A Deep Dive Into Thay's Calm-Ease Meditation

Try to Break It | 1 of 6

  𑽇   Transcript    𑽇 

This podcast is all about experiencing the Buddha's Full Awareness of Breathing and Thich Nhat Hahn has given us a beautiful gift to do just that with his Calm - Ease meditation.  

It is a very simple meditation.  In - Out

The given focus is very simple.  Calm - Ease

The contemplations are not deep and complicated.   Smile - Release

And that's enough?  Surely there's more needed to grow myself and deepen my spiritual path.  Yes?   Present Moment - Wonderful Moment.

Soon enough, you will be able answer those questions for yourself by just Being with the meditation.

Surely, There's more to this Meditation!

Be Curious and Inquisitive

In the longer audio version, Thay introduces In - Out.  Then, I feel you can hear him smiling as he says, "Enjoy" while he releases you so you can be with your breathe.  Why does he say "Enjoy"?  Isn't this about being aware of my in-breath and being aware of my full out-breath?  What is there to enjoy?  Please, spend your time and - Go find it!  Discover why he said "Enjoy".  Thay has offered you an invitation to enjoy your breath. 

You can search for many of these answers in books, videos and texts; however, all the answers are readily available in the Here and Now.  You can experience the answers to your questions.  As your practice grows, I encourage you to begin exploring all or parts of the Calm - Ease mediation.

You Can't Break the Meditation

To know the enjoyment of In - Out, you can chose to be with In-Out for the whole meditation.  You can just be there with your breathe for the next 5 sits or for the next 5 months.  As stated in my typical introduction, There's no rush.  We are not going anywhere.  We are just slowly opening our eyes to the reality we are already existing within.  Breathing In - Out is fully immersed in that reality.

The Plum Village Apps meditation timer is great for setting up a meditation.  Here is one you do. Or you do it yourself.  You can't break this mediation.

In - Out

Do a few In-Outs spoken with your thoughts as you follow your breathe.

Be curious about your experience, and listen.  Gently Listen as your mind says, In-Out.

Listen to your breathing.  Listen to your body.  Listen to your mind.  Listen and mindfully make observations.  Listen to your breathing and your body together.  What does it feel like?  Observing and listening is being very mindful.   

Maybe you're curious about, "Thay says smiling is a practice."  What is my experience as I say, In and simultaneously smile?  Please do it.   Listen and smile to discover how it affects your meditative experience.  Maybe you have the Plum Village Apps timer set for 10 minutes and bells at 2 minutes.  When the bell rings, let its ring soak into you and listen to your experience.  Do you like it?  Then return to your breathing, In-Out.  In & Smile - Out & Enjoy.  This can be the whole meditation.  Try it and see if the meditation breaks apart.  

You can listen for 30 seconds, 5 minutes, 30 minutes or on-and-off the whole day.  Just Listen.  That's easy to do.  : )

Deep - Slow

Thay introduces them as an alternative to In-Out.

My curiosity may be, "how do these two words affect my experience of my in breathe and my out breathe?"  Is the experience the same as In-Out or different?  Please, go find out.  Listening to Deep-Slow can also be the whole meditation. 

As you listen, you notice how your tummy expands and shoulders drop.  That's a nice mindful observation.  Go be there and listen.  You can't break the meditation.

Feel my tummy expand.  - Feel my shoulders drop.

My curiosity may be, "What does it feel like to feel my stomach rise while listening to my whole in breathe?"  Listening to both simultaneously is about BEING.  What is it like just BEING?  Spend time listening and you'll know the answer.  It's waiting on you. : )

Why not? Throw in a Calm - Ease.  You can't break this meditation.

The order is kind of gone at this point, but from listening, the meditation isn't broken.

Maybe I'll try to break the meditation.  I'll listen to my calming body followed by an Out.  Calm - Out.  Gently Listen.  : )

Maybe I'll break it while combining In and Calm followed by Smile.   In & Calm  -  Smile

Please try to break it.  Listen and observe any two experiences while meditating and focus on them.  How resilient is this meditation?  

In - Slow

My curiosity may be, "I've already done this one.  What is the experience if I do it again?  Will feel the same?"  Please go find out. : )

Hmm, I'm noticing the temperature of the air coming and leaving my nose.  I'll place my focus there and listen with my breath.

Cool air into my nose.  -  Warm air leaving my nose.

Cooling Nose - Warming Nose

Now my curiosity about my experience shifts.  May be, "I'll focus on a small part of my breathing/body.  Then I'll fluctuate and listen to my whole body"

Cooling Nose - Warming Nose

Cooling Nose & listening to whole body  -  Warming Nose & listening to whole body

Has the meditation broken yet?  What is your experience as you gently listen?

Now, Let's Experience Our Breathing

We can do the one above or you can do one on your own.  Either way, I encourage you to just be with your breath and explore your experience with it.  Personally as I mentioned in episode 0, I spent 9 months with just In - Out.  I did sprinkle in other gathas, lines of the calm-ease meditation, and sometimes I would do other meditations but just being with my breathing was the meditation I returned to time and time again.  It's important to realize that there isn't a rush nor do you need to achieve something.  We aren't going anywhere.  We are just letting go and opening our eyes.  So I encourage you for the next 2 weeks to just BE with your breath, gently listen to your breath, and with curiosity, explore. 

14 minutes meditation with bells at 2 mins.  Mediation's audio.

In - Out

Deep & Listen - Slow & Listen

Feel my tummy expand & In  - Feel my shoulders drop & Out

Calm  -  Ease & Listen

In & Smile - Out & Listen

Your turn, by gently listening, pick two experience happening while breathing.  Those now are paired with your In-Out.

In & Experience - Out & Experience

You can keep the same two or explore other experiences.  

In & Experience - Out & Experience

Enjoy : )