Breath, Not-Breath Moments

"We spend most of our time caught up in memories of the past or looking ahead to the future, full of worries & plans. The breath has none of that "other-timeness." When we truly observe the breath we are automatically placed in the present moment. We are pulled out of the morass of mental images into the bare experience of the here and now. In this sense, the breath is a living slice of reality. A mindful observation of such a miniature model of life itself leads to insights that are broadly applicable to the rest of our experience."

~Bhante G.

The next time you take that one seat for meditation, try out this simple practice...first anchor your attention on the breath, right in it, fully. Now, as if the mind and heart are a blank page, an empty space begin to note what appears in this space, the experiences that take you away from the breath attention.  With as much vigilance as you can muster, notice the moments you are distracted from the breath as "not-breath" moments. You can start to be really conscious of just identifying the distractions from "breath" as "not-breath."  As you find stability and confidence in making this distinction you may begin to take time to see what the experience is: thoughts or images? Is it related to the breath, a physical sensation, a sound, close by or further afield? Do not get caught up in anylizing or elaborating on the experience, you are simply beginning to experience the actions of the mind, discovering the nature of mind. 
When you feel scattered, overwhelmed, sleepy, restless or bored, ramp up the attention to the breath, narrow the focus and really feel it's sensation in the body. As the mind stabilizes and calms you may then be more mindful of the "not-breath" moments either in a narrow sense or in their broader identifications.  Either way, allow yourself time to come back over and over to the breath and see what unfolds!

Clarity and Peace
Jenn