If you perceive the body as an energy field, it all flows in smoothly, and you don’t have to push anything through anything else. It changes the way you breathe, changes the sensation of the breath.

"As you work with the breath, you begin to see the power of your perceptions in that the way you conceive of the breath is going to have an influence on how you actually breathe. If you think of the body as a big solid that you’ve got to push the breath through — it feels like this big lump of fat sitting here and you’re trying to force air through the fat — it just doesn’t work. It’s laborious. It’s tiring. But if you perceive the body as an energy field — when you breathe in, it’s just more energy joining with the energy already there — it all flows in smoothly, and you don’t have to push anything through anything else. It changes the way you breathe, changes the sensation of the breath."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "The Limits of Old Kamma"

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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

There’s a kind of gentle massage that goes through the body as you breathe, and then there’s a quicker movement of breath energy that goes through the body immediately. As soon as you start breathing in, it’s already gone through the whole body. Then there’s the breath energy that’s very still.

The pleasure we're working toward when we're meditating is a noble, worthwhile pleasure