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Guided Meditation: Breathing and Letting Go

Welcome to this meditation session. We're continuing with the 7:00 a.m. themes of mindfulness of breathing. There are many ways in which breathing is quite a central aspect to human life, not just because it allows us to breathe air and exhale, but also because it is deeply connected to so many different aspects of our psychology, our active life, and our emotional life.

It is also a microcosm of other aspects of our lives. It is a microcosm of taking things in and then letting them go. With breathing in, we are taking in, bringing in, and acquiring oxygen and air. When we get to the top of the inhale, if we were greedy and wanted to hold on to what we had acquired, we wouldn't be able to exhale enough to breathe in fresh air, and we would probably die. In order to breathe properly, we have to let go of and exhale what we have taken in. In fully letting go of the air that is in the lungs, the lungs are then ready to receive something new. The capacity to let go is the same capacity that allows us to step into something new, to allow something new to happen.

With every exhale, there is a kind of letting go that happens—giving away so that we are ready to receive something fresh. It's not just air; it's possible to use the exhale as a reminder to also let go of other things that are not needed. We can let go of other attachments, let go of our thoughts, and let go of our wishes and desires for things to be different than they are. Just keep letting go of all that is extra, all that is not needed in the simplicity of the moment while we are meditating. The gift of doing that is that we are then ready and available for the new, for whatever comes and whatever arises.

As we go deeper and deeper into the present moment, more fully here in the present moment, we will discover that the direct experience of this life—the river of life—is that things are constantly arising, becoming, and disappearing. Sometimes the same things reappear, but there is a profound aspect in that everything fades away and everything arises anew. This coming and going of phenomena is where freedom can be found. The coming and going of breathing can represent that, guiding and supporting us to come into this deeper connection to life where we don't hold on to anything. We allow things to arise, allow things to pass, and we receive the gift of freedom—the gift of being fresh and ready for whatever comes next.

August 29, 7:00 a.m. Guided Meditation: Breathing and Letting Go

To do this sitting now, take a meditative or contemplative posture. A posture that represents for you a capacity for stability, maybe even a capacity for some modicum of inner strength to be present for your experience, to be here. Find a kind of presence, a kind of stability or centeredness where it's more difficult to be a victim of circumstances, so that we're able to just stay present without getting caught up and reactive to things. Just here.

Take a few moments to gently, maybe lovingly, take some long deep breaths. The life-nurturing air comes in to support us. As you breathe in deeply, feel your body from the inside and let the expansion of the chest, the torso, and the rib cage be a reminder to be here in this time.

Then, as you exhale, let go. Relax into your body, into the stability that might be here, even if it is very slight. Maybe even let go into some inner strength of presence, of attention here.

Let your breathing return to normal. Do a scan through your body to see where, on the exhale, you can relax further. Perhaps the muscles of the face, around the eyes, and the temples. Maybe there is even a relaxation that can happen around the scalp, and then down around the neck and the shoulders. Further down, maybe in the chest, the area around your heart—as you exhale, soften and relax. The diaphragm, the belly, the hands—releasing any tightness in the hands. Perhaps softening any gripping in the thighs, and globally throughout the body, relaxing any way in which you might be bracing yourself against life, against anything.

Breathing normally, as you exhale, perhaps you can let go of your thoughts, and in doing so, let go into the quietness of awareness of breathing. Or as you exhale, maybe you can let your thinking become quieter, slower, thinking in ways that are connected to this contemplative practice we are doing. Let go of thinking about other things in other places and times. Every time you exhale, even if it is just a diminishment or quieting of those things, let go as you exhale, and then be ready for the inhale to arise.

Every time you exhale, when you let go or release your thinking, also let go of the concerns you have, the desires, and the aversions. Whatever is extra, whatever is beyond just simply being present, let go of that concern. Each time you exhale, let go. Let go with the exhale so you are ready for the inhale. Let go of your thoughts and concerns so your attention is ready to see what else arises. Whatever arises, let it go. Allow it to go its way.

The essential thing to let go of is any way in which we are holding on to things in the mind: wishing for things, wanting something, picking up or getting involved with thoughts and concerns. Every time you exhale, let go of wanting. Let go of not wanting. Let go of wanting things to be different. Let go of wanting things to not be any different. Allow each exhale to be a time to let go of something so that you are ready, fresh, new, available, and empty for something to arise with the inhale. And at the end of the inhale, let go of that too.

Generally, anytime we feel stressed^[1], this stress is also a symptom of some kind of holding or resistance, some kind of wanting or not wanting. For the last couple of minutes here, can you take the chance, take the risk of letting go thoroughly? So that the next moment, the next inhale, you can meet it completely fresh. It is a brand new arising of something.

Reflections

Finally, may what we learned about letting go—and thereby being available with fresh attention—support us as we enter the world. May it help us to let go of our bias, our prejudice, our resentments, and the desires and aversions^[2] that get in the way of meeting people with a fresh heart and with fresh eyes. No matter how long we've known someone, it is possible to meet them completely ready and fresh, as if they are new, not requiring them to be what they were yesterday or before.

The gift of letting go is the gift of being able to see, receive, and be present for someone freshly and newly, to see what appears now. In that freshness, I believe there can be a profound respect, even a love, care, and compassion for others, offering them the gift that they can be themselves. Then you respond accordingly to how they come. But to always begin with a fresh heart—letting go is a great gift for interpersonal life.

It is also a great gift to ourselves to be able to let go of the ideas and feelings we are holding against ourselves. We can meet ourselves fresh, with an open heart for how we appear, without the baggage of the past.

May it be that our capacity to let go helps us to meet the world and ourselves with kind eyes, with a loving and caring heart, enhancing our capacity to live for the welfare and betterment of this world.

May all beings be free of prejudice and bias. May all beings have the gift of being seen for who they are, clearly and respectfully. May all beings be happy. May all beings be peaceful.