From Mantra Crystals

9/10/04

When things get too mental I go back to the breath. When following the breath gets too spacy I bring it down to the hara. Things fall away.

12/24/04

Started with “just breathe. Whatever comes up just notice it and return to the breath”. I went through quite a few other mantra crystals for bringing attention back to the breath, allowing the mind to settle out or disappear. At one point saw Chomsky’s language machine and wondered if he accounts for a realm where it’s not operating. The edge between inhalation and exhalation (& ex/in)  provides another experience. The mind (aka stream of consciousness, aka language machine) quiets and an illuminated luminosity is presenced. Ken says “Return to the breath and rest in what is already there “.

3/22/05

Just breathing in and out. Quietly. Haven’t sat in a week too sick to get up so early. Returning to just breathing. Zazen is focusing so strongly in this presence, crisp and clear, without all the fuzzy, ragged, competing stories. Let them all drop off into the background that floats away.

5/30/06

Just breathing. When the counting becomes a problem just pay attention to the breath, without the counting.