“Breath is the bridge that connects life to consciousness, the bridge that unites your body to your thoughts.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh…
I wrote recently about taking a break from getting intocomplicated concepts, which is why i just wrote about walking and music, pretty damn basic, each primitive in their own way. I guess I have been kind of focused on simplicity recently.
I don’t think I could keep things more simple than what I just doodled to myself on this page. For some reason, I decided to include it in this story. I don’t think it’s a poem. How about a billboards you see along the highway of life? Work with me here.
What is more life affirming than breath?
That’s pretty much the deal.
No breath.
No life.
CHECKMATE
Fold up the tent and head for home.
Who’s next?
You need to come with me now to the beginning of this story, all the way back, a couple of mornings ago. I was sitting on my cushion, something I have done everyday for at least thirty years, which is a really long time to do anything. Don’t get nervous, I am not going to launch into the merits of doing it. I came to this kind of practice on a deeply personal and private trip.
If you haven’t done something like this, which I suspect is most of you, it is a very interesting way too spend twenty-five minutes. I sit cross-legged on a round cushion, in front of a small altar with some stuff on it. I keep my eyes open, without focusing on anything in particular. This is how it begins each day for me. Oh yeah, keep your mouth closed and tongue resting on the roof of the mouth. When your nose doesn’t work, your mouth will do just fine.
Trust me, I have not discovered anything that will change your life forever. This is exactly where many people, who write about this Zen practice, or most any other discipline, get lost in a contest to see who is more insightful and eloquent. It becomes incredibly complicated, with all sorts of terminology and ritual.
There are number of things that happen when you sit and they are elemental and definitely not revelatory. Your mind does what it always does, but one thought replaces another that replaces another. It is Teflon mind time, nothing sticks.
When you don’t resist thoughts and just allow them, they glide passed. I started my wonderful, internal journey with no expectations. I’ve never had any goal in mind. I have yet to levitate.
Man, you could die of old age waiting for me to tell a goddamn story. Let’s get back to the cushion. I already gave you an idea of how long I’ve been at this discipline. Over time, you have moments when it is just your breath, whispering to your entire body. It’s all you hear. It fills your head and empties your mind, leaving room for little else.
You know, it’s funny, up top, I mentioned my walking tango with my tunes. If I had to identify what was it that kept my legs pumping to the music, it can only be my breath. You can feel it and you know you’re working. It’s your cellular octane, your tank fills with each inhalation, emptying just enough to propel you forward, until the next rhythmic push.
When you’re relaxing, it’s not like you’re going to think about your breath. I can’t say for sure exactly what happened, but while sitting that morning, my thoughts receded and my breath took the stage. Don’t get me wrong, it happens a lot on the cushion, which is the idea anyway. However, there was something about that experience that stuck with me these past days.
Breath is the one thing we cannot live without and it wouldn’t take long at all to make point. I couldn’t lose a single bet and I’m someone with shitty luck to begin with. I know I sure thing!
I thought it would be very cool if all of us took just a few minutes out of our day to simply listen to the in and out of our breath. I think that’s pretty damn simple, without my getting lost in some symbology that will change your life, as a result, etc.
One of the Zen tenets that I am a fan of is called Depending Co-arising. Basically, anything that happens anywhere, impacts all of us everywhere. Honestly, it is why I do my writing and my news podcast, because I want to touch the world.
I can’t imagine what would happen if everyone in the world took the time to be with their breath at the same time. We would inhale the limitless possibilities and exhale all that has divided us, no matter the reason, no matter the reason.
It’s amazing what can happen when you just sit and you just breath.