I keep finding paper clips lately.
Whenever I see one it reminds me of meditation.
I talk on this blog about things containing messages, and the paper clips seem to be asking me to share a meditation with you.
It is a taste of meditation-- a simple way to begin to pay attention to your breath…
On behalf of the paper clips being dropped around the neighborhood, I share it with you.
I call it the The Tomare Paper Clip Theory of Breath:
Relax in a comfortable position.
Begin to observe the inhale and exhale of your breath (into and out of your nose).
Imagine your breath like the shape of a paper clip.
When you inhale, imagine one of the long sides of the paper clip, then imagine the exhale is the other side.
Inhale, exhale. On the next inhale, imagine the top ‘curved” part of the paper clip. This is a “pause/turnaround” (tomare) in the breath.
Exhale and at the end of the exhale, once more imagine the breath stopping briefly and turning back around.
Begin to sense this movement: Inhale (up long side of the clip), Pause/turnaround (top curvy part of the clip) at the end of the inhale;
Exhale (down other long side); pause/turnaround after the exhale.
Inhale, pause/turnaround, Exhale, pause/turnaround,
Inhale, pause/turnaround, Exhale, pause/turnaround…
Pay attention to the “pause/turnaround” where the breath “stops” between each inhale and exhale.
Feel the luxurious quality of each precious inhale and exhale.
Keep watching this elongated oval motion of the breath (*For this breath, all inhale and exhale are through the nose, the mouth remains relaxed), until you fall into a rhythm, This watching or paying attention is the beginning of meditation. As you continue to do this for a period of time, little by little something new opens up in the “pause”, which is where the magic and the reality of meditation can be experienced.*
*excerpt from meditation article in this month's TheTombo, Oita's international newsletter
Happy Finding to All and to All a Good Find
JGY
Found in Japan
7 comments:
That's great !! I'll tell my aikido master to talk about this theory ! Nice idea !
You know, I'll try to have colored paper clips on my desk... They are little peaces of joy ;)
lapsus calami : you have to read... "pieces" ;)
oh, but I like "peaces" too!
paper clips remind me of homework as my monkeys each get a homework packet every week that they must do.
I hate homework-
I have been trying to start meditation for some time now and this morning I actually put on the timer for 5 minutes and sat and did deep breaths for the full 5 minutes! that is a first for me... and now I will try the paperclip image along with the breathing-- very good!
That's great Donna, good luck with the meditation!
Ren-Lady of the Arts, I can understand that, about homework, and here I am giving more homework in a post:))
If you take a deep breath when you see the homework packets, maybe the paper clips will seem more friendly!
Thanks for your comments and visit. BTW< I saw at least 5 paper clips dropped around town since the post,wonder who is dropping them, and if it's just me who notices:))
there is always peace here - sometimes one clip at a time
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