Our atmosphere is a very thin, delicate film blanketing the surface of our planet. And from this thin, fragile film of atmosphere not only all the people, but all the animals, the birds, plants and trees, all are breathing their breaths, all are drawing their oxygen, their life-force. We are all together, one life, one living being breathing the same air, drinking the same water, basking in the same sunlight. We cannot separate ourselves from all other life forms – for we cannot separate ourselves from our own breath.
Now please imagine that the whole universe is inside your heart, and there in its very centre, sits our planet, our earth-home. This beautiful blue globe is slowly revolving in space in the silent depths of your being. Because the world is inside your heart, you are responsible for the world, it is in your care – so call forth all your heart’s love, protective concern and nurturing goodwill, as you would if you were given the care of an adorable, beautiful, innocent child.
The breath you are breathing is entering into the very heart, the very core of the planet inside your heart. With your breath you are nurturing and nourishing the world itself. As you breathe in, all the people, all the animals, the plants, the trees, the birds and the insects, all are breathing in together. And as you breathe out, all the people, the animals, the plants, the insects, the birds and the trees exhale as one.
Your breath is flowing into and becoming the life-breath, sustaining the life of all living beings.
You are breathing on behalf of life itself. So your every breath is supremely significant, for if you would stop breathing, all life on earth would cease.
Sit still, comfortably with your spine straight, in a quiet place where you can be undisturbed, preferably in silence.
Close your eyes. Bring all your attention to the simple, gentle slow dance rhythm which is your breath. Focus with all your being on that beautiful, subtle, delicate flow of air in and out through your nostrils. Make that flow so gentle, so calm, that if a tiny thread like a gossamer spider’s web, happened to be dangling in front of your nose, that thread would remain perfectly still, oblivious to the flow of breath passing on either side of it while breathing in, breathing out. Picture that thread now, and observe it closely, to be sure it is absolutely motionless.
Our breath represents our life. Our breath connects us with the cosmic energy, the universal force which sustains all life. And something more: our breath carries with it a profound spiritual message – the message of oneness.
In any room full of people, all together are breathing the same air. The air one person breathes out in one moment is the same air another will inhale the next moment, and vice versa.
No matter what are the differences, divergences and disagreements between all the individuals in a room, the air being breathed by all connects them, each to each and to all the others in the physical, tangible world, unavoidably. The people in the room are like one organism breathing one breath through many sets of lungs.
Now let us expand our vision beyond this room and include the entire world. All of us, in all of the countries on all of the continents, from all races, all languages, faiths and beliefs, rich and poor alike, are all breathing from the same atmosphere.
His young children call him Daddy, knowing him as the benevolent giver of gifts and indulgences. His grown-up children from his first marriage call him Dad or Pops, while their own children call him Grandad, or Ompee.
His siblings call him Flim, the mischievous child who was constantly playing pranks on them. His mother still calls him Benjie, the name she had wanted him to have, after her childhood dog.
His schoolfriends still know him as Brownsie, the brilliant football player who captained the championship winning team of ‘86. The players from opposing teams from those days had other names for him, which we shall not repeat.
His wife affectionately calls him Chittles, a name only she knows the meaning of. When not in an affectionate mood, she calls him Derek – only she and he know why. And in public, she calls him Eric Dear.
When he goes out for his morning jog, the kids who play skittles in the park mock him as “SlowJoe”.
Online, he is known by various names and handles, depending on the forum – punter68, E_C_Brown_MP, erik-dragonslayer, legend_of_86, to cite a few.
With a PhD in political science, he is sometimes called Dr Brown.
Most of his staff call him Sir, though those who have been with him since the beginning, use Eric.
In Parliament, Mr Brown is called The Honourable Member for Pickworth South, except when Opposition members are hurling insults at him, and then he is called many names, which are also seen on placards and heard in chants at protests and rallies.
Senior public servants secretly call him Dr Dolittle.
Outside Parliament, most respectful people call him Prime Minister.
So many names and personae – real, presumed, suspected and projected – yet Mr Brown – like God – is one.
Running and meditation are the simplest, most natural of activities. We are born with everything needed: other than running shoes and a mat, neither require any equipment, talent, cost, travel, study, qualifications or rules. Both can be done alone, virtually anywhere and anytime. Both test and develop our inner sincerity, concentration, determination, humility, confidence, dedication, discipline, eagerness, faith, fortitude and surrender. There is no way in either running or meditation to bend the rules or fudge the results; they are the most egalitarian and honest of pursuits. The satisfaction we gain from them is not dependent on results or outer criteria. We derive from each, according to how much of ourselves we offer.
Running can be meditation if we want and need it to be, and if we bring all our focus and concentration to the process of running. The rhythms of running can be mantras in themselves – the cadences of our heartbeat, breathing, footfalls, the swing of our arms and stride. While running, we are microcosms of the macrocosm, our rhythms mirroring the eternal cycles of Nature, the rise and fall of the waves, the turn of the tides, the diurnal, lunar and seasonal cycles, all the way to the evolution and dissolution of our universe. Running offers a perfect opportunity to meditate on and attune ourselves with these deeper realities, easily drawing us out of our habitual petty preoccupations.
Meditation is a spiritual experience of running; while running is a physical expression of meditation.
We cry for self-transcendence: so, we both run and meditate. Transcendence means not just improving our performance or deepening our experience, but also improving our attitudes, our ability to deal with challenges and situations, expanding our hearts and broadening our minds, deepening our understanding of ourselves, our universe and God.
Use meditation to help your running. Use running to help your meditation.
Meditation is not a static state. It is a search, a constant quest for something deeper or higher, within. In our search, we discover, and in our discovery, we become that which we have sought. While meditating, we must always feel a sense of movement, of progression towards a destination, a race to outpace thoughts and distractions, a flow into the ocean’s vastness or flight beyond the horizon’s bounds. While meditating, picture yourself as a runner, an inner runner effortlessly and joyfully running, with one-pointed intensity and focused eagerness always towards your goal.
Running need not be an agitated or stressed state. We run at our best when we are physically poised, with efficient form and rhythm, mentally focussed and emotionally calm. Just as flailing our limbs in all directions slows and tires us; allowing our mind to wander and our emotions to run riot, drains our energy and inspiration, and brings us rapidly to a halt. While running, picture yourself inwardly still, meditating on a mountain top or by a flowing river.
Just as one doesn’t need to read any books or attend any class or seminar, or believe in anything or anyone or pay any fee in order to pray or meditate effectively – for prayer and meditation come most naturally, perfectly and spontaneously from within – so also, running connects us most effectively with our innate spirituality through its own simple, pure and spontaneous expression. No analysis, no practise, no instruction, understanding, structure, equipment, preparation, beliefs or catechisms are needed. To find meditation through running, strip away all the paraphernalia, the headphones, monitoring and measuring devices, the theories, the technique, the plan, the training program, the jargon, and all expectation. Just run …
We are all evolving: each of us, personally and collectively, socially, economically, culturally, historically, along with all species, our planet Earth, our solar system, galaxy and universe, every particle, light, time and space, all knowledge and understanding. We are all flowing with the current of time, the river of progress, the inexorable sweep of evolution. We may have no idea where we have come from and no concept of where we are heading, but that we are evolving – somehow and towards some destination – is unquestionable.
Evolution implies a journey towards a goal. Thus, the notion of traveling, journeying, progressing – running – towards a goal is intrinsic to our very being.
Running, then, is not just a metaphor for life – running is life and life is running. Inwardly and spiritually, we are constantly running towards a goal whether we know it or not. Unless and until you can stop the wheel of evolution turning, meditation is running, and running is meditation.
Running is the simplest self-expression, the purest revelation, the most natural manifestation in the physical realm of our very essence, an eternal, unquenchable yearning for progress through self-transcendence. We were runners before we ever ran; we are runners while sleeping, standing and sitting still; we shall forever remain runners after all our running is done…
We are all runners, whether or not we call ourselves “runners”, and we are all meditators, whether or not we imagine ourselves as “meditators”: as we are running towards our ever-elusive goal, so are we meditating below the surface of life with every breath and step. On a deep, intuitive level, we love running, for to run is to be one with our most natural state of being. While running, we can be and become truly ourselves, the very definition of meditation.
“Run and become.
Become and run.
Run to succeed in the outer world.
Become to proceed in the inner world.”
– Sri Chinmoy
Running and meditation are two of mankind’s oldest, most enduring, yet ever-new and ever-fulfilling pursuits.
In their essence, running and meditation are one, inseparable. They are parallel and identical quests: for truth, meaning, peace, happiness, satisfaction, self-discovery and transcendence.
Why is the connection between running and meditation so deep? Both go to the very core of our identity, our purpose, our aspiration, our being. We are spiritual seekers, eternally running.
It is common to imagine we are primarily physical and mental beings with a spiritual dimension somewhere in the background, as though spirituality comes as an optional add-on or bonus pack with our existence, something we can opt into or out of. Yet precisely the opposite is true: we are souls, spiritual beings first and foremost, living in and experiencing, perhaps transiting through this material, temporal world.
Running and meditation both access, explore and reveal our spiritual self. They complement each other.
Try meditating before you run; try running before you meditate. To focus yourself before running, meditate for a few minutes with utmost intensity and clarity. You will be more present while you run and gain more from the effort and experience. Running – especially running with full intensity – is also a most effective way to clear the mind, focus our vital energy and surcharge the body; an ideal preparation for a deep and fulfilling meditation. We may imagine that running will tire us out; yet ironically, going for a short, brisk run is a wonderful way to awaken and energise ourselves in preparation for meditation – far better than stimulants.
Run always with the poise of meditation; meditate with the flowing progress of running.
Though our breath brings us life, and sustains us, we have really no idea how it does this, or where it has come from. Our breath is an absolute miracle and eternal mystery, and it is here, within us, always. We do not have to go to a temple, to a church, to a monastery, we do not have to climb a mountain, go into the forest or ascend to the Himalayas, to find the sacred and the divine, for there is nothing more sacred in this universe than the miracle of our breath. As Sri Chinmoy wrote in one of his poems:
“Each breathing moment
Is a miracle.”
– and we are that miracle.
So while breathing, feel that you are in the presence not only of something wonderful, something special, something loveable but also, you are in the presence of something most sacred, the source of life itself, that spirit which infuses the entire creation. Feel not only love and gratitude for your breath: something more, feel reverence for your breath. Then you will be eager to spend time each day in silent communion with your breath.
They say in the martial arts, that whoever can control their breath perfectly, is in control of their life’s destiny. And it is absolutely true. Practising this exercise for five minutes a day will gradually improve the control of your breath, while simultaneously increasing your control over your thoughts and emotions, while deepening your self-awareness and furthering your self-discovery.
This simple exercise is supremely powerful, for it is the solid foundation of our meditation practise, the gateway to the infinite realms of self-discovery. As we enter these realms, we gain access to the infinite, eternal, immortal treasures that await.
You do not have any other duties or responsibilities – no study, no work, no family. Your only task is to breathe and count, and you are going to perform this task to the absolute pinnacle of your capacity.
Your breath is everything. Your breath is your life, your source, your nourishment, your breath is your most intimate friend, your favourite hobby, your art, your song, your child, your creation.
Some people express themselves through painting, poetry or music: you are an artist of the breath. Each breath is a new poem, a new song, a new painting; into each breath, pour all your heart’s love, your joy, your creative ingenuity. Strive to make each breath something absolutely perfect, and then make each next breath, more perfect.
You do not even have a name, or a form: you are a being who breathes. That is all you need, that is all you want. To breathe and to count is the sum of your happiness. You are full, you are complete, for you have your breath, you are your breath.
Feel inside yourself: “I’m so grateful to have this rare opportunity to spend time alone with that force which has given me life, that force which sustains me, that force which loves me more than anything, which sacrifices itself for me, my breath. In silent solitude I honour my breath, I respect, I give it my attention, my concern, my love, and above all, my gratitude. I’m so grateful to my breath, for all that it has given me, for through my breath I am able to experience life, I’m able to experience the world, all its beauty, all its colour, its vibrancy, its splendour, its love, its joy, its intimacy, its perfection – all thanks to my breath.”
If you were spending precious time alone with your best friend, and another person came barging in the door, you would send that person away. You would command them: “Go away! I’m alone with my best friend, leave us alone, go away.” So, while you’re practising your breathing and counting, any other thoughts or distractions that want or dare to approach you, are uninvited guests. Simply do not let them in. They’re not allowed. Put a sign on the door: DO NOT DISTURB.
After you’ve finished the exercise, these other thoughts can come in, if you will allow them, but for now, they have to stay away.
The number you choose really doesn’t matter, because we all have different lung capacity. All that matters is that it is comfortable for you. We’re not trying to break the world record for the longest breath, we are trying to control our breath, so choose a number that you’re going to be able to maintain, for ever – something that you’re comfortable with. So, sitting up straight, close your eyes.
We’re breathing through our nostrils, and breathing deep using our diaphragm. Let’s say my number is five: as I breath in, I’m counting – one, two, three, four, five and holding – one, two – and exhale – one, two, three, four, five; and breathing in again – one, two, three, four, five – and hold for one, two and breathe out – one, two, three, four, five. Count to your own number, in your own rhythm, but make the rhythm absolutely metronomic, absolutely steady, and continuous.
Nothing else exists, nothing else matters. The entire world outside of this room is dissolved, it’s gone. Your whole universe right now is your breath and the counting that is controlling your breath and keeping you focused on your breath.
Love your breath. Then you will so keen, so eager to focus on your breath. You will feel: “Oh, I’m so happy, because my breath is my best friend. I love my breath dearly, and this is the opportunity to be alone with my best friend, my favourite companion.”
Who doesn’t want to be alone with their best friend? Rather than being dismayed at the prospect of sitting still with our boring breath and mechanical counting, we are faced instead with the thrilling opportunity to engage in our favourite pastime with our beloved friend.
Our breath is the most essential reality in our lives: stop breathing, and we’re dead, so it’s very, very important. Yet how often do we give our breath any attention? Almost never. We take it for granted, the same way we take for granted that the sun shines, or the light comes on when we flick the switch. So many things in life which we take for granted, but they are amazing: and there’s nothing more amazing in our life than our breath. Our breath is a miracle. And it’s happening the whole time, right here. I’m looking here and there, chatting, reading, working, worrying, focussed on everything and nothing, while this incredible miracle is happening within me, at every moment.
Our breath is always giving to us – energy, oxygen, life-force, inspiration – it’s always feeding us and nourishing us, so let’s spend some time giving something back. Our breath is our oldest, most intimate, closest, most loyal friend. It’s the only friend who has never ever let us down in our life.
Everyone appreciates getting some attention and appreciation, and our breath is no different. So, let’s show our breath some love, let’s show our breath some concern, some attention, some focus.
Our most simple meditation exercise is breathing and counting.
When we meditate, we sit straight, to widen our chest so we can breathe more deeply, and to be more alert, more focussed, more in control. Choose a number that you will be able to count up to, slowly and silently as you breathe in. Then hold your breath for two counts in the same rhythm, then count to the same number as you breathe out. That is the entire exercise: do not think of anything else and do not allow any distraction to disturb your focus.
Some people find the very idea of just breathing and counting, dull and boring. If we feel something is dull and boring, we will not be inspired to practice at all. Or if we do practice, we will do so reluctantly and half-heartedly, and derive practically no benefit. So let us try another approach.
Love is the most powerful magnetic force, drawing all our being towards the object of our love. Think of anything that you love to do. If you love an activity, you are eagerly thinking about that activity and ready to dive into it, and once you are engaged in it, you don’t want to stop. Someone who loves to garden, just wants to spend all their time gardening, because they love it. People who love football, want to play football, and then when they’re finished, they can’t wait to talk about it, and then to watch the replays, then dream about it, and the next morning, it’s all football again.
Love is a superpower, the secret of success and progress in any field. We all have love within us, it is our very essence. So let us employ this superpower in our breathing and counting exercise.
We all thought Uncle Jack a bit peculiar. He would spend most of his days in the dense scrub behind the house, getting up to nothing in particular. Or so we thought.
Everyone in our large family was constantly occupied with meaningful tasks: going off to study, to work or look for work, heading out to travel, dashing to meetings, to rehearsals, training or sport, to engagements or entertainments of one kind or another. Everyone was busy busy busy: we formed a constant stream of traffic in and out. Our front door was a portal leading to all the promise and possibilities of life, for those who would go and pursue them. Which was everyone … except Uncle Jack.
Uncle Jack hardly ever passed through the front door. Only when he really had to. Or to help someone in need. And no-one else ever went out the back. Because, why would you? There was only scrub. Uncle Jack was sweet enough, and kindly, always with a smile which seemed to speak for him – so we left him alone. No-one ever thought to inquire about what he got up to all day.
Then the phone call came. Someone said they absolutely had to speak with Uncle Jack, and it couldn’t wait. Being the only one home, I’d have to go and find him. Out in the stupid scrub. Somewhere out the back.
And there it was. My heart stopped.
Just a metre behind the hedge: softly shimmering unearthly beauty, whispering leaves an ethereal chorus, a magical shaded pool of fragrant tranquillity; perfection fulfilled. Through the timeless breathless stillness, with a knowing nod, smilingly Uncle Jack floated off to the phone. He was never seen thereafter.
Nowadays, they look at me the way we used to look at Uncle Jack.
