Dennis Lewis
The Center for Harmonious Awakening
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Dennis Lewis The Center for Harmonious Awakening
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Breath Qigong: Transforming the Energy of NegativityBy Dennis Lewis Qigong is a wonderful tool for energy awareness and cultivation. And it can bring with it a great sense of inner peace. When we are not practicing qigong, however, and are faced with the often difficult situations of our daily lives, many of us sometimes find ourselves at the mercy of negative thoughts, judgments, and emotions that have little to do with the actual situations themselves and more to do with the self-serving stories we tell ourselves about them. And we frequently find ourselves expressing this negativity to others, often in disguised ways. Nonetheless, others feel it and their perceptions and actions are affected by it. Our personal negativity spreads rapidly into the community and ends up influencing, in a not so savory way, not only the people we express it to but also those with whom they come in contact, and so on and so forth. Clearly, if our aim is peace and harmony built on a perception and acknowledgment of the truth, we need to find an effective way to fully observe and transform our negativity at the very moment it appears. What I call Breath Qigong is one such way. The first step in Breath Qigong, no matter what further steps or approaches we take, is to discover the silent, spacious dimension of ourselves that can observe what is actually taking place. Learning to follow our breath is a huge support in this process. As we practice following the inhalation inward into the expanding breathing spaces of the body and following the exhalation outward into emptiness, we discover that underlying the breathing process is a silent witness, the spacious, welcoming dimension of ourselves that abides in pure awareness--the underlying “I Am.” This is the foundation for any further work. In transforming negativity, we first need to observe the negativity clearly and sincerely. This means we need to really sense impartially where in the body we actually feel it, which will happen quite spontaneously as we follow our breath as I have described. As we open ourselves to following and listening in this way, the awareness that we are at our deepest levels will enable us to take note of the habitual, yet often unconscious stories we tell ourselves when our negativity appears and is about to be expressed. This is important because it is our belief in and identification with these stories that support the negative emotions we are feeling, emotions that are stealing our attention and energy and keeping us imprisoned in our self-image, what we habitually call “myself.” When the stories are seen clearly, we can ask ourselves, for instance, is this story that I am telling myself now about why my negativity is justified really true? Who would I be without this story? In asking ourselves these crucial questions and listening to the answers that appear from the silence, we begin to connect with more of the whole of ourselves, and our negativity is seen in an entirely new light. Once you are able to impartially observe your negativity and the stories you consciously or unconsciously use to support it--and this can take place in an instant by simply stepping back in yourself and sincerely asking “who or what am I?”--you can then work further with your breath to transform the energy associated with the negativity. For instance, each time you catch yourself about to be caught up in a negative judgment, thought, or emotion toward yourself, others, or a situation, and you have observed to some extent where in your body you feel it and what stories are associated with it, you simply sense the area around your heart and allow your breath to engage this area. If you truly sense this area, allowing the vibrations there to fully awaken in your awareness, you will no doubt also experience a feeling of great appreciation for the gift of Now and see that the negativity you are experiencing, however appropriate you think it might be, is just a habitual form of resistance to "what is.” This moment of opening to the truth is crucial, since it is the welcoming of the truth itself that ultimately frees us. Once you can feel the sensation in your heart area and the sense of appreciation, thankfulness, and compassion that comes with it, you exhale slowly and gently through pursed lips (as though you were making a candle flame flicker gently) these same qualities from the whole of yourself out into the world. Then you allow your inhalation to take place by itself (when it is ready) through your nose, receiving and appreciating the air and energy that comes to you without any kind of grasping or trying. If you are in conditions that allow it, it may be helpful to put one or both hands on your heart as you experiment with this practice. If not, simply use your intention and attention to sense the area around your heart as your breathing takes place. If you like, you can imagine making (and listening to) the sound "oh" on the in-breath. Work in this way for nine complete breaths at a time, inhaling and exhaling through your heart as the negativity arises and tries to express itself in its usual automatic way. You can undertake this practice as many times as you wish each day. The key is to allow the process to take place through the living sensation and awareness of “what is.” There are many other forms of Breath Qigong, of course, but they all depend for their power on discovering the breath of presence in ourselves, the silent, spacious dimension of ourselves that welcomes “what is” without judgment. By learning to follow through the sensation and energy of your body the inhalation, exhalation, and any natural pauses that occur, you will begin to make an intimate connection with that underlying, spacious dimension of yourself, which will help free you from the many judgments and expectations upon which your negativity depends. Copyright 2006 by Dennis Lewis. All rights reserved. More information about the principles discussed in this article, as well as some other transformative breath-related practices, can be found in Free Your Breath, Free Your Life. |
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