MIDL Meditation 7-12

In MIDL Mindfulness Meditation Training 7/52 you begin mindfulness of breathing by observing the breath as its flows autonomously through your body. Your ability to observe breathing free from control was refined in the previous training. Your focus now should be on developing the strength of your mindfulness and concentration. To do this it is not important to place your attention in any one location but rather to be clearly aware of the experience of breathing as a flow of sensations within your body. To aid in this you use basic labels such as "in" "out" and "wandering" in order to focus your attention.  

In MIDL Mindfulness Meditation Training 8/52 you develop your skill in mindfulness of breathing by becoming aware of whole length of each breath from its beginning, to its middle and end. This is done by intentionally bringing your awareness towards the beginning of each in-breath and the beginning of each out-breath. This naturally develops a clear perception of the length of each breath allowing you to 'rub' awareness along the breaths length creating the basis for the development of one-pointed concentration and the temporary suppression of the five hindrances to meditation.  

In MIDL Mindfulness Meditation Training 9/52 you develop your perception from mindfulness of the breath as it draws in and out, to the expansion & deflation of your whole body as it responds to breathing. This is a necessary transition from the development of one-pointed concentration to momentary concentration in order to open to the experience of your six senses to develop Wisdom. This transition is initially made by increasing awareness of your whole body as it responds to breathing part by part, by gradually expanding your awareness of the experience breathing within it. 

In MIDL Mindfulness Meditation Training 10/52 you develop your awareness of the expansion and deflation of your whole body as it responds to breathing. At first this perception is most clear as movement in the shoulders, upper chest and upper back area but gradually it expands until your whole body is experienced as breathing itself. This then creates the foundation from which you can 'open' and allow yourself to 'feel' your relationship towards any experience that arises within the field of your six senses with the expansion of each in-breath. 

In MIDL Mindfulness Training 11/52 you bring your softening skills developed earlier into your mindfulness of breathing. As your breath draws in and your body expands outwards you 'open'; you 'open' to whatever you are experiencing now, regardless of what it is. As your breath goes out and your body deflates you than borrow the deflation of your body to soften / relax into your relationship to what you are experiencing now. In breath 'open', out-breath 'soften'. In this training you then turn your attention towards developing clarity of the end of each out-breath. As the end of the out-breath clarifies you can than observe a gap between the breaths before you experience the arising of the beginning of the in-breath. As this develops all you see is "end - gap - begin".   

In MIDL Mindfulness Training 12/52 you intentionally develop mindfulness of breathing as a basis from which to observe the interaction between your mind and any experience that arises within your six senses. In the previous training you developed the skill of abandoning all participation with the deflation of your out-breath, this draws awareness inward. In this training you then turn your attention towards developing clarity of the end of each out-breath. As the end of the out-breath clarifies you can than observe a gap between the breaths before you experience the arising of the beginning of the in-breath. From this basis of stillness you then soften your relationship towards your six senses.