Just a Breath Away

Note: Originally written as a sidebar for an upcoming magazine article on meditation.

One way to bring mindfulness into our living is to bring attention to very simple things. Breathing is something we do all the time and because of that, something we tend to take for granted.

Try this: imagine taking in your next breath as if you were taking a sip of cool water. That's something that you have done hundreds of times! As you take that sip, you can feel that coolness enter into your mouth. You can follow that coolness down your throat and all the way into your belly.

Now “drink in your breath” in the very same way. Follow the breath's coolness as it enters the body through the nostrils, down your throat and past your lungs. Instead of catching the breath in your chest (as we are apt to do), follow that coolness all the way down, as you experience that drink into your belly. We create a sense of mindfulness as we experience very ordinary things in unique and different ways. As we take the time to perform this very simple act, our ability to be mindful lingers more and more.

The beauty is that we are never without a breath: mindfulness is always just a breath away.

© 2007 Richard Aquino