Meditation in a Breath

Meditation in a Breath


In less than a minute you can complete a single breath meditation session. Start to finish, it will take you about 30 seconds.

Infinite Nows

There are as many instants of now in a minute as there are in an hour. The now is infinite no matter how long you linger there. Sometimes, when we sit to meditate for 20 minutes or longer, big segments of that time slot lose their immediacy. We drift into default thinking and ride the shallow turbulence of our mental activity. We miss the depth of the moment completely.

By narrowing the time of your meditation session to one breath, you send a message to your consciousness. "This is your only chance. Pay attention now or you'll miss it!" In the beginning, you may be amazed at how much your mind can wander even in the space of one breath. Don't worry about that. It's natural.

How can one breath provide any kind of practice at all? For now, we want to go short and deep rather than long and shallow. We want to be awake and aware for the simple matter of seconds it takes to complete one single cycle of breathing. When you think about it, it seems manageable. You may feel a surge of confidence. When you sense that each now is nested within all nows, you realize that an instant of pure consciousness will take you further than a marathon of habit driven practice.

No Effort

Don't force. Don't push. Don't direct it. Simply follow it. It is the only breath you will be attending to in this way so give it all your attention. There's not enough time to get bored. This is as easy as it gets.

The Method

When you are ready to begin, close your eyes. Once you have completed one cycle of in and out (or out and in), open your eyes. You're done.

Using the opening and closing of your eyes to punctuate your session accomplishes two things. It funnels your attention inward as your eyes close for your very brief chance at sensing this unique breath which will never occur again in all of creation. It also makes distinct your session. It tells your conscious mind that you have started something and you have completed it.

It introduces tiny hints of freedom into physical and emotional areas of constriction. Ultimately, this subtle sense of liberation filters down to your relationships, your health, your work, and more. It brings space, light, and openness. It gives you some room to be yourself.

Cookies

These single breaths become like cookies. They taste sweet, and once you have one you want another. They are small and individual and you can have one as a treat or you can sit down with the whole box and meditate for an hour.

Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebbie_Straubing