Our Breath as Focus

Our Breath As Focus
One of the disadvantages of living in such a stimulation-rich world is our loss of focus.

In an environment where we are consistently being bombarded with messages, worries, judgements, deadlines and so on, it's very easy for us to lose touch of what's truly important to us.

Have we been influenced, or "brain-washed" to live lives that we don't really find fulfilling, simply because we've been told to, people expect us to, or which we've been conditioned to believe is good or right?

Are you continuing in an unrewarding, dead-end job because you think you need the money? Are you in a relationship because you can't bear being alone?

Do you try to accommodate everybody's desires because you think that makes you more likeable?

Do you speak, behave, dress or even think in a certain way because it presents the least amount of resistance?

Do you even ask yourself what you truly want anymore?

Stuart Wilde, noted author of "The Winds of Change", tells us of what he terms 'the tribe'.

We all belong to a tribe, so to speak - a group of peers that we can relate to in some way or other. We may be single, a father, Hindu, Eurasian, a sales executive, a daughter, a member of a certain church, a teacher, a politician, and so on.

And each group we belong to dictates, to a certain extent, what we will think, what we will wear, where we are to live, how we make a living.

It will try to keep us in a tidy little box.
Being part of the human tribe keeps us all working very hard just to make a living, while media messages keep our minds directed at purchasing.

As a result, what happens to the bulk of our hard-earned savings?

Yes, you guessed it. It goes into stuff we don't really need.

Stuff that doesn't fulfill us on a deeper level.
One good and simple way for us to connect and grow with our inner self is through the breath. The breath is vital to your life.

Breath is used to relax the body and mind, to take us to a high state of peace, to change our energy, our outlook, and thus our experiences.
Let's say that your spouse comes home after a bad day at work.

You only got home not long before yourself.

Your loved one does not seem so loving, and responds curtly to you. What do you do? Your day wasn't any easier. Do you jump into the tension of the situation? Or do you take a moment to breathe, re-focus your energy and create a better environment?
There is always a chance to change - to make a different choice.

By consciously taking a breath and focusing on it, your mind gets a moment to refresh.

By using your breath as a focusing tool, rediscover what it truly means to be you, to live and to love.

[extracted from A Slice of Life on 93.8FM]