3 Ways To Live A BeingBreath Life
BeingBreath is about flowing with life As It Is. But ideas such as "flow" are abstract and difficult to practice if you don't know where to start.
Here are 3 practical ways to begin (and continue) on a life on the BeingBreath path.
1. MEDITATE.
You've heard it before - meditation is good for you. Though it is an important part of the practice, I'm not just talking about the sit-on-the-cushion-for-20-minutes type meditation. I'm talking about awareness.
Meditation is simply becoming aware of what is.
If BeingBreath is flowing with what is, you have to learn to stop running from or avoiding what you don't want and chasing after what you do want. Time spent on the meditation cushion, in walking meditation, or in moving mindful awareness with your day-to-day activities helps you practice this. You can observe thoughts as they rise and fall, the physical effects they have on the body, and the habitual ways in which you respond. (Most of us immediately try to change something that feels uncomfortable and cling to that which feels good. In so doing, we deny ourselves the full experience of being alive.)
Resources:
Websites: article on Mindful Living (Thich Nhat Hanh / Shambhala Sun), Aarathi Selvan (mindfulness courses and coaching)
Programs: With This Breath (Lisa Renee Wilson), Open Heart Project (Susan Piver)
App: Insight Meditation Timer,
Book: Will Yoga And Meditation Really Change My Life (Stephen Cope), Breath by Breath (Larry Rosenberg)
2. CONTEMPLATE.
If meditation is simply being with what is, without judgment, avoidance, or grasping, then contemplation is the next step: reflecting upon what is.
As you contemplate, you become curious. You ask why, again and again. Contemplation isn't about drawing conclusions nor making judgements. It is coming to what you have observed through meditation with an open mind and a curious nature.
You wander in wonder, okay with not knowing but driven by the desire to know more.
You go beyond the surface answers - those that others have provided for you - and deep into your own nature. Contemplation must be done with the entire body, not just the mind. You ask, then listen to how your thoughts and your body respond.
Resources:
Website - BrainPickings.org, LiberatedLifeProject.com, AlwaysWellWithin.com.
Podcast - OnBeing.
3.CREATE.
Every moment, you are creating. Whether it is a thought, a meal, a report, or a way of moving your body, you are forming something where nothing was before.
The BeingBreath path invites you into conscious and mindful creation. As you practice becoming aware of what is (meditation / mindfulness) and reflecting upon it (contemplation), you enter into a playful engagement with it. This is conscious creation.
You can play with paints or crayons, but you can also be creative with the way that you phrase your words when ordering your coffee or the route that you drive to work.
As with contemplation, you aren't creating to reach a goal. You are doing so to move beyond exploration of your world and into a formative engagement with it.
You create with your hands, the way you walk on the earth, your smile or frown, your positive or negative thoughts, your Facebook post, and with every breath. Be mindful of the ripples it sends into the world.
Resources:
Websites: DirtyFootprints Studio (Connie Hozvicka), Spectrum (Hali Karla +) (note: affiliate link)
Book: The Everyday Work of Art (Booth)
Leave a comment and let me know: What are your favorite resources for meditation, contemplation, or mindful creativity?
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Namaste.