BareBonesMeditation
If you wish you can skip the theory and go right to the practice below a bare bones approach to mindfulness meditation using breathing. Once you learn how it is done with breathing you can apply the same techniques to any repetive activity like walking, doing excersice, routine chores like washing dishes, doing laundry, garden work or anything else. A simpler approach for children can be found at Child Mindful Breathing to help anything, and two similar yet slightly diffenent takes on doing mindfulness meditation can found at Sleep and Meditation .
The Theory
Before trying to use mindfulness applied to breathing you will need to have some basic information about mindfulness, its features, how to handle distractions to mindfulness as you try to develop the concentration and calm your will need to handle any problem.
Mindfulness is pre conceptual, that is it is experience before we using thinking mode processes like comparing past and future and judging based on emotional charge.
Mindfulness starts in the present moment, and then experiences reality moment by moment, by not using thinking but "pre thinking" mental activity of feeling and sensing, not being concerned with the past or the future but only the present moment, it doesn't judge nor does it react based on emotion, wanting more of the postivie, avoiding the negative, nor does it ignore the neutral or the less interesting, but treats all equally with equanimity, accepting what ever it is for just what it is in the present moment.
Either read on for some more theory or go right to the bare bones instructions to experince mindful breathing.
Features of Mindfulness using PEALT: Use the memory aid PEALT for the features of mindfulness or mindfull awareness, P= Present moment, no judging based on past experience or future wishes or fears, therefore there is no expectations, no striving, there is no goal in the usual sense, just being with and in the present moment by moment. E= Experiencing rather than using any thinking , experience by the feeling-sensing of the emotional components and the associated body sensations of any thought, emotion, and body sensations whether internal like a pain or external like a noise, A= Acceptance of everything with equanimity, meaning treating everything equally regardless of emotiona charge, not avoiding the negative, not going towards the positive, nor ignoring the negative. After experiencing and accepting, staying with the wave like nature of anything, feeling-sensing it arise, peak and then go away, then one L=Let it go for the next present moment of experiencing, and no where in this process using any T=Thinking activities like judging, having a goal or expectaion, controlling, comparing, no mental commentary, no story, no concepts, just present moment experiencing with acceptance of equanimity, let go of , when the expereince passess on to the next.
Meditation Defined:To develop the level of mindfulness that is stable and you can sustain one needs to practice mindfulness based breathing or mindful breathing using it in and out of formal meditation. Mindfulness meditation is simply mindfulness sustained by using breathing in a formal way for specified period of time in ensure one is in the experiencing mindfulness mode of mind, and not in the thinking-doing mode of mind. To sustain mindfulness require concentration and a calm mind that can be achieved by doing mindful breathing.
Mindful Breathing Described:Mindful breahting is apply mindfulness to each step of breathing, breathing , over and over, to develop concentration, until distracted, deal with the distraction, and then go back to the breathing, over and over, until distrated again, and just repeat this process, unitl you are stably in the mindful experincing mode of mind.
Distractions Described: Mindfulness applied to breathing is deceptively simple in its description, and exceeding difficult to actual do without regular practice. The difficult is in trying to stay focused on the breathing, because the mind will wander. This wandering or break in focus is part of the process, is normal and is to be expected. It is the noticing or "mindful awareness" of the distraction that develops more and more mindfulness, and it is the returning back to the the breathing after being distracted that continues to increase and re inforce concentration. If you are distracted 1000 times, you mindfully notice or know or be aware of it 1000 times, and return back to the breathing 1000 times, increasing your mindfulness and concentration in 1000 small steps. One of three things or a combination of them will distract you, thinking or thoughts, emotions, and body sensations, either internal ones like a pain, or external one coming from one of the usual senses like a sound, a sight, a smell, touch, or a taste.
Dealing with Distractions: Handle distractions to concentration the same as handle everything else with mindful awareness using PEALT, stay in the Present, Experience them by feeling-sensing, Accept them with equanimity, dont ignore them, get carried away by them if they are positive, and dont avoid them if they are negative, but treat them all eqully. Stay with the distraction only on a temporary basis, just long enough to get back to the breathing, your primary focus for concentration. You notice it, feel it, label it if needed, only long enought until it weakens or goes away, then Let it go, without using any Thinking activities in anyway to get back to the breathing. Be minfully aware of the distraction and the letting it go to go back to the breathing.
Labeling Described: To help stay focused only in the present and to discourage thinking it may be helpful to use labeling or naming or noting to keep track of where the mind is going moment to moment, which is one of the features and functions of mindfulness. Labels are tools that can be dropped when no longer needed, but may be used as needed or as long as needed. Try to say them silently in your mind, but you at first have say them quietly under your breath. Label the breathing by saying some thing like "breathing in, breathing out" or " in and out", or label using counting the breathing using any numbering method that works for you, like " one on the in breath, two on the out breath, etc, etc," Sooner rather than later you will be distracted so you may label the distraction, like "thinking, thinking" or "feeling, feeling", or "planning, planning" or "noise, noise" or "pain, pain", or what ever. There are no right or wrong labels use trial and error and use whatever makes sense and works for you to stay focused and not to think, but to only feel-sense the emtions of the distraction, or sense its associated body sensations.
Bare Bone Steps: Mindful Breathing using the 4 F’s Find, Focus, Feel & Follow your Breath.
A. This is what you do: Pull yourself into the present moment by Finding your breath, then Focusing on it only by Feeling and accepting it as you Follow it over and over, keeping this in the front of your mind. When you are pulled off this present moment focus by thinking, notice it temporally only long enough to get back to the breathing.
B. What you don’t do: Don’t get pulled out of the present by thinking of the past and future and then judging based on feelings good, bad, or right or wrong, causing holding on, avoiding, controlling, expectations, comparisons, criticisms.
This present moment feeling and accepting and not using thinking or judging is mindfulness applied to breathing.
The steps are as follows: Use any posture that allows relaxation, yet being alert, eyes maybe open or closed
1) Pull yourself into the present moment by putting all your Focus on Finding and Feeling the sensations of breathing and only keep this in the front of your mind, as you Follow the breathe over and over.
2) Put all thinking about everything including the breathing from the present, the past and the future on a shelve in the back of your mind, as you continue to only Feel and Follow the sensations of the breathing.
3) Don’t use any control, don’t think about the breathing, don’t expect anything special, just allow your awareness to rest gently on sensations of the breathing, and Follow the lead of the breathing, let it control you, until you awareness, your feelings and the sensations of the breathing get closer and closer, becoming like one.
4) Breathe over and over, Feeling the changing sensations of each breath, accepting it for what it is, regardless of feeling, right, wrong, good, bad or neutral, feeling one breath at a time, and then letting it go for the next.
5) It may be helpful to label the breathing or use any counting method that works for you, by saying silently “one on the in breath, two on the out breath,” or “in breath, out breath, or in or out”.
6) Sooner rather than later some distraction will pull your focus off the breathing, this is normal, to be expected and is part of the process. When your mind wanders notice it with mindfulness and return back to the breathing.
7) Don’t ignore the distraction but give it just enough temporary mindful “knowing” or awareness without thinking, until it weakens or goes away , then let it go, so you can get back to your primary focus on the breathing for more concentration, & mindful “awareness” =present moment feeling accepting & letting go, without thought
8) If your mind gets stuck on a distraction use the 4 F’s, Find the Feelings associated with it and Focus on this, Following it, until it gets weaker or passes, so you can get back to the Feeling the breathing.
9) Label the distraction if needed by saying “thinking, thinking, or feeling, feeling, or planning, planning, or noise, noise, or pain, pain, or whatever”. Become “aware”, accept it, label it, feel it, let it go, without thinking.
10) Repeat the sequence breathing, breathing, until distracted, deal with the distraction, and then back to breathing.
In summary: “Awareness” and letting go! Become aware of your breathing only in the present moment, let go of the past and the future, become aware of only feeling the sensations of each breath, let go of all thinking, comparing, expectations, goals, just feeling, be aware of one breath at a time, and then let go for the next, then be aware of a distraction, and then let it go, to go back to the breathing, and repeat the sequence over and over.
As you do this over and over you, will shift from the thinking to the mindful-experiencing mode of the mind, and you will have your own distinct feelings and sensations as your mind’s focus, feelings and the breathing sensations, become closer and closer, together, until they merge and become like one.