Breath counting meditation done through out the day

norcotter

First sorry for any mistakes I do regarding grammar , english is not my base language.

So I started meditating recently as a solution to my mind being to be negative because of some past problems. I chose breath counting being fairly easy. I did it at first for one week every night or whenever I found an opportunity as is stated in every book or online site (finding a quiet place, and try to calm yourself and focus on the breath etc.), but after a week or so I started doing it through out the day whenever an opportunity arises, if I am taking a walk I try to do it, if I am at the PC and playing or doing something that does not need my full attention I try to do it, if talking with someone and there is a pause i start to do it. My question is that a bit to much? cause sometimes it's hard to exit the breath counting mode and go on other things with my mind after doing for sometime during the day. So is there any negative aspect of me doing that ?

Talisman

Save focus on the breath for formal meditation. When walking, focus on walking. When eating focus on eating, etc.

norcotter

can you please give more insight into that?

zidangus

As long as your focusing on the present when you breath, I see no problem.

Talisman

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.than.html

not1not2

I don't see a big problem with doing it throughout the day. Probably keeps you focused and it's a lot better than other things you could be doing to distract yourself. Now, if you want to take things a bit deeper, then you might want to look into talisman's link. It's about raising your awareness levels in all activities.

DhammaDhatu

do it as much as you can...learning to meditate with our daily activities is our goal

taiyaki

the whole point of counting breaths is about keeping focus on an object.

that same focus can and should be applied in every aspect of your life.

so if you are washing dishes, be attentive and wash those dishes.
if you are teaching a lesson on making a clay relief sculpture then focus on setting up the lesson plan and then when you execute it focus all your attention on the modeling of such lesson.

the goal is to have clear mind and to be attentive here and now.

for most of us when we are say eating we are thinking about a million different things.
when you eat, just eat.

so breath counting cultivates single pointed mind. if you were to do something say like dishes and counting breath it would be hard to do because there are multiple things required of you.

so keep it simple. what is in front of you. use your energy, concentration, and awareness on what is in front of you and if nothing is then rest on the breath.

i'm not sure if this helps but this is what i do.

DhammaDhatu

if you were to do something say like dishes and counting breath it would be hard to do because there are multiple things required of you

not really

i typed the words "not really" on an in-breath, have paused for a few breathes, and type these words on three in-breathes and three out-breathes

(but then, I can mostly touch type)

when doing other activities, one does not have to have constant awareness of each in & out breathe but, instead, just return regularly to the breathing to slow down mind and keep emotions in check

simple tasks, such as eating and washing dishes can be easily done with mindful breathing

taiyaki

ah i'll have to try being more mindful of my breathing then. i usually just pay attention fully to the task ahead, but i can see the benefits of always anchoring towards the breath.

it is something i need to practice. thanks for the reminder.

kayward2011

I actually sat on a bus to Manchester today and for the journey (tiresome) actually looked around at the people and the buildings and what was going on, first time l have ever noticed most of what i saw!!

not1not2

Just being able to gather your attention enough to focus on your breath is more than most people. Also, most teachers have their students start off with breath counting before moving to insight/mindfulness forms of meditation. So, perhaps this is a good start for narcotter.

That said, they should eventually progress beyond merely gathering their awareness and move on to being fully present amidst their activity.

@narcotter

Here is a Buddhist story frequently referenced to demonstrate this point:

One day the Buddha was speaking to a prince. The prince asked him, “What do
you and your monks do in your monastery?”
The Buddha said, “We sit and we walk and we eat.”
The prince said, “How are you different, then, from my people, for we do
those things as well?”
The Buddha responded, “When we sit, we know we are sitting. When we walk, we
know we are walking. When we eat, we know we are eating.”

Most of the time when doing other things, we have a million other things passing through our minds. Idle fantasies, humorous stories, serious plans. Very rarely can we bring our entire focus to the activity at hand. That is what Buddhists seek to do on a day to day basis, in all activities. It is key to fullfillment/contentment.

norcotter

After counting the breaths for some time everything becomes silent and you just see or hear the wind, the crickets, or see things as a whole mind does sit silent or a bit more silent.
But the problem that made me ask the question is that after a while it becomes hard to concentrate on one thing hard to get out of the silent state to a more concentrated state. That made me think that I might be pushing it a bit more than I should.