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Guided Meditation: Breath Counting for Freedom

Greetings and welcome to our morning meditation here in California. It's still dark now that it's getting into winter. Sometimes the simplest practice of meditation can lead to the greatest benefit and greatest insights, and there's something very significant about keeping it all very simple.

What I'd like to offer today is a little metaphor or allegory that I often use in teaching. I once saw a mountain stream up in the mountains here, and it was a shallow, very clear stream. As I sat on the edge of the stream, I could not tell if the water was moving; it just seemed like the water was standing still. So then I took a twig that was sitting next to me on the ground and put it into the water vertically. Then I could see there was a small wake being formed, and I could see that, in fact, there was a current.

In the same way, we sometimes can't see the movements of our mind, the activities of the mind, and the ways the mind is stuck and caught in its thoughts and concerns. We can't see it subtly enough or clearly enough until we do the equivalent of putting the twig into the water to see the current. Having a reference point allows us to see clearly what the mind is up to. It is one way to begin helping the mind become more peaceful and quiet, and to let go of the places we're stuck. If we don't see it, we don't know what we're working with.

A simple practice is to count your breathing. I put tremendous importance on keeping breathing at the heart of meditation practice. I know it doesn't work for everyone, but for those who it does, I encourage it. In addition to just following and tending to the breathing, there is also counting the breath. You can count from one to ten. I count every exhale as "one," the next exhale as "two," up to ten. The idea is, if you lose count, no worry at all, just start over again. Or if you're not sure where you are on the count, just always start at one. Very peacefully, contentedly, just start at one. If you get to ten, start at one. Start over again. I try to fill the whole exhale with the count, stretching out the word. Some people like to count one for the in-breath and one for the out-breath. Just do both and really stay on top of it in order to keep the count.

There has to be a little bit more engagement, a little more continuity, and focus so you don't lose count and stay on track. Staying on the breath and staying on track with the breath is the equivalent of the twig in the creek that lets you see there's a current. By having that as a reference point, you see how much your mind wanders off, starts thinking, and gets stuck on things. You might see it more clearly than you usually do. In seeing it clearly, it might give you the inspiration to gently, lovingly, and devotedly hold the course with the breath. Keep counting and let the other thoughts recede to the background.

So, take a meditation posture, close your eyes, and take some long, slow, deep breaths. As you exhale, settle in. Relax into your body and settle into your place of meditation. Perhaps as you exhale, soften the shoulders, relax, and let your shoulders hang. Let your breathing return to normal. Scan through your body to see where you can relax further. Try not to slump, but be alert in your posture while releasing any extra holding tension that's easy to release.

Become aware of the body's experience of breathing. Be aware of how the body physically experiences breathing. It is not so much the breath that we're following, but we're attending to the body's movements and the sensations that come into play as we breathe. If you're watching the breath at the nostrils where the air goes in and out, again it's not so much the air but rather the sensations that are being stimulated. If you're aware of it in the chest, the belly, or the torso, it's the movements and the alternating sensations that come with the movements of pressure and release.

For those of you who came a little late, I'm encouraging people to count their breath today. Maybe on every exhale, give it a count to help you stay on track. When you can't stay on track with the count, that's an opportunity to see more clearly the strength of the distracted mind, and the ways in which we get pulled and stuck in thoughts, ideas, and feelings. Count from one to ten, and then do it again. If you lose count, start over again without any comment, just matter-of-factly. See if, in a relaxed but devoted way, you can stay with the count, stay with your breathing, and stay with the physicality of breathing. The counting helps you to stay feeling and sensing. But if you lose count, it's completely okay. Just start over again.

Doing this exercise for meditation will provide you a reference point for the talk I'll give at the end. Come back to counting in a gentle way in the mind. The way you say the count is calming for the mind, but keep it going so there is persistence. Keep it that simple: counting the breath, putting aside your preferences, your expectations, your wishes, and your thoughts. Keep it simple. Just counting.

Reflections

And then, as we come to the end of this sitting, continue for a few moments here with your breathing. Maybe continue for a few more breaths with a count, appreciating your potential to not be caught in your thoughts, stuck in ideas and feelings. By keeping the mind massaged by breathing and staying with the rhythm of the breath, you'll see clearly how much you're oriented towards thoughts and ideas. Perhaps you will begin appreciating an alternative for the mind to become relaxed, soft, and open, not caught or preoccupied.

Imagine a mind that is attentive, not caught, and not preoccupied. That's an attention that can listen to others carefully and fully, without the filter of our judgments, preferences, and thoughts. A mind which is soft, open, and relaxed, not caught in anything, is a mind that can contemplate other people and their circumstances deeply, and take in the fullness of people. It's a mind that has room for the heart, a mind that has room for our goodwill, our generosity, our kindness, and our compassion.

May it be that sitting in meditation makes lots of room for goodwill, generosity, kindness, and compassion, so that we can bring that into the world. Or at least we can bring in the peacefulness or the calmness that makes room for a healthy way of relating to the world around us. May the meditation we do benefit the world around us. May we live for the welfare and happiness of all beings, including our own welfare. May all beings, including ourselves, be happy. May all beings, including ourselves, be safe. And may all beings, including ourselves, be free.