How to make breath sensations more "interesting"

[maryhillMember]

Hi.
I’ve been using the book, exclusively, since May of 2015, and meditating with one of Culadasa’s teachers in training since Dec. 2014.

I’m just wondering about this:

I have sometimes found myself in Stage 4, with exclusive attention on the MO, which is the sensations of the breath at the tip of the nostrils.

More often, I find myself in Stage 3. I can do “following”, noticing the start and finish of each breath, and the pauses.

However, then my mind get bored and wants more. Today I read on p. 99 to “observe the sensations between the beginning and end of the in-b reath until you can recognize three or four distinct sensations every time.

Here’s my question:

I have a lot of other sensations, including chronic pain. I have to meditate lying down. I am able to use the 4 step transition and get out of pain in this position.

However, I’m wondering if I would be better off using the rising and falling of the breath, instead of the sensations of the breath at the tip of the nostrils, which for me, is not generally very vivid.

Any help greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Mary

[Michael DunnMember]

Hello Mary,

I have always thought that these instructions were given, in part, to engage the intelligent mind so that you don’t lose the meditation object. Of course they are also introduced to develop a sustained attention that will deter the cycle of distraction, forgetting and mind-wandering.

So, in that regard, this can certainly be done with any sensation of the breath, which includes observing the beginning/middle/end of the rising and falling of the sensations of the breath at the abdomen.

(Congratulations on using the practice to overcome pain in your posture)

Michael

[wardMember]

For me it can definitely be a challenge engaging with the faint sensations at/in the nostrils. Two situations are especially difficult: strong dullness and strong agitation. Although these seem like opposites, what they have in common is that noise in the nervous system overwhelms the more subtle sensations in the nose. In the former case, it is hypnagogic material; in the latter case, it is bodily/emotional discomfort and scattered thoughts.

Focusing on the abdominal area provides a stronger attractor for my attention, and so I use this when I’m having a hard time. It’s a way to succeed at something. However, it presents a larger scope in which my attention can wander, and this seems to encourage discursive thinking (“Should I focus on the trachea? Or the diaphragm? Or the guts? Where is the impulse to breathe coming from?” etc.). So I normally don’t use this.

What I also like about the field of sensation in the nose is that it is secondary to the breathing impulse and thus more abtracted from my emotional center in the abdomen. I need to keep things simple for the time being.

Between the abdomen and the nostrils where is considerable territory to experiment with. When agitated, for example, I can start with a larger area by dropping my jaw, relaxing my soft palate, and feeling the wind flow through my entire nasal cavity and upper throat. As my thoughts settle, I can tighten up and focus more on the nostrils.

Another thing: The difficulty in engaging with the faint nasal sensations seems to be the very thing that challenges my mind and keeps it interested. It is almost like a koan, especially when the breath becomes very shallow. I know those vivid sensations are in there somewhere and, by golly, I WILL find them.

I hope this helps. I trust that more advanced practitioners will correct me if I’m misleading or on the wrong path.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by  ward.

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