In our normal way of living we lead a life full of innumerable different types of modalities. Sometimes, we are more logical, at other times more emotional, oftentimes in rhythmic bouts of dichotomy (e.g., happiness and unhappiness), still at other times quiet, relaxed and so on. These up and downs are cyclic in nature and are, more or less, a continuously occurring phenomena in life.
A closer observation reveals that behind most of these modalities, however, there is always an underlying thought process. It involves mind which invariably goes through an almost relentless seesaw battle amongst multitudes of possible states in front of it (like supporting, opposing, balancing & so on). This process, as we know, continues till it gets to a relatively more stabilized state; finally, when it reaches a decisive state, the mental thought with a definitive shape, crops up. The latter then directs and coordinates the numerous faculties in our physical body resulting in what we call the physical action and which is what we all observe. If, therefore, we desired to control our physical actions then impliedly we would need to first understand the corresponding mental thought/s responsible for the occurrence of the related physical action/s. To achieve this we need to remain constantly aware of our mental thoughts and, at the same time, keep a tag on their connectivity with the associated physical actions.
However, conscious association of the (mental) thought to the actual physical act, at the time of performing the action, generally goes unnoticed although, sub-consciously, we remain aware of it. In case we could somehow maintain this conscious association for most of the time, even if not at all times, then the awareness of this direct conscious connectivity will go a long way in evolving the mechanisms which could result in controlling the mental thoughts themselves. And this would, in turn, address the above referred issue of dichotomous state of our living.
People generally opine that it should not be a problem to keep a conscious awareness of this association. But, in reality this in fact is one of the most difficult thing to achieve for a majority of the people. The reasons for the difficulty lies in the fact that not many of us know how to relate to that association in a meaningful manner. It is best to elucidate this point with an illustrative example:
Emotional vis-à-vis Relaxing Situation. When we get highly emotional, let us try to observe just two (out of the so many) things happening in our body at that time, namely, the state of our breath and the heart. We would notice that the inhalation as well as the exhalation of the breath are faster than the normal and that the heart too pumps faster. On the other hand, if we are in a state of relaxation (like, for example, when we are deeply absorbed in reading a mentally stimulating book), then a diametrically opposite thing happens in that both the pumping of the heart and the breathing become markedly slow - in fact, at times, the breathing function is hardly noticeable. The heart and the breath are two discernable elements, apart from many others, that are effected in response to the mental thought (in fact, a careful observation will show that changes to breath take place in some degree in almost all situations). Are we generally aware of this impact (of emotional state) on our own breath. If we are then there lies a profound secret which we can utilize to our benefit, as we shall see and if not then we miss something of great value.
Let us for the moment continue to follow up the above example and take note of another significant observation. Suppose one could, at the time of emotional outburst, consciously slow down the breath somehow then it will be observed that our emotions too start subsiding gradually. (The question of course would arise as to how can one possibly slow down the breathing process, specially in an emotionally upset situation. This, however, is another matter and we will discuss it, in depth, later in another context. It may, however, suffice to state that it certainly is achievable.) The pertinent point to take note of at this point is that the mental thoughts are intimately connected with the physical actions.
This connectivity aspect is another intimately related but a more fundamental as well as significant an issue that needs to be addressed, in order for us to keep a grip on our action/s. It acts like an interface between the action and the mental thought responsible for that action. A fuller understanding of this could possibly usher in processes that enable transcending our dichotomous state into a relatively more peaceful and harmonious state.
Unfortunately though, the mental thoughts are a phenomena which we know exist predominantly but whose origin can not be pinpointed like say that of the heart, the kidneys, the lungs and so on. ( There are serious differences of opinion on this amongst the specialists concerned with this topic.) Without entering into the pros and cons of issues involved in this controversial domain, we find that the connectivity interfaces provides an useful, a convenient and a powerful handle to relate to the mental thought which enable us to direct our physical actions in the perceived direction. Like, in the above example, breath (the inhalation / exhalation process) was the connectivity interface. (In fact it is being used by adepts in this field ad an handle to not only keep in check the emotional outbursts but a whole lot of other mental as well physical actions.)
Such an approach brings us closer to a progressively increasing peaceful situation. Being able to live in an increasingly peaceful state will be an indicator signifying our steady progression towards achieving, in turn, the primordial state - which is a major step towards bringing forth the desired blissful state.
The question arises as to how do we use breath as an interface to relate to the mental thoughts. For this we need to concentrate on a number of aspects relating to the breathing phenomena itself. They will provide us with an understanding of the underlying processes involved and which, in turn, would enable us to get at the root of the dichotomous nature of things. There from we hope to emerge with strength to move in the direction of living a progressively increasing peaceful and blissful life.
We address these and related questions in activities starting with ‘Breathing Part 1 and Part 2’. We follow up the discussions with some breathing related exercises in the later part of ‘Breathing Part 2’ activity. A firmer control on breathing and related procedures will enable us to proceed further; these aspects will be covered in subsequent activities that are to follow in due course.
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