~The Factual Dragnet~©

 Photo Credit: Molly Larkin   Air: The Fourth Element  Written By: Puck Arks   The fourth element of our body is air The best way to experience the air element is the practice of mindful breathing.  " Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out. "  After saying these sentences we can abbreviate them by saying " In " as we breathe in and " Out " as we breathe out. We don't try to control our breathing. Whether our in-breath is long or short, deep or shallow, we just breathe naturally and shine the light of mindfulness on it.  When we do this we notice that, in fact, our breathing does become slower and deeper naturally.  " Breathing in, my in-breath has become deep. Breathing out, my out- breath has become slow. " Now we can practice , " Deep/slow ." We don't have to make an extra effort. It just becomes deeper and slower by itself, and we recognize ...

 Photo Credit: Thank Your Body Simple Meditation for Anyone Written By: Puck Arks First Mindfulness Exercise...   Mindful Breathing The first exercise is very simple, but the power, the result, can be very great. The exercise is simply to identify the in-breath as in-breath and the out-breath as the out-breath. When you breathe in, you know that this is your in-breath. When you breathe out, you are mindful that this is your out-breath. Just recognize: this is an in-breath, this is an out-breath. Very simple, very easy. In order to recognize your in-breath as in-breath, you have to bring your mind home to yourself. What is recognizing your in-breath is your mind, and the object of your mind—the object of your mindfulness—is the in-breath.  Mindfulness is always mindful of something. When you drink your tea mindfully, it’s called mindfulness of drinking. When you walk mindfully, it’s called mindfulness of walking. And when you breath...