i was browsing through some previous writing and came upon this. seems so appropriate given the passing of Thay this past week, his teaching of mindfulness of life, this present moment, and the breath.
the breath, as is with much meditation practice, such an anchor in his teachings:

“Feelings come and go, like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”

“Peace is every breath.”

“Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.”

“Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain. Breathing out, I feel solid.”

in some practices we work with the breath (by counting, by lengthening or shortening breath). in other practices we are simply aware of our breath without any manipulation. we use the breath as an anchor in our practice, placing our attention on our breath. the breath is there already. we don’t have to force the breath. because we are placing our attention on our breath which is already happening involuntarily in the body, our mind is then with the body. the two are once again together, in union, in harmony. this can have an almost immediate physiological benefit, and calming effect. this can be an even joyful practice. breathing is life.

every breath is a cycle of life and death, and then life again, until no more (in this time and place anyhow). the breath goes out, we die, the breath comes in we are alive. we cycle through these little seasons or “lives” moment to moment, each one a gift.

breath is also a truth teller. the breath doesn’t lie or fool us – our mind, our ego. our breath bears witness to when we are stressed, worried, afraid, happy, excited, or calm and shows it. the breath can also come to our aid, like a good friend, who knows us well.

let us practice making friends with our breath, paying attention to it, enjoying its company.

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#breath #breathing #breathe #life #seasons #sacred #mindfulness #meditation #path #practice #ThichNhatHanh #ThichNhatHanhQuotes #JinpaLhaga