Basic Breathing Meditation

Our minds are constantly active, always jumping from thought to thought, emotion to emotion. Getting in touch with the nonlocal intelligence, the universal soul that lies within us and is part of us all, requires finding a way past the fog of distracting thoughts that typically hide it from us. We cannot fight our way through a real fog.

If we are quiet, we encounter moments of pure silence, and through these gaps we can glimpse the deeper level of the soul. Each glimpse increases our understanding, and eventually our consciousness becomes expanded.

Controlling the flood of thoughts is very difficult for most people. Beginners can sometime become very frustrated, but frustration is just another thought, another emotion that gets in the way. The goal is to release all thoughts, quietly, passively.

A common way to begin meditation is to gently focus on one thing so that it becomes more difficult for stray thoughts to enter your mind.

To begin a breathing mediation, find a comfortable position. Sit in a comfortable chair, with your feet flat on the ground. Place your hands in your lap with the palms facing upward. Close your eyes and begin witnessing your breath. Observe the inflow and outflow of your breath without attempting to control it in any way.

You may find that your breathing spontaneously gets faster or slower, deeper or shallower, and may even pause for a time. Observe the changes without resistance or anticipation. Whenever your attention drifts away from your breath to a sound in the environment, or a sensation in your body, or a thought in your mind, gently return your awareness to your breathing.

Once a person becomes comfortable with simply sitting quietly and focusing on breathing, I recommend adding a mantra, which creates a mental environment that will allow you to expand your consciousness.

Adapted from The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, by Deepak Chopra (Three Rivers Press).

Read more: Spirit, Deepak Chopra's Tips, breathing, meditation

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Mary L.

2:10PM PDT on Jul 19, 2010

It is like the Japanese game of go. Easy and hard at the same time.

send a green star

Emerald J.

11:30AM PDT on Jul 19, 2010

Interesting thing about breath observation. When I first began meditaing it was difficult for to focus upon the breath. What helped me to feel the breath as it entered into the nostrils was to place the side of the index finger about an inch from the nostril. Once I began to feel the air against the finger, I became aware of the exhale and the inhale by mens other than body movements. That has helped me a lot. For me, it was and continues to be very necessary to be able to master the art of observation by sitting still. Now, it feels wonderful. Thank you for the article, Dr. Chopra.

John M.

11:04AM PDT on Jul 19, 2010

I am thankful for the meditation.It helps clear the mind and reveals what is frivolous in our life.Tai Chi is slow movement exercises that are related to meditation and stress relief.Linda Sang made a comment about movement and meditation.This is very interesting to think about.

Tanik T.

5:13AM PST on Dec 21, 2009

Hhmm... Need to practice on this..

Past Member .

1:07AM PDT on Apr 10, 2009

I would like to change the perspective a touch and mention that the practice can be to become peaceful with whatever thoughts and feelings are present, not just to release or get rid of thoughts and feelings.

best wishes,

Richard Ingate

www.lifechoicemeditation.com

author of The Chinese Secret

Linda S.

2:30PM PDT on Apr 9, 2009

Is there any way of editing comments here after they get posted? Only the part I quoted seems to have gotten posted and I can't figure out a way to fix it.

--Linda

2:26PM PDT on Apr 9, 2009

Re >>meditation is often thought of as sitting still, why should I if I don't want to? mastering a.d.h.d. is not about forcing yourself to sit still, for a big part is is about mastering the direction of your activities. directing your thoughts are part of it and yoga a good exercise for that. a walking meditation could be interesting as well.

Kirann d.

12:25AM PDT on Apr 9, 2009

thanks Madison..most of the times we forget the simple BASICS and get entangled in the HI-FI.

Madison P.

5:40PM PDT on Apr 8, 2009

These breathing exercise advice is good advice for people to practice on their spa visits I would think.

1:38AM PDT on Apr 8, 2009

hareen joshi sahib,try homoeopathic treatment..i'm sure a good homoeopath will give you good medicine,but all homoeopaths are not good physicians though they might be good money-makers...