The Conscious Breath Experience

The Conscious Breath Experience

Breathe consciously in and out. Make the focus of your concentration the place where the breath originates from and where it disappears to. That place is the place of the self. Breathe into and out of the place of the self. In this breathing into and out of the place of the self there is the experience of bliss. That bliss is the culmination of your search in life. Bliss is all you ever need to be totally satisfied in life.

What more do you want in life? Things can only give you bliss for a certain amount of time. Things age and after a while they do not emanate as much bliss as they did when you first acquired them. All acquired things lose bliss over time. They begin on a high bliss note, but this bliss will fall off rather quickly to a level where you do not find it satisfying anymore.

Then you need another “thing” to bring up your level of bliss experience. And so on. One object, one thing after another to keep you blissed up/out.

In the conscious breath there is always bliss. This bliss is never less than. It is always the same yet constantly renewing bliss.

But, it is still only a state you get into and fall out of. It is not who you are. Who you are cannot be experienced. It can only be lived. Whatever you think, feel, and perceive with your senses is “you.” There is no difference between your thoughts and “you.” Thoughts are an active component of you, while quiet meditation in a thought-free state is a still component of you.

Bliss is another state of you. It is your highest state. Therefore you should seek it out. You will find this bliss all around you. Food companies are working on the “bliss point” of their products. Car manufacturers want to make you feel blissful when you sit in their new cars. And so on. Bliss is the ultimate goal of all human endeavors.

That is why bliss is what you should seek in a very direct way. Focus on the breath and you will experience this bliss. There is no doubt about it. And this bliss is with you all the time. This is different from the bliss you get from products or services. How many muffins can you eat in order to feel blissful? Etc., etc.

You must find a portable source of bliss that is easily accessible to you all the time. Can you leave home without your breath? Of course, you can’t. That is why focusing on the breath and experiencing the bliss is the easiest thing to do. There are no elaborate preparations. There is nothing you need to do in order to focus on the breath. There are no cushions to place, no incense to burn, no warm-ups to perform. You just concentrate and that is it.

Also, when you concentrate, please concentrate in a way that is “indefinite.” What I mean is this: concentrate in an open-ended way, with a beginning but without an end. Find a way to concentrate where you feel you can concentrate forever, even if you are only concentrating for a few minutes at a time.

Find a position, a posture, that allows you to remain in your concentration indefinitely. Remain in your bliss forever, without the sense that you must attain something other than what you are experiencing right now, which is your inner bliss.

There is never a better time or place than right now and right here. This moment is as precious as all other moments, and all moments are uniquely and unbelievably precious. What life is, is always beyond the concepts and understandings of the mind. Your mind will never be able to adequately explain the mystery and specialness of existence. You can only experience it in your innermost being, where thoughts have very little impact and meaning.

What does a word like “love” indicate? Is not the experience of love much more than any explanation of love offered by even the most accomplished poets and writers? The same is true will all the deeper values in life. The mind is a tool that is useful in everyday operations, but fails utterly when asked to perform even basic tasks such as describing experiences that are pretty much commonplace in the lives of humans.

How much more will the mind fail us in describing the highest spiritual values, such as selflessness and surrender to the all, and devotion to god or mentor, and the search for liberation in this life.

In meditation the mind comes to a standstill. Beyond this still state is the state of supreme bliss. How can the mind explain the path to this state of bliss? How can the mind explain the pain one experiences when one renounces attachments to the concepts and erroneous beliefs that have festered in one’s being for seemingly forever? How can the mind describe the wonder of the freedom of the mind in the pure self? Words are wonderful tools, but cannot go beyond words. Words must come to an end where the path towards liberation ends. Stepping off the path opens up a completely new way of being. The path leads to bliss. Stepping into this bliss is the most freeing experience ever.

Also, on the path it is important to practice what one will find at the end of the path. If you search for love, then the path must include the experience of love. If you search for bliss, then your path must include the experience of bliss.

That is why I recommend the practice of concentration on the breath. Bliss will be the result of this practice. You will experience the bliss of the self. At the end of the path you will experience bliss and while on the path you should practice the experience of bliss.