THE AWARENESS OF BREATHING

                          THE IMPORTANT OF BREATH 

                                  AWARENESS IN MEDITATION

                         BREATH AWARENESS IS AN ESSENTIAL OF MEDITATION. AUTHENTIC SCHOOLS OF MEDITATION TEACH BREATH AWARENESS BEFORE LEADING A STUDENT TOWARD ADVANCED TECHNIQUES OF MEDITATION, BUT SOME OF THE MODERN SCHOOLS HAVE FAILED TO GRASP ITS SIGNIFICANCE. THIS IS WHY THEIR TEACHERS ARE UNABLE TO LEAD THEIR STUDENTS TO DEEPER STATES OF MEDITATION.

                       THE MIND IS IN THE HABIT OF IDENTIFYING ITSELF WITH THE OBJECTS OF THE WORLD, AND IT DOES NOT BECOME AWARE OF INTERNAL STATES AS LONG AS IT REMAINS IN THIS DISSIPATED CONDITION. WITH SYSTEMATIC DISCIPLINE, HOWEVER, THE MIND STARTS TRAVELIING INWARD TOWARD THE MORE SUBTLE LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS, AND WHEN ONE ATTAINS A STATE OF PERFECT STILLNESS AND TRANQUILITY, THAT WHICH IS BEYOND THE MIND REVEALS ITSELF.

                IN LEARNING TO MEDITATE, TRANSQUILITY OF MIND IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR, BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT IS BREATH AWARENSS, THE PRIMARY STEP IS TO FIND A STEADY, COMFORTABLE, AND EASY POSTURE. TH SECOND STEP IS T DEVELOP CALM, SERENE, AND EVEN BREATHING. THE THIRD IS TO CALM AND STEADY THE MIND, WHICH IS THE ONLY MEANS FOR EXPERIENCING THE DEEPER LEVELS OF BEING. THE FOURTH STEP IS TO GAIN CONTROL OF THE CONSCIOUS MIND, FOR THIS CONTROL CAN MAKE ONE DYNAMIC AND CREATIVE. IN THE FIFTH STEP, THE INVOLUNTARY SYSTEM AS WELL AS A VAST PART OF THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND, INCLUDING THE MEMORY, ARE BROUGHT UNDER CONSCIOUS CONTROL, AND IN THE SIXTH STEP, THE MIND BECOMES AWARE THAT IT IS CONDITIONED BY TIME, SPACE, AND CAUSATION. THROUGH MEDITATION, THE MIND CAN BE TRAINED TO REMAIN AWARE OF THE PRESENT MOMENT, THE DOOR TO ETERNITY. IN THE SEVENTH STEP, CONSTANT AWARENESS IS DEVELOPED THROUGH THE REGULAR PRACTICE OF MEDITATION, AND THE HIGHEST STATE OF TURIYA IS ATTAINED. THIS STATE IS FULL OF BLISS, PEACE, HAPPINESS, AND WISDOM.

                   AFTER SERIOUS OBSERVATION AND ANALYSIS OF ITS FUNCTIONINGS, YOGIS HAVE FOUND THAT THE MIND FORMS THE HABIT OF BEING CONDITIONED, EITHER BY REMEMBERING PAST EXPERIENCES OR BY IMAGINING THE FUTURE. THERE IS NO TECHNIQUE WHICH HELPS IT TO BECOME AWARE OF THE PRESENT EXCEPT THAT OF MEDITATION AND CONTEMPLATION. BUT MEDITATION IS NOT A METHOD OF ALLOWING THE MIND TO ROAM AIMLESSLY. IT IS A CONSCIOUS EFFORT OF COORDINATING THE BODY, THE BREATH, AND THE MIND. IN THE MONASTIC TRADITION, TEACHERS DO NOT TEACH THE ADVANCED TECHNIQUES OF MEDITATION UNLESS UNLESS THEY SEE THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF STILLNESS OF THE BODY AND SERENITY OF THE BREATH DEVELOPING IN THE STUDENT.

                    WHEN A STUDENT LEARNS TO STILL HIS BODY, HE BECOMES AWARE OF MANY TREMORS, TWITCHINGS, AND MOVEMENTS THAT HE WAS MOVE, BUT NO ONE HAS TAUGHT HIM HOW TO BE STILL, AND SITTING STILL IS VERY IMPORTANT, FOR THE LEGS MOVEMENTS THERE IS IN THE BODY, THE STEADIER THE MIND WILL BE. ALL OF THE TREMORS OF THE BODY ARE CAUSED BY AN UNDISCIPLINED AND UNTRAINED MIND. WHEN A STUDENT EXAMINES HIS BEHAVIOR, HE FINDS THAT NOT A SINGLE ACT OR GESTURE IS INDEPENDENT. THE MIND MOVES FIRST, AND THEN THE BODY MOVES - AND THE MORE THE BODY MOVES, THE MORE THE MIND DISSIPATES. WHEN THE STUDENT HAS LEARNED TO BE STILL, HOWEVER, AND BEGINS PRACTICING THE TECHNIQUES OF BREATH AWARENESS AND MEDITATION, HE DISCOVERS HE CAN HAVE CONSCIOUS CONTROL OVER HIS BODY, BREATH, AND MIND.

                          SO THE FIRST THING ONE MUST LEARN IS TO SIT STILL. THE RIGHT POSTURE IS ONE THAT MAKES ONE STEADY AND COMFORTABLE. AND IT IS ONE IN WHICH ALL OR MOST OF THE BODY PARTS ARE FREE FROM THE PRESSURE OF OTHER BODY PARTS.

                              SUKHASANA (EASY POSE)

                      SITTING WITH THE HEAD, NECK, AND TRUNK STRAIGHT, PLACE THE LEFT FOOT BENEATH THE RIGHT KNEE AND THE RIGHT FOOT BENEATH THE LEFT KNEE. EACH KNEE RESTS ON THE OPPOSITE FOOT. PLACE THE HANDS ON THE CORRESPONDING KNEES AND APPLY THE FINGER LOCK. THIS IS A POSTURE FOR BEGINNERS.