Short Sightedness of Man

WE have this body in this moment,
in the next it is left behind,
such is its nature.

Beyond our body lies eternal life,
not as a "you" or "me"!
but as thee eternal ONE

Like the sun rises,
and the sun sets,
we may feel light comes and goes,
but the sun is always shining,
the truth not seen,
by our eyes of short vision.

Awareness of natural breathing - Meditation technique

This method can initially be used to concentrate attention on the flow of natural breathing out of the nostrils or the movement of the naval area during breathing. Once we can keep our concentration at a certain point, we begin to perceive subtler and subtler changes e.g. changes in sensations of heat, pressure, and air. The ability to concentrate our attention at a particular object (nostrils, thought forms, outer object etc), builds the foundation to perceive the nature of changing phenomenon (breathing, thoughts, emotions, body etc). We begin to see the true nature of temporary changing phenomenon, they arise and then disappear.

This technique first uses concentration on breathing and then moves to a more relaxed, equanimous, unjudgemental awareness. Using this technique we can become aware of the subtler nature of our relative aspects e.g. the changing nature of our personality, thoughts, emotions, and body.

This technique is a step to natural awareness of our absolute reality and its relative play. The technique of being aware of the natural gap in between the in and out breathe (which I will post later), is a method which takes us beyond just awareness of changing phenomenon to the unchanging reality of who we are. This method (gap in between in and out breaths) can be used after some degree of natural awareness.

I have stated the steps which can be used as a guideline to practice this technique for beginners to advanced levels. With practice we can leave out some of the steps such as counting breaths and at a certain stage just remain in unidentified awareness. I will include a list of tips and FAQs for this particular method. Start with the beginners steps and move to advanced when you feel familiar with the technique and build your attention span.


For beginners;

1. Sit straight, eyes closed.

2. Put your attention on your nostrils and feel the movement of air. Focus on an area of the nostrils where you feel most comfortable with. You may wish to put your attention on the area above the upper lip and below the nose.

3. Breathing naturally in and out, count one.

4. After each cycle of in and out breathe, continue counting 1,2,3...10

5. After 10 cycles of breathe, return back to 1. You may wish to change the number of cycles and with time remove the counting of breaths, to just observing the natural in and out breathe.

6. If your attention is diverted, then as soon as you become aware of your inattention return back to awareness of breathe.

7. You may wish to continue for a 15-20min period, once or twice a day

FAQ for beginners;•

It is important breathing is not forceful or consciously done. At first it may be hard to be aware of just the natural flow of breathing, but with time we can remain detached and aware of the natural breathing without altering it.

• You may wish to put your awareness on the whole of the inner nostril at first or the area below the nostrils and upper lip. With time you may wish to focus your attention on a specific area within the nostril.

• You may wish to count your breaths in any manner you like e.g. counting one after the in breathe, 2 after the out breathe, 3 after the next in breathe etc....

• Thoughts, emotions and sensations in the body may arise and divert your
attention. When you become aware of being lost in thoughts, return back to observing your breathing. If whilst observing, you become aware of a sensation or thought then make a mental note e.g. a thought and watch it rise and disappear, then returning to breathing.

• Practice for a time you feel comfortable with.


For intermediates;

1. Sit straight, eyes closed.

2. Become aware of the incoming and out coming breath at a small area of the nostrils or above the upper lips.

3. Notice the change in sensations (e.g. heat, air pressure, moisture)

4. Continue observing your breathing

5. If your attention is diverted, then as soon as you become aware of your inattention return back to awareness of breathe






For advanced;

1. Sit straight eyes half open, relaxed . You may also do this technique whilst performing activities in everyday life such as walking etc (with eyes fully open)

2. Be aware of breathing occurring naturally throughout your body and area around you. Feel breathing occurring through your nose, from your naval, top of your head and from the pores of your skin.

3. Observe the natural sensations occurring through the body during the in and out breathe and the energy exchange occurring between the body and environment.

4. If a thought, emotion, sensation diverts your attention. Make a mental note e.g a thought, watch it come into awareness and then disappear. Then come back to observing breathing. You may lose your attention many times, but each time you come back to detached, relaxed awareness it stops unnecessary identification and diversion of attention with thought, emotions ,objects etc.

5. Remain as you are. Natural in the moment awareness of whatever is happening in the body-mind. You don’t have to put your attention anywhere, but just be aware of what is happening at that moment. This may involve watching the web of your thoughts and emotions like a movie, without identifying with them. Remain detached and un-judgmental. Each time you find yourself following a thought, come back to un-associated awareness, by returning to awareness of breathing if necessary.

Subtle link of breathe from life to beyond death

Introduction

Here I will be posting some techniques to go from awareness of breathing to going beyond to realize the nature of oneself. In this human body, we all experience breathing as an essential part of human life. If we are aware of it or not, breathing is always occcuring. It is without distinction in term of caste, creed, religion, ethnicity, or an ideology. Therefore, it is a technique which can be used by the whole humanity without having to prescribe to a certain way of thought.

There are many meditation methods using breathing. First usually starting with conscious cathartic breathing methods,deep naval breathing, to awareness of the natural breathe, to subtler insights into the nature of oneself at all relative depths and ones absolute nature. Breathing is natural to us and therefore can be used to enter meditation at any point in our day to day life. Each one of us is unique and so we may use certain methods during certain times on our spiritual path.

I will be focusing on techniques using breathing directly at first (such as cathartic breathing, and deep naval breathing), then using breathing as a point reference to lead to subtle insights and experiences of the body-mind-soul (e.g. awareness of breathe techniques), leading to what lies beyond the body-mind-soul, the very source of life itself. Meditation methods lead us to meditation itself. The word meditation is just a signpost to discovering our universal self.

Inspiration to self realization

Inspiration is something which when imbibed in oneself allows a inner transformation from a place unknown to our intellect, unknown to the repetitiveness of our routine lifestyle, bringing forth the juice of inner trust, enthusiasm for life, overflowing joy in each moment, and the unmovable conviction in the divine.

Inspiration pierced into my life by reading stories of self realized beings such as Buddha, Krishna, and also their modern contemporaries. I found myself practicing tai chi, yoga and meditation from the comforts of my home. I then decided to take steps to practice vipassana meditation on a 10 day course, there was resistance from my family as they was unfamiliar with such things and were confused of what would become of me. In my heart, I felt a deep untruth in just living a pattern tailored by family, society and the human condition. Inspiration to seek for, what is truth? Who am I?, which Moved me from my very being, emotions, thoughts and actions. After taking a firm stand and following my intuition to go to the meditation course, energy flowed to areas of me which needed to be watered with wisdom and heartfelt experiences of one’s true nature. During this period videos, meetings and wisdom from modern day mystics inspired me to be led by my true nature whatever the circumstances.


I built the confidence in myself to follow inspiration and intuition in life to lead me to experiences where I truly learnt about my misguided self image and the “I” which is beyond just an individual, unknown to the intellect, the “I” which moves in unforeseen ways and which is the source of all experience. My inner conviction grew with travelling to India and meetings with yogi’s, sharing joy with the people, seeing the harmony in nature and seeing the goodness and divine nature in each and every being. I met people who would advise me on my worries even without me saying a word, was caught from falling off a ridge in the Himalayas, was told my destiny, and other remarkable happenings.

Inspiration for me has become the very heart of each of my actions, words and being. It allows expression of what is truly needed for our own self development and sharing our creativity and the joy of life in each and every moment and with each and every being ( be it animate or inanimate).

Inspiration comes from a place unknown and leads us to melt into the unknown. We may dance with inspiration, truly melting into the dancing and music. We may follow some activity or work which inspires us and allows us to contribute our creativity and joy with others. We may be inspired to practice meditation or change our lifestyle. Whatever we do, when it comes from the depth of the unknown it creates the transformation in our lives for learning from life in its every aspect. Each moment can be used to discover our unknown self, leaving behind our self made image (ego) to the boundless, infinite, and all encompassing nature of oneself which is ever-present.

Call Me by My True Names

Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow
because even today I still arrive.

Look deeply: I arrive in every second
to be a bud on a spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.

I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
in order to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and
death of all that are alive.

I am the mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river,
and I am the bird which, when spring comes, arrives in time
to eat the mayfly.

I am the frog swimming happily in the clear pond,
and I am also the grass-snake who, approaching in silence,
feeds itself on the frog.

I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks,
and I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to
Uganda.

I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea
pirate,
and I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and
loving.

I am a member of the politburo, with plenty of power in my
hands,
and I am the man who has to pay his "debt of blood" to, my
people,
dying slowly in a forced labor camp.

My joy is like spring, so warm it makes flowers bloom in all
walks of life.
My pain if like a river of tears, so full it fills the four oceans.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and laughs at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
and so the door of my heart can be left open,
the door of compassion.

Thich nhat hanh - author

Inner Goodness

Caring and sharing,
is for the bold and daring,
to rise up to ones own source of goodness,
brings forth the juice of joy,
and the bounty of radient love.

Email is PKatariya@hotmail.co.uk..enjoy!