Mindfulness of Breathing, Ānāpāṇasati, was the Buddha's own favourite meditation. Ajahn Dhammasiha provides an introduction how to gradually settle our mind onto the breath:

• The past is gone. The future has not yet come. We let go of past and future and settle down here and now, observing what arises in the present moment: 'Now is the Knowing!'
  
• We don't pay attention to external sense impressions, we let go of the outside world and turn our attention inside our own body and mind.
  
• We become aware of our physical body. Not by thinking about it, but by directly feeling, directly experiencing the body from inside.
  
• We appreciate that we can simply sit quiet and motionless, that we don't have to move the body, don't have to think. We're content with stillness.
  
• When directing our attention inside, feeling our own physical body, in the present moment, sitting still - how could we not notice the breath? Breathing is the most prominent activity that's still going on.
  
• We're mindful of the breath. We feel every outbreath. We experience every inbreath. We're aware of every single in and outbreath.
  
• We feel our whole physical body while we breathe in. We're aware of our whole physical body while we breathe out.
  
• We relax our body with every in and outbreath, calming and soothing the body while we breathe.
  
• We breathe in joyfully. We breathe out happily. We enjoy our meditation with every in and outbreath.
  
• We brighten our mind with each inbreath. We become more awake, more aware, with every outbreath.

We gradually allow three qualities to develop and unfold naturally:

1. Calm, Quiet, Relaxation
2. Joy, Happiness - even Rapture and Bliss
3. Awareness, Mindfulness - the Mind becoming Bright and Radiant

We understand that these three qualities are extremely wholesome and beneficial. We're not afraid of that tranquillity, joy and brightness, but allow our mind to get carried away into blissful, internal unification, Samādhī 😊

After the bell, Ajahn Dhammasiha encourages us to look back and review our meditation. Obviously, not everyone will always go the full way into rapture and bliss. Instead, it's much more common to experience lots of struggles with an unruly mind.

However, if we compare our mindstate now with our mindstate before the meditation:

• Can we see at least some increase in calm, joy and happiness? 

If so, our Samatha/Samādhī meditation is going in the right direction!

(This guided meditation is directed more towards Calmness/Samatha/Samādhī. For a focus of Breath Meditation on Vipassanā/Wisdom/Insight, refer to other relevant guided meditations by 'Dhammagiri Buddhist Podcasts')

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