The "Beautiful Breath" Is Indeed What It Is

Quote, "The fifth stage is called full sustained attention on the beautiful breath. Often, this stage flows on naturally, seamlessly, from the previous stage. As one’s full attention rests easily and continuously on the experience of breath, with nothing interrupting the even flow of awareness, the breath calms down. It changes from a coarse, ordinary breath, to a very smooth and peaceful “beautiful breath.” The mind recognizes this beautiful breath and delights in it. The mind experiences a deepening of contentment. It is happy just to be there watching this beautiful breath. The mind does not need to be forced. It stays with the beautiful breath by itself. “You” don’t do anything. If you try to do something at this stage, you disturb the whole process, the beauty is lost and, like landing on a snake’s head in the game of snakes and ladders, you go back many squares. The “doer” has to disappear from this stage of the meditation, with just the “knower” passively observing.

Now the breath will disappear—not when “you” want it to but when there is enough calm, leaving only “the beautiful.” A simile from English literature might help. In Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Alice and the White Queen saw a vision of a smiling Cheshire cat appear in the sky. As they watched, first the cat’s tail disappeared, then its paws, followed by the rest of its legs. Soon the Cheshire cat’s torso vanished, leaving only the cat’s head, still with a smile. Then the head started to fade into nothing, from the ears and whiskers inwards, and soon the smiling cat’s head had completely disappeared—except for the smile, which still remained in the sky! This was a smile without any lips to do the smiling, but a visible smile nevertheless. This is an accurate analogy for the process of letting go that happens at this point in meditation. The cat with a smile on her face stands for the beautiful breath. The cat disappearing represents the breath disappearing, and the disembodied smile still visible in the sky stands for the pure mental object “beauty,” clearly visible in the mind."

http://santifm1.0.googlepages.com/ajahnbrahm
The above link is a diamond... to be read slowly.

Notice that when the gap between inhalation and exhalation goes away... a lot of harmony floods the mind. I realize that in yoga one creates pauses in between inhalation and exhalations. The beautiful breathing, however happens naturally. Nothing is being forced. Notice that when you take the pauses initially away, it accumulates present moment awareness as the thinking stops. Here one can go much deeper into a place where the meditation process picks up gracefully and effortlessly.

In Ekendryayoga it is explained:

1. Pra'na'n yamayatyes'ah pra'na'yama - that which controls the ten vayus (flows of vital energy) is called "pra'na'ya'ma.

2. Tasmin sati shva's-prashva'sayorgatibicchedah pra'naya'ma - the process to reduce the gap between inhalation and exhalation is pra'na'ya'ma.

"The flow o breath continues according to the shortening or lengthening of one's thought. By channelizing the natural system of respiration into a particular rhythm one controls the mind through pra'na'ya'ma. When the respiratory system is restless the mind becomes restless." - (P.R. Sarkar)

The pause in respiration also helps to create tranquility of the mind.

Michael Brown, describes a uninterrupted, natural breathing technique which excludes the pauses between inhalation and exhalation, in order to enhance present moment awareness, conquer the limiting sensation of time (past and future). Here feelings, or propensities may come up and are being worked through by calmly abiding with the attention to breathing through the emotions. The fluidity of the breathing is very natural and although deeper states of awareness are not the goal (in fact "a particular goal" is not part of the process...), one may notice that we may natural sink into deeper states, when we allow the present moment to unfold freely. In a way, the discoveries of different gentle breathing techniques are in themselves ways which may help to transmute emotional "charges and triggers" into "integration" and sometimes even bliss without having to go through any kind of extremes what so ever. The work of Ajahn Brahm, the study of Anandamurti's Ekendrya, and Michael Browns work with "The Presence Process," can be of relevance to overcome reactive momenta (samskaras) and move towards inner freedom, and wiser reflections and responses in the world.

Even after years of meditating, the discover of the importance of more subtle breathing methods, which are by no means extreme or forceful, can be of great relevance in order to transmute all emotions and psychic propensities into an integrated awareness and an ever deeper sense of unity beyond bliss.

The books of Ajahn Brahm, Michael Brown and Anandamurti in regards to mindfulness, presence, meditation, working with the mind and fluctuating emotional states, they offered a most inspiring and tender journey towards new inner openings, for which I am extremely grateful. Even though the perspectives and the places from which these authors come from may vary - they all teach how to move beyond unconscious limitations through commitment to ourselves and our practice.

Yes, Ajahn Brahms book about "Mindfulness, Bliss and Beyond, Michael Browns Book about "The Presence Process," and Shrii Shrii Anandamirti's lectures about Ekendrya (the "spiritual science of unity"), are important pointers and extremely helpful in teaching how to take full responsibility -which many people don't know, even with the best of intentions, how to do- for ones life experience.

Wishing you all the best. Om Shanti :-) Namaskar!