Who do you know yourself to be?

It is one thing to describe who we are and quite another to experience it fully.  Ask yourself if your understanding of who you are only exists at the level of the mind rather than as your experiential reality.  We can "know" things or talk about them yet not experience them.  We can seek things and sometimes only briefly experience them.  A spectrum of possibilities exists.

When we describe who we are based on ideas that arise in the mind, we indicate the duality we live within. Engaging in meditation and/or eagerly focusing on the next echeduled meditation experience allows us to reconnect with a larger version of being and may also helps us 'get through' another round of unconscious physical experience.  Notice a deeper reasons for any stress or tension arising. Feel into this.  The truth is not found in the mind but felt directly.

What if breathwork practice can help uncover hidden reasons for stress, make the unconscious conscious and help us release blocked energy? What if we can deepen our Energetic knowing and manifest shifts in our life experience? The moment is right to allow ourselves to feel more alive and present. If this post resonates, explore blog search terms like; breath, breathwork.  Contact us to confirm a spot in our next breathwork workshop in Palmwoods on Tuesday, Oct 13th.

Listen closer & feel

When ready, it comes to our attention that we express emotions on the surface which are hiding what is really going on inside.  This is a kind of unconscious split that prevents us from living in our integrity, blocks clarity, and postpones life choices that enable us to feel harmony. Various breathing practices can be used to help us get to the bottom of what is really going on. What if its possible to tune in, raise awareness, and truly listen to the signs and signals of the body in a whole new way? What if we could shift from thinking about what happening to allowing all emotions to flow? Breathwork is one tool that allows us to get in touch with our true selves.

We are each responsible for our happiness.  We create it, manifest it or stand in our own way for reasons only we can uncover at our own pace. We are each the architect of our reality.  We choose our thoughts, our preceptions, our responses or emotional reactions to external forces.  All-the-while, we each possess all tools required to our expand consciousness, see each event  from a different point of view and transform our lives. We can shift from living unconsciously in fear to living consciously by vibrating love. At any moment, we have the power to listen closer, change how we think and feel. Reminding ourselves to follow intution can help us reframe life and death.

Breathe more mindfully

Today, during a breathwork workshop, we explored a variety of situations. It dawns that we have the choice to function unconsciously, which implies allowing emotion to take control, or, we can be present, grow more aware, choose to respond consciously to whatever unfolds. We explored what it feels like to breathe as we experience different emotions, where the rhythm of the breath changes as well as the signs and signals of the body. Go ahead, reflect on what is happening within you right now. Scan the body. Focus on the breath as energy flow. What stands out? Could it be that something invites closer attention? What are you willing to see?

If you wish to breathe more mindfully, are curious about the nature of the ideal breath and are ready to explore breathing techniques that empower you to live a fuller life, contact us for details about our next breathwork event to be this Tuesday, October 6, 2020 on the Sunshine Coast.

Get out of that dilemma

I am sometimes asked why share Zen stories as part of my workshops and group sessions. In a nutshell, Zen stories may confuse or leave one hanging, yet they do not impart information or knowledge. They are designed to to get rid of something, to get rid of a false problem with which you are wrestling so that the problem will disappear as the result of understanding the story.  In this way, they invite joining the dots like stars into constellations and evoke eureka moments.

There was a Master walking, engaged in forest meditation with a group of his disciples.  Suddenly, he picked up a tree branch and said to one of the monks, "what is it?" As the monk hesitated , did not answer immediately, the Master hit him with it.  Then, the Master turned to another monk and asked, "what is it?" That monk said, "Give it to me so I can see."   The Master tossed it and the monk hit the Master.  The Master said, "Well, you got out of that dilemma." 

When we look for the mind that seems to be giving us so much trouble and realize it cannot be found, this is a pointer to the solution to our perceived problem. A dilemma is like a physical stick that many people hold within themselves, dwell on, discuss or allow to fester. Focusing on dilemmas harms ourselves. Letting go, going with the flow, acting spontaneously, implies less thinking, and more savouring this moment as it is. A dilemma is a state of mind. Albert Einstein echoes we cannot solve a problem with the same level of consciousness that creates it.  We can always tune in, and allow the rhythm of the breath to guide us. The power resides within.

Moving beyond boredom

There is a Zen teaching story about a student who comes to the Master and tells him, "I'm getting really bored with just feeling my breath coming in and going out all the time. Don't you have a meditation practice that is more exciting?"

The Zen Master replied, "Well, yes. You are now ready for a greater teaching. Follow me." And so, the Master led the student into a courtyard and approached a large barrel of water. "Gaze into the barrel," said the Master. As the student eagerly leaned over and peered in, the Zen Master suddenly pushed the student's head into the water. Being quite strong, the Master was able to hold the student under the water for quite a while, even though the student struggled desperately. 

Finally, the Master let the student come up for air, and as the student gasped the Master asked, "So... is that breath boring?"

We are often taught to crave drama and struggle, yet do we really need them? We are also taught to believe the breath is "nothing special." After all, it happens without us. However, as we pay closer attention to the breath, recall what it is to breathe consciously, we move beyond boredom, into what we deny or overlook. In fact, as we focus on the breath, we engage in what truly matters, and what we seek is 'in plain sight' or 'in plain breath'.

While breathing exercises are growing in popularity, the rhythm of the breath itself is a language that can be decoded. Insight we gain has potential to positively impact our lives.  What is it you desire most? To reclaim power? find new confidence? Be more accepting of who you are? 

It is as if the answer or solution we seek has hidden Itself in the most obvious place. What are we ready to see about the nature of our choices? Which stage of awareness are we willing to reach?