Welcome to the heart of our mindfulness practice.
The "1-2: In | Out" method is the simplest, most powerful tool we have for returning to the present moment and cultivating peace. It is the accessible entry point to the Full Awareness of Breathing, rooted deeply in the Plum Village tradition of Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh.
This method distills the ancient wisdom of the Ānāpānasati Sutta down to a moment-to-moment anchor:
"1: In" — Knowing you are breathing in.
"2: Out" — Knowing you are breathing out.
This simple focus is not about controlling your breath; it's about being aware of it. By focusing solely on the in-breath and the out-breath, we stop running, release the past and the future, and realize the miracle of being alive right here and now.
On this page, you will find the step-by-step guidance to integrate this fundamental practice into every corner of your day, helping you to calm your body and mind with every breath.
Welcome to the podcast! Today, we explore the wonderful Calm-Ease meditation, an accessible practice that reveals the profound power of a simple smile. Learn how consistently smiling, even when you don't feel like it, relaxes your face and becomes a foundation for inner contentment—a fertile ground from which true happiness blossoms. We'll discover how your meditation doesn't end when the bell rings; your breath, In - Out, serves as a constant anchor, allowing you to carry that calm, mindful awareness and that gentle smile into every moment of your busy day, transforming daily activities like walking and driving into a continuous, effortless practice.
Welcome back for Episode 2! Today, we delve into the core importance of mindful breathing, explaining how returning awareness to your breath and body anchors you firmly in the present moment, dissolving anxieties and bringing you back to your true home. We will explore the Discourse on the Full Awareness of Breathing (Anapanasati Sutta), using techniques like observing the length of your breath and incorporating simple phrases, or gathas, to deepen your practice—such as noticing your lungs expand or the temperature of the air—and maintaining that mindful presence even when your focus wanders, allowing peace and happiness to be available to you at all times.
In Episode 3, we recognize that stepping fully into mindfulness can feel overwhelming, so we learn to gently manage our experience by distinguishing between the breath, body, and mind—the three interconnected elements that inter-are. This episode introduces a guided meditation that applies the core principles of the Full Awareness of Breathing (Anapanasati Sutta) to both the body (Calm-Ease) and the mind (Smile-Release), empowering you with intrinsic motivation through loving self-listening. Finally, we engage in "Looking Deeply" to compare the feeling of happiness arising from true present-moment contentment versus the potentially less stable feeling of anticipation for a future event, giving you the freedom to choose where you want to anchor your peace and well-being.
Welcome to Episode 4! Today we explore how a simple, deliberate smile serves as a natural barometer, affirming that you are fully present and 'home' in the moment, a key element to cultivating continuous happiness. We delve into the concept of Wonderment and Gratitude as direct paths to accessing joy right now, shifting the paradigm away from waiting for happiness in the future, as taught by Siddhartha and Thích Nhất Hạnh. By Looking Deeply—a process of mindfulness, concentration, and insight—you will learn how the practice of smiling, which Thay calls 'mouth yoga,' releases physical tension and deepens self-compassion, grounding you in the profound abundance and interconnectedness of life, step by mindful step.
Welcome to Episode 5! Today, we explore how mindful breathing allows us to quiet the breath, body, and mind to connect with our true home—an island of refuge within us where we can always find rest, healing, and love. We emphasize that you are responsible for your own happiness, and by practicing Gentle listening to ourselves, we discover our unique sources of joy, which can range from recognizing the preciousness of the present moment to accepting the impermanence of feelings. The episode culminates in the Beautiful Experience of Emptiness, revealing how our initial practice of finding joy and peace through a smile is actually preparing us to realize that happiness and peace are our natural state of being when we "Look Deeply" beyond thoughts and perceptions.
Welcome to Episode 6! This episode centers on the critical importance of compassion as the deepest expression of love, essential for transforming suffering and nurturing healthier relationships—starting with ourselves. We explore how mindful breathing and Gentle listening are the keys to quieting the mind's chatter, which happens when the mind separates from the body. By returning awareness to the body and the present moment, we enable the breath, body, and mind to return to their true home of interbeing. When the mind is quieted, it is not empty, but instead becomes profoundly full of the positive experiences of peace and happiness, which manifests as a genuine, quieted mind of contentment, reminding us that happiness is not a path to be found, but the path itself.
Welcome to Episode 7! This episode brings together the six previous lessons to demonstrate how mindfulness, concentration, and insight are powerful tools for transforming suffering through compassion and self-love. We show that having rich meditation experiences serves as your intrinsic motivation to practice, especially when you need it most. By applying the cycle—starting with a smile for relaxation and moving through mindful breathing, discovering present-moment happiness, fostering wonderment and gratitude, and uncovering joy—we learn how to meet two different states: neutral feelings (transforming them into gratitude for being alive) and anxiety (using internal calmness as a resource to soothe and gain clarity). Ultimately, the episode affirms that every mindful breath and loving smile is an act of profound self-love and healing.
Cultivating a loving perspective for yourself—being kind, gentle, and loving—is an essential practice that allows you to transform suffering and embrace your wholeness. It is an act of self-compassion, recognizing that you are always doing your best, even when constrained by a limited perspective. The objective is to let go of this limited view by returning to the present moment through mindful breathing, which fosters concentration and opens the door for insight to present a healthier next step.
Cultivating a loving perspective for yourself—being kind, gentle, and loving—is an essential practice that allows you to transform suffering and embrace your wholeness. It is an act of self-compassion, recognizing that you are always doing your best, even when constrained by a limited perspective. The objective is to let go of this limited view by returning to the present moment through mindful breathing, which fosters concentration and opens the door for insight to present a healthier next step.
Welcome to Episode 14, where we dismantle the belief that experiencing Emptiness is a distant goal reserved only for advanced practitioners. We demonstrate that Emptiness is always present and accessible through your next mindful breath, just like the initial, blurry view from a mountaintop. By gently sharing your calm breath with tense parts of yourself—represented metaphorically by your eyes—you allow tension to relax and your awareness to slowly and quietly open, transforming the blurry shapes into the clearer, defined landscape of Emptiness. This practice grounds you in the ultimate perspective, where conditions cause life to flow and transition rather than be born or die, freeing you from the suffering of the historical perspective and revealing that Emptiness is not nothingness, but rather a state empty of self and full of everything.
Welcome to this episode, where we explore the feeling of Signlessness by applying the two lenses of the Historical and Ultimate Perspectives to the flow of life. Using the metaphor of the meadow, we contemplate how the Historical Perspective sees only the birth and death of the flower, while the Ultimate Perspective sees the continuous flow of life through changing forms—recognizing that the flower is born because others died and will die so others can live. By performing a hands-on lab that models these transitions, and then shifting this awareness to your in-breath and out-breath, you will look deeply to realize that no stage of your breathing is more or less significant than another. This experience of Signlessness—where every moment, every breath, and every transition holds equal value—is a feeling of deep wonderment, peace, and unconditional appreciation for life as it is, freeing you from suffering and bringing you peacefully home to the present.
Welcome to this episode, focused on experiencing Aimlessness, the third Door of Liberation, which is fundamentally about realizing you already are what you seek. Sitting in Aimlessness is a state of deep peace and happiness where you simply BE, letting go of the need to try, accomplish, or pursue anything outside of the present moment because "You are enough." Drawing on the metaphor of the meadow's cycle of life, we see that Aimlessness is the profound contentment that arises from understanding Emptiness (No Birth, No Death), where every moment is a full, complete, and perfect expression of life. Just like the moment after a deeply satisfying meditation where you feel completely whole and content, experiencing Aimlessness means you are home, free from longing or craving, because everything you ever wanted or needed is intrinsically within you right here, right now.
Welcome to this episode, where we explore the Three Doors of Liberation—Emptiness, Signlessness, and Aimlessness—by experiencing their effortless beauty directly within your own breath. Through the practice of mindful breathing, you'll look deeply at the In-breath and Out-breath to realize their fundamental Inter-being and No Self nature (Emptiness), recognizing that neither breath is more significant (Signlessness). By seeing the breath as a continuous flow that simply changes form rather than being born or dying, you embrace the Ultimate Perspective of No Birth - No Death. This experience reveals that your breath needs no improvement or destination (Aimlessness), grounding you completely in the peace and happiness of the present moment, where the full expression of one breath always creates the other.