{"id":303,"date":"2018-01-02T04:00:38","date_gmt":"2018-01-02T10:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grzesina.net\/meditation\/?p=303"},"modified":"2023-01-31T17:47:41","modified_gmt":"2023-01-31T23:47:41","slug":"2018-01-02-take-your-breath-to-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grzesina.net\/meditation\/2018-01-02-take-your-breath-to-work\/","title":{"rendered":"January 2 – Take your breath to work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Friends,<\/p>\n

I was quite moved by Bhante Gunaratana’s description of how mindfulness of breathing can connect us to all beings:<\/p>\n

But all living beings breath. Breathing does not differentiate among Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, Muslims, and Zoroastraians. Nor does it distinguish between rich and poor, capitalists and socialists, or conservatives and liberals for that matter. When we focus on the breath, we become mindful of the universal nature of all beings.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This relates to a poem<\/a> I came across:<\/p>\n

Connections<\/strong>
\nby Nancy Wood<\/p>\n

Every time we take a breath, we become the universe.
\nThe very moment of creation is contained in us
\nand passes on to rocks and trees, animals and fish.<\/p>\n

The old ones say the essence of life
\nis in water and wind, earth and breath, fire and bone,
\nbut most of all in breath,
\nour first connection to the elk, the hawk, the bear, and the buffalo.<\/p>\n

Without breath, no connection.
\nWithout connection, no creation.
\nWithout creation, no breath.
\nThis is the sacred circle of life, unbroken.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness suggest that a practitioner go to the forest or an empty hut to practice. Being able to go to a quiet place for meditation would be ideal, but many of us don’t have that opportunity in our daily lives. That’s why I suggest “take your breath to work!”<\/p>\n

Sure, that sounds silly – after all, we wouldn’t be functioning if we weren’t breathing, but as Bhante says,<\/p>\n

… until we pay attention to the process, we do not know what is really happening. But when we focus the mind on the breath, we discover everything related to the breath. Training in this way is so essential to our peace of mind…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I find that even a small moment of intentionally focusing on the breath can be greatly beneficial. Many teachers recommend a short pause at some cue, like before you answer your phone or respond to a text or email.<\/p>\n

Just this breath – in, out. Is it long or short? Do we feel it at the nose, chest, stomach, and\/or elsewhere? Do you notice feelings or sensations changing?<\/p>\n

One curious moment… and then return to your task – but notice how you feel now… are you calmer, more focused, less agitated? If so, then appreciate that, so that your mental pathways will start to learn what works! And if not, carry on with your day, and see what happens next time…<\/p>\n

If you’re looking for a very short breathing meditation, Diana Winston<\/a> has a 5 minute version available on the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center site:
\nhttp:\/\/marc.ucla.edu\/mindful-meditations<\/a><\/p>\n

What have you noticed about your experience with mindfulness of breathing? Feel free to share a comment below.<\/p>\n

With best wishes,
\nAndrea<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Friends, I was quite moved by Bhante Gunaratana’s description of how mindfulness of breathing can connect us to all beings: But all living beings breath. Breathing does not differentiate among Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, Muslims, and Zoroastraians. Nor does it distinguish between rich and poor, capitalists and socialists, or conservatives and liberals for that matter. When\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[102],"tags":[62,107,103],"class_list":["post-303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jan-2018","tag-breath","tag-diana-winston","tag-henepola-gunaratana"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grzesina.net\/meditation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grzesina.net\/meditation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grzesina.net\/meditation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grzesina.net\/meditation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grzesina.net\/meditation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.grzesina.net\/meditation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1620,"href":"https:\/\/www.grzesina.net\/meditation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303\/revisions\/1620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grzesina.net\/meditation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grzesina.net\/meditation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grzesina.net\/meditation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}