breathing inquiry

[ralphm]

I am not quite sure what you are asking, but what I have heard about breathe- you need to breathe deep, which is down into the stomach and out and up. Watching the breathe is usually focusing on 1 particular spot, for instance the spot where your nose meets your face, and feeling the breathe move in and out.

[kakkarot]

you don't need to completely ignore your breathing to induce a trance.

just forget about forgetting about breathing. just force every thought out of your mind before they even form, before you even analyze them.

and finally, focus more on relaxing each part of your body rather than on anything else. focus on an area of muscles and "will" them to relax, to fall, to let gravity take over and pull them gently down, relaxingly. and do it slowly. if you hurry, you'll just ruin it. wait till a time when you have hours to spare, then do it. it won't take that long, but it will completely get rid of any rush due to believing you might have time constraints.

it's a lot like meditating and then sinking your mind into your body.

(oh, and uh... i'm getting started on that PM regarding energy in combat right now. really i am[] (just as soon as i go to the bathroom[])).

~kakkarot

[Ash]

hey fred,

i have the same problem sometimes. you might want to try not focussing on your breath. after all it's just one technique. A lot of people use mantras, visualization, etc for this reason. Using a different one-pointed awareness, besides the breath, will help you to not try to control it, and also help shift your attention away from your physical body...

good luck,
ash

[fredhedd]

as soon as i'm aware of my breathing i alter it slightly.  no matter what i've tried i haven't been able to just breathe.   sleeping isn't a problem, i usually pass right out.  i would have liked to figure this problem out for myself, but this has been going on for over six months.   i can comfortably lay in one spot for hours w/ no difference.   i'm unable to get into a trance state because of this and it has been seriously hindering my oobe progress.  i could write another page full of details if asked.  ok, i'm done crying now, does anyone have any suggetions?