For the coming year
Jeroen
Not all those who wander are lostNetherlands Veteran
A discussion on another forum a few days ago reminded me of this quote:
“Someone recently showed me the annual prospectus of a large spiritual organisation. When I looked through it, I was impressed by the wide choice of interesting seminars and workshops. It reminded me of a smorgasbord, on of those Scandinavian buffets where you can take your pick from a huge variety of enticing dishes. The person asked me whether I could recommend one or two courses. “I don’t know,” I said. “They all look so interesting. But I do know this,” I added. “Be aware of your breathing as often as you are able, whenever you remember. Do that for one year, and it will be more powerfully transformative than attending all of these courses. And it’s free.”
— Eckhart Tolle, ‘A New Earth’
And so I thought, why don’t I try that? A year of being aware of the breath, from 1 September 2025 to 1 September 2026. I know it’s not New Year, but it seems like a good resolution. And after just a few days it is already bearing fruit.
Comments
We are gonna have X-Mass (no relation to Ellen Musky, Eon Mask, NaZi-Boy or whatever IT thinks it is at the moment) in Know-vember. And so early resolves:
Oh wait... Not quite what I had in mind but hey ho (ho ho)!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrophilia_(paraphilia)
I’m finding some days my breath feels kind of ‘open to the elements’, and then I am better off breathing high in the chest and the nose, other days I take the breath deeper. I usually connect better to the breath in the morning or in the evening.
Usually in the first few seconds I find I can just observe.
I approach the breath with friendliness, as if it were a skittish animal.
Then usually it melts away and I find myself in control.
I breathe in a less shallow way then.
When you give attention to your breath with friendliness and love, you get to recognise the wisdom of the body. It just breathes in a shallow way, taking in just enough breath to keep the body functioning when you are at rest. It doesn’t breathe deeply or bring in lots of oxygen when it isn’t necessary — it knows when enough is enough.
Sometimes I find that the in-breath generates energy and tension, and the out-breath is a moment of release and relaxation, then my in breath is short, and my out breath is long, and I find myself in a tremendous space of let-go.
Great observations/insights @Jeroen
There are many ways to breathe. In a way, chanting is about learning about the connection between body, sound and breath. Just doing meditation, the breath does (eventually) calm right down and long and gentle.
However...
As I am relearning programming, I need a bit of regular breathing to calm my tense attention...
https://tricycle.org/article/breath-meditation/
I'm not sure if this thread is about breathing or new year's resolutions, but "for the coming year" I'd like to focus more on recharging, health and some studies. My wife said she'd set me on a diet that could help me to lose weight and will try to make it vegetarian and as non-repetitive as possible, I spend less time on creative work because a lot of the stress is related to how I want others to like it... and I picked up learning massage techniques, as a hobby for now, because it seems useful and my wife would certainly appreciate a nice relaxing massage once in a while. I'd also like to read more, so many books out there I neglected to touch these past years. So it's not exactly a resolution, but these are some things and areas I'd like to focus more on this coming year.
It was a thread mostly about breathing, but I think a few New Year’s resolutions wouldn’t go awry. The more the merrier!
Now that I am resolved to home practice...
https://hiddenmantra.com/buddhist-insights/how-to-practice-buddhism-at-home/
My resolution is not a resolution, but a determination to continue to smile more, laugh more, to express my humanism more through personal actions, visible and invisible. To be the best I can be.
And when I stumble, to get right back up and continue from where am.
I will continue strive to positively encourage others, through my words and deeds.
My goal is to make the world even a tiny bit better for my having walked within and upon it - every year, every day.
Eveyone, enjoy your life. May you fill it with gratitude for what you have, with compassion, empathy, understanding and love of self that expands to love others and your world. May your love enable you to strive to make the world even a bit better.
May your New Year be a happy and prosperous one with many more to follow.
Peace to All
Thanks @Lionduck
Bravo. Well said. I'll join.
NAMO AMITABHA
https://mindfulselfhelp.com/namo-amitabha-embracing-infinite-light-and-life
A practical resolution is to refrain from self-reproach when a resolution is broken. The discipline lies not in perfection, but in how the mind is trained to respond to failure.
Breath creates spaciousness in the body… the in-breath expands the lungs and opens the chest, and the out-breath brings release and relaxation, while tension and energy disappear. In a way it is analogous with what happens with the mind, that thoughts too expand and we get an impression of spaciousness in the mind when we just let our attention rest on the breath.
The original nature of mind, the sky-like spaciousness of being, becomes more visible when you are more acquainted with the breath, and the cloud-like thoughts become fewer. This thought suddenly occurred to me after spending some time with the breath after reading the sky metaphor in ‘The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying’. Beautiful…
As I have been doing the year of breath for four months now, some days I have found I remember the breath just once or twice, and some days I spend ten minutes or more just being with the breath. I embrace it with love and kindness and compassion, knowing that some of my thoughts have been unkind, and that is why I hold it like a small baby.
Just did a free 1 hour 'course' at Open University
Exploring the boundaries between religion and culture
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/free-courses/full-catalogue
An hour well spent. Very informative.