BREATHE

Remember when your mother used to say “count to ten” before acting on your anger or whatever strong emotion might be rising? The direction “breathe!” is much the same.

When I am disturbed, rushed, angry, frustrated or in the grip of any intense feeling, I need to remember to take a deep breath.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Release.

This gives me space and lets me step back from the disturbance. It centers me and lets my mind disengage from headlong pursuit.

Remember Eckhart Tolle who says you are not your mind. To breathe deeply is to begin to grasp the reality of this. You can experience the truth of this by finding your “objective observer” (from the Pathwork lectures, www.pathwork.org ) or “the watcher” as it is called by Eckhart Tolle. It is as simple, and yet as hard, as thinking and then, stepping back another level and watching yourself think. That “objective observer” is removed from your mind; it is a higher level of Being.