Enjoy the Breathe ~ Open to Curiosity. Don’t Fall Down The Rabbit Hole!

From Rik Center:

In meditation we can force the mind so hard to focus on the breath and yet our thoughts still wander, “how dare my thoughts not do as I want!”. 

We might even become inwardly negative, feeling dissatisfied with the practice and ourselves. Ajahn Jayasaro offered an antidote to this by expressing, “Instead of concentrating so hard on the breathe…enjoy the breathe!”

Enjoyment can give rise to relaxed attention and curiosity. Which allows for observing the simple movement of inhaling and exhaling this energy of life, oxygen moving in and out. Why not enjoy this?

As we become more focused we continue to keep an open mind of wonder and inquiry. The meditation becomes a self learning classroom. At times we really enjoy what the teacher is showing us, the information connects. Other times it can be discomforting learning something new that challenges old habits and views we’ve been carrying around. Though like the breath we notice there is a natural flowing in and flowing out. All coming from either a long breath, a medium breath or short breath and these are always changing.

Similar to our breath, life experiences are always influx, arising and passing away. Enjoy the breath with an energetic curiosity that it knows what to do without me controlling it, which is a lot less work!