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Guided Meditation: Constancy and Inconstancy of Breathing

Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening. Good day to all of you.

The topic for this meditation is the interplay of continuity and discontinuity, constancy and change. I think it's quite wonderful that we have this continuity of this daily sitting during the week, and we also have the discontinuity in that it's inconstant—that we come together for these 45 minutes, and then we go about our lives, and then we come back to this activity. This is a constant through many of our lives. In that constant, it can be balanced, it can be a support, it can be a reference point, and a learning point. That support comes from the constancy; it comes from the regularity.

In terms of mindfulness of breathing, there is a wonderful interplay between continuity and discontinuity, between constancy and change, between what ends and what begins. Much like how the days and nights are inconstant—they're changing—but there's also a constancy, a continuity: one day follows the next, one night follows the night before. And so there's a rhythm that goes on.

This is an important rhythm for practicing mindfulness of breathing because the constancy of breathing is a thread that can run through our lives. I think of it as a lifeline thread that goes through, and you can stay with it in all kinds of circumstances. Part of you can be grounded, settled in the breath, and it's a little bit of a protection from getting too caught up, involved, and entangled with thoughts, ideas, and activities. Not to be aloof or removed from activities, but rather to stay balanced.

Because the breathing isn't constant, not a fixed thing, we're less likely to be fixated on the breath or for the mind to be stuck on it in some tight way. It's almost like the coming and going of in-breath and out-breath is a massage, a reminder to stay relaxed. Don't hold on to just what happened. Let go of the out-breath so you can be with the in-breath; let go of the in-breath so you can be with the out-breath.^[1] So there's a constant letting go and renewal that goes on, and there's a constancy that happens.

The 16 steps of Anapanasati^[2] rely on this interplay between constancy and change, between continuity and discontinuity. Hearing this now, maybe you can start getting attuned to the rhythm of this in your meditation. Not to fixate on the breathing, because it's a massage, but also not to lose touch with it. In that delightful way in which you might sit back and watch a river go by, you can sit and just watch the flow. If it were just frozen ice, it probably wouldn't capture your attention so much, but the constant shifting and changing of the river is what grabs us or keeps us absorbed in a relaxed way. Or watching a fire—the fire is constant, maybe, but the flames are inconstant. That's the play of those two that I think it really^[3] can be very supportive.

Settling In

So taking an upright posture, or let's say, take a posture which supports you to be alert and to be relaxed. To have a certain energy of alertness that's not tense energy, and a subtleness of relaxation. Maybe make some large or subtle adjustments in your posture. Now that you're in your meditation posture, it's a time to adjust a little bit further, kind of to get it just right. There's no perfection, just kind of settle in further, and close the eyes.

And then just sitting here quietly, notice the rhythm of your breathing, and give your breathing permission to be just the way it is. Notice if the breathing seems fast or slow, shallow or deep, labored or relaxed. Or perhaps you're controlling it in some way, or maybe you're leaving it alone. All of the above is okay right now. Just in a relaxed way, notice what your breathing is like.

Notice the rhythm. The end of an out-breath allows the beginning of the in-breath. The end of the in-breath allows the beginning of the out-breath.^[4] Much as how taking one step allows the beginning of the next step.

And very gently, as a way of accentuating this rhythm of breathing, take some slower, deeper, fuller inhales, and some longer, relaxing exhales. The kind of relaxation that could almost be expressed as an ah as you exhale. Just here with this breath. A deeper inhale so you're definitively connected, involved, feeling the inhale. The fuller, longer exhale so you're really here for that experience of exhaling. As you're exhaling, let go of your thoughts of other times and other places. Let go of your commentary and ideas.

Appreciating that breathing is a very simple experience. You might have judgments and ideas about what it should be or shouldn't be, but in and of itself, the sensations of breathing—the sensations that come into play as you breathe in or breathe out—are a simple experience.

And then letting your breathing return to normal.

Take a few moments now to scan through your body, and as you exhale, relax and soften where you find some tension or holding. Especially as you exhale, relaxing in such a way that you are relaxing into the body breathing, into the body's experience of breathing.

And there's a discontinuity or inconstancy with the coming and going of each in-breath and each out-breath, and there's a continuity of breathing overall. A constancy of how each returns after the next.

Relax your thinking mind, quiet your thinking, so you can better experience how the body has the massage of breathing, or how the river of breathing moves through the body.

There are many things you might feel, experience, and think about. Many emotions that might come through. And through it all, with Anapanasati, the practice is to stay with the thread, with a continuity of breathing in and breathing out. Taking refuge in the rhythm of breathing. Not to deny anything else, but to not be caught by anything. To keep the attention^[5] relaxed, open, and receptive. Breathe with what's happening. And if nothing is happening that's really pulling your attention, then breathe with breathing.

Float on the waves that come and go, waves of breathing in and breathing out.

Notice, has the rhythm of your breathing changed in the course of the meditation? Are you now breathing slower or longer, shorter or quieter? Is it possible to ease in further into the experience of breathing, making breathing room for your breathing?

Closing and Well-Wishing

And then, as we come to the end of the sitting, again take some gentle, deeper, fuller breaths. Perhaps feeling the expansion of your chest as you breathe in. Maybe imagining that your heart is opening on the inhale out into the world to all beings. Beings who are suffering, beings who are going about their lives, beings who are happy and peaceful.

Imagine that you're breathing with all beings, accompanying all beings on this planet. A friend to all beings.

And as you exhale, allow your well-wishing to spread. Imagine your well-wishing spreads on the exhale out across the lands.

May all beings be happy.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings be healthy.
May all beings be free.

And may we support that possibility for the people we encounter, and meet, and learn about. May we be a refuge of safety for others.

May all beings be happy.