Today I read chapter 6 "Finding the breath" of Bhante's book "Start here, start now." It is the first book I have read on the subject that does not bore me. This chapter starts by explaining that the first thing to do when I sit down to meditate is to find the breath. What does "finding the breath" mean? It means feeling what is the place in the nose where the breath passes through and then focusing on that spot. Pecking the spot is easy, I take a strong breath, and I find it, I can immediately feel where the air beats inside my nose. The problem is attention: for about 15 min I tried to fixate on that spot. Complete disaster: CONTINUOUSLY distracted by thoughts of all kinds. Other problem: when I bring my attention to the breath I no longer breathe spontaneously. "I guess I'll never make it," that's what's buzzing in my head now. Bhante talks about Monkey Mind, "restless mind," he says as I keep practicing the monkey will lose its strength, I will be better at keeping my attention on the spot. We'll see. He suggests not to aim too high, to take the challenge one breath at a time, in small steps.
Prova a meditare mentre lavi i piatti, anziché usare il respiro. E tua moglie ne sarà contenta 😂