Help connecting with breath-Stage 2

[Ali-Reza NusratMember]

Hello All

Since its release I have been reading The Mind Illuminated and practicing the techniques described in the book. It is the best meditation book I have read so I would first like to convey my gratitude.

Currently I sit for 45 minutes every morning with an occasional 30-45 minutes at night.

While doing the 4 step transition into meditation I have been having some problems  setting my intention to focus on the sensations associated with the breath. It seems that as soon as I start directing my attention to the breath a deep sense of worry/anxiety seems to be  the motivating factor behind directing my attention. 

I worry and fear wether or not I am feeling my breath, where I am feeling it and wether or not I am controlling it.

Since I have been having so much trouble using the breath as a meditation object I have been focusing on the physical sensations associated with the worry and anxiety. This has proven to be useful. The tension associated with these feelings has dissipated a bit and the emotions have lost some of their strength. However,  I do find my attention jumping from sensation to sensation instead of being anchored on one.

Recently, I have tried to concentrate on my breath again with the same results as before.

I know the importance of concentration in meditation and of having an object to use as an anchor so I have a few questions. Any advice would be much appreciated:

#1. Are the physical sensations associated with worry and anxiety as good an object as any to make progress according to the guidelines given in The Mind Illuminated?

#2. If they are appropriate,  are there are there any suggestions to connect with them in a similar manner as one would with the breath as described by Culadasa?

#3. If the sensations are not an appropriate object are there any suggestions on a better way to connect with the breath? How should I deal with the intense feelings of anxiety/worry if I am having trouble practicing “let it come, let it be, let it go” ?

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

[Matthew ImmergutMember]

Hello Ali-Reza

The arising of worry and anxiety when focusing on the breath at the nose doesn’t seem to be that uncommon. In other words, I’ve known other people who have a similar response. One thing I’ve recommended is to focus on the breath sensations at the abdomen instead, see if that works. Now to your questions:

#1. In theory, any object works for training attention and developing mindfulness. Specifically in terms of attention, remember that the aim is to move away from “spontaneous” movements of attention to “intentional” movements of intention. Therefore, as long as you intentionally select an object, any object, for attention then you’re going in the right direction.
#2. My suggestion would be to start with the breath, if the anxiety and worry becomes too much to ignore, then make the sensations the objects of your meditation. Do the same thing as you’d do with the breath – focus on the sensations with attention but remain aware of everything else. If the worry and anxiety dissipates, then return to the breath at the nose or abdomen.
#3. It’s tricky to assess the nature of the feelings of anxiety/worry based on this online conversation. Sometimes the anxiety/worry needs more therapeutic interventions – someone to talk to and process the emotions. Sometimes the anxiety/worry is actually a part of purification, which is a natural and important part of the path. So I really am not sure but would guess, based on the amount of time you’re meditating, that you might be at Stage Four and thus be experiencing some purification. So if you haven’t done so already, I would suggest reading Stage Four, in particular the section dealing with persistent distractions such as strong emotion.

Hope this helps and I wish you success.

Matthew

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