Sitting Inside the Breath

I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart: I am, I am, I am. ~Sylvia Plath

This week we will work at stabilizing our mind by paying attention to our breath.  “Simple, but not easy”, as the saying goes.  

As we take our seat to practice, perhaps we can have a sense of sitting inside the breath itself, letting all else fall away.  Letting narrative fall away;  letting story fall away;  letting ego fall away.  

Letting fall away the depleting habit of wrestling with the present moment to make it something it isn’t;  of living a future moment that has not yet arrived;  of reliving a past moment whose time has come and gone.  

Not pushing these inclinations away, but letting them fall away on their own as we just sit inside breath itself, being fully present for the sensations that flow from the breath:  the gentle in/out of the belly, the air in the nostrils, the rise and fall of the sternum.  

Being fully present for the thoughts that tug at us, and present enough to be aware that this is happening, and then gently but firmly coming back to fully inhabit this moment of breathing, this moment inside breath itself, creating space for clarity and insight.  

Sitting inside the breath.

We hope that you will join us.  

May all beings everywhere, without exception, rest with ease inside the breath, 

Your friends at CMP