eul...
Read more