I haven’t really understood the use of the breath as a technique of mindfulness. After thinking about The Four Noble Truths, I think I better understand what I have been experiencing.
Before I knew about the technique of using the breath to improve my state of mindfulness, I simply used my body. I am beginning to appreciate how much of an accidental gift that experience has been.
Feeling the breath, especially in my torso, is like striking a match. It is reliable almost all the time, and it ignites a fuller experience that includes my whole body. Especially if my body is not able to respond to a situation with awareness, I turn my attention to my breath. That only lasts a moment, as I allow the awareness to ignite my whole body. My breath is very reliable; my whole body sometimes needs to be reminded by my breathing . But it is best for me not to allow my attention to linger on my breath.
I breathe, I turn my full attention to the sensation of air flowing in and out of my nose, I feel my torso moving in and out as I breathe. My whole body gets the message: time to come alive. Time to relax into the moment, time to pay attention with full open internal vision.
It takes only breathing when I need to and I am soon absorbing the energy of the moment, the touch of the counter, the ring of the bell, the Troubles whirling in my head. I absorb whatever presents. It is good to be able to observe and not be alarmed or tossed about.
To be able to breathe is more than simply taking a breath. It is the ignition of experience far beyond the breath. I think it is because my body knows what to do, I am learning to breathe my path beyond my breath into attention and awareness. I love to breathe.