HOW DO I MEDITATE USING THE BREATH AS THE ANCHOR?

 

SIT – FEEL THE BREATH – WANDER OFF – COME BACK. NOW DO IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!!!

 In mindfulness we are trying to develop awareness of the present moment. We have chosen the breath as our anchor to develop awareness as it is readily available and always present.

*One can bring one’s attention to wherever you feel the breath most dominant. This could be your chest, abdomen, body or tip of the nostrils. I would invite you to experiment with bringing awareness to the tip of the nostrils as this is a focal and very sensitive spot to appreciate the breath.

*Bring your attention to the physical sensation of the movement of the breath at the tip of the nostrils.

*Be open to the multiple ways you can experience the breath. Is it smooth or irregular, deep or shallow, quite or loud, warm or cool?

*Allow yourself to be breathed by your body. There is no conscious control over the breath.

*Your attention will be drawn away from the breath and you will be off with thoughts of the past or future. This is normal. When your mind decides to come back to the breath don’t see that as a failure but as a positive part of meditation.

You are coming back to mindfulness of the present moment, the breath.

MY BRAIN IS SET IN ITS WAYS. HOW CAN MEDITATION MAKE ANY CHANGE?

Previously it was felt that are brains were fixed and we couldn’t change them. We now believe that NEUROPLASTICITY is possible. In neuroplasticity the brain has the ability to change by forming new neural connections. It is not true that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!” There is hope. Meditation can allow for positive changes in how we relate to the present moment.

IS FAITH HELPFUL IN MEDITATION?

I have never been a faith based person. However there was something about meditation that created a faith that what I was doing was beneficial. This was a practice that has been around for thousands of years. I could not imagine that if it wasn’t helpful that it would continue to be so popular. The other key component of faith was observing personal change in myself from mediation that says this works!

– Phil Blustein

IF I MEDITATE WILL I STILL HAVE PROBLEMS?

IF I MEDITATE WILL I STILL HAVE PROBLEMS?

Mindfulness is not about “Freedom from pain and suffering but the freedom to be with pain and suffering.” The purpose of the practice is not to eliminate one’s problem but to develop the skill to be with one’s problems. One will still experience sadness, anger, joy, guilt etc. but with a relationship that lets one see what is happening and be with it with greater acceptance.
– Phil Blustein

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