Ep. 288: Sitting on 6-2-26 ("Not Knowing is Most Intimate")
Jun 3, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min · 11 segments
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- BernieHostJuanGuestMaiteGuest
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Jun 3, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min · 11 segments
Just use the breath as a way to anchor ourselves, uh, in our present moment experience.
But other than that, just not narrowly focused on the breath.
Really just being with the whole of our experience.
Um, so for those of you who may be new, anyone here who might be new to, um, uh, Zen or is, is only familiar with a different kind of meditation practice, um, I'm just gonna recommend that we do something very simple tonight, which is ...
And actually, just even as I s- say a little bit about how to do it, just maybe begin to do it.
I mean, is to let your awareness slowly settle on the physical sensations of the breath.
And I think different people find it easier, more natural to feel the breath in different places in their bodies.
For some, the rise and fall of the belly feels very natural, very easy.
But for others, not so much.
So you might try seeing what it feels like to just bring your awareness to the movement of the belly.
And then you might also try feeling the rise and fall of the chest.
Just feel the way the, the rib cage expand and contracts as you breathe.
I think one important thing to keep in mind as we practice in this way is that we are not trying to control the breath in any way.
There is no particular way we should be breathing.
We're just literally feeling what the breath feels like as it moves on its own.
So some breaths may be short, shallow.
Some may be longer.
For some of us, the breath may feel easy, deep, and free.
And for others, our breath may feel actually a little bit tight.
There may be some tension associated with the breath, and that's okay.
Let the breath just be whatever it's like.
And very likely, over the course of the sitting period, the breath will feel different at different times.
And that's an interesting thing to observe.
Nothing stays the same, including the way the breath feel.
This way, the only thing that we are kinda consciously doing is keeping our awareness as much as possible on the sensation of the breath.
Just use the breath as a way to anchor ourselves, uh, in our present moment experience.
But other than that, just not narrowly focused on the breath.
Really just being with the whole of our experience.
Um, so for those of you who may be new, anyone here who might be new to, um, uh, Zen or is, is only familiar with a different kind of meditation practice, um, I'm just gonna recommend that we do something very simple tonight, which is ...
And actually, just even as I s- say a little bit about how to do it, just maybe begin to do it.
I mean, is to let your awareness slowly settle on the physical sensations of the breath.
And I think different people find it easier, more natural to feel the breath in different places in their bodies.
For some, the rise and fall of the belly feels very natural, very easy.
But for others, not so much.
So you might try seeing what it feels like to just bring your awareness to the movement of the belly.
And then you might also try feeling the rise and fall of the chest.
Just feel the way the, the rib cage expand and contracts as you breathe.
I think one important thing to keep in mind as we practice in this way is that we are not trying to control the breath in any way.
There is no particular way we should be breathing.
We're just literally feeling what the breath feels like as it moves on its own.
So some breaths may be short, shallow.
Some may be longer.
For some of us, the breath may feel easy, deep, and free.
And for others, our breath may feel actually a little bit tight.
There may be some tension associated with the breath, and that's okay.
Let the breath just be whatever it's like.
And very likely, over the course of the sitting period, the breath will feel different at different times.
And that's an interesting thing to observe.
Nothing stays the same, including the way the breath feel.
This way, the only thing that we are kinda consciously doing is keeping our awareness as much as possible on the sensation of the breath.
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