It’s the ultimate organic process: the breath energy in the body. So give it some space to feel wide open and full. In this way, you augment and extend that original intention to stay right here.

"If you want to understand the process of intention, one, set up a really good, clear intention. Like right now: You’re going to stay with the breath, to watch the breath come in, watch the breath go out. Then you learn how to augment that intention, because simply making the intention is not going to make it last. You’ve got to learn how to nurture it and keep it going. You can do this by experimenting with the breath. Make this a process of exploration. You’re not tying the mind down to something boring, you’re actually focusing on something interesting: this breath energy in the body.

When we use the word breath, it’s not just the air coming in and out of the lungs. It’s the whole movement of energy, the quality of energy throughout the body, all the way through the nervous system and out to every pore. How does your in-and-out breathing affect that energy? You can experiment with long breathing, short breathing, or in long, out short; in short, out long; deep, shallow, heavy, light, fast, slow. There are lots of ways you can breathe.

So just pose the question to the mind: What way of breathing would feel most nourishing right now? What way of breathing would feel most satisfying right now? If you’re feeling tired, you can ask yourself what way of breathing would be most energizing. If you’re feeling tense, what way of breathing would be most relaxing? Simply pose those questions to the mind, and watch what the body does.

One thing you might do to is to try to find one spot in the body where the process of breathing seems clearest, where you can detect the sensations that let you know that now the breath is coming in, now the breath is going out. Focus on that spot. It could be the tip of the nose, the middle of the chest, the abdomen, anywhere in the body. Then try to keep that spot open and relaxed, all the way through the in-breath, all the way through the out-. Don’t squeeze it out. Allow it to remain open all the way through the breath process. A sense of fullness will develop there.

Once it’s there, think of it spreading anywhere it wants to go throughout the body. Think of all the different energy channels you might have in the body, and think of that fullness spreading out through the body, again, all the way through the in-breath, all the way through the out-.

Then try to maintain it. This requires that you approach it with a relaxed but steady attitude. If you start clamping down on it and trying to force it to stay, of course you turn it into a different kind of energy, and it’s not full, it’s not refreshing anymore.

So there’s lots to do here in the present moment, just to stay with the breath. It’s not a matter of clamping down on your mind and forcing it to stay with something boring or something mechanical. This is an organic process. In fact, it’s the ultimate organic process: the breath energy in the body. So give it some space to feel wide open and full. In this way, you augment and extend that original intention to stay right here."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "What Are You Doing Right Now"