Breathing: The Connection from Outside to Within - Originally Published in the Connective Issue, Volume 5, No 12, Spring/Summer 1996

A human being is a fascinating creature. Made up of billions of cells, powered by countless chemical reactions happening every second, it seems a miracle that we live comfortably in our bodies relatively oblivious to all that is happening within. I do not see our oblivion as necessarily being  a bad thing. For example, if we could feel all of the activity going on in our gastrointestinal tract it would be quite difficult to focus on just about anything else. Fortunately, there is not an overabundance of nerve endings there so our stomachs can shake, rattle and roll and our intestines can churn, gurgle and surge and we can still read a book totally immersed in its interesting story. How, though, can we bring all of our outwardly focused attention inside if we decide we want to? This, my friends, is a question that calls for a discussion about breathing and meditation.

Most people spend all but their sleeping hours immersed in a never ending stream of doing. In fact, most people never even question this perpetual motion. When a person comes upon the discovery that they want to start exploring their "beingness", they often find that their mind is totally engaged in doing and they have no idea where the off switch is. The concept of stopping one's mind seems totally impossible, and indeed, it usually is. The mind must have a focus. That focus can be a shift from doing to being. From outside to within. Here's what I mean:

Let's use the phenomena of breathing as our focus. Sitting comfortably, eyes closed, we notice our breath going in. We feel the air passing through our nasal cavity. We feel it move through our chest and we notice our abdominal area move outward. We feel our abdomen move back into place and we notice our breath dissolve into our chest. We again feel air moving into our nose. If we are able to keep our attention on our breathing for this much time, we have spent ten seconds observing our breath, not thinking. If we maintain this awareness, we can pass tens of seconds outside of the thinking phenomenon. When we notice ourselves thinking we immediately refocus on our breathing and once again, our mind is no longer thinking. We are inwardly focused. This level of internal focus is simple, superficial and a gateway. We do not want to stop here, for although to rest in the awareness of breath can be a most relaxing and wonderful feeling, this gateway is to be entered. Our being awaits on the other side. No thoughts, unaware of breath, simply being. Experiencing ourselves solely in the context of consciousness. I have and do experience this place of beingness. I find it the single most valuable experience. This sounds like a lot. Well it is. In beingness I receive information. I have felt blessed. I breathe and relax as deeply as I ever do. At times I have felt wisdom imparted and at times I have felt healed. When I encourage my clients to consciously breathe, and when I join them in this, I intend for us to enter a state of beingness together. These sessions are deeply spiritual in nature even though we may be addressing very specific physical phenomena.

To bring conscious breathing and meditation into one's life is to develop and grow one's self as a human being. The kinetic movement on this planet neither encourages nor supports this way of being. Most people have been brain washed into thinking that if we are not busy then we are wasting time. I want to support and encourage all of us to cultivate time to simply be, to increase the number of people who do not get swept away with the current. A human being what an incredible thing!

Reprinted with permission.
Darren Burgess, LMT
Florida School of Massage
All rights reserved.