335 thoughts on “Meditation: What are we Meditating on?”

1. A lot of people knock meditation these days, but with about 1.5k minutes and over 100 sessions of various types of meditation under my belt, I can say it has great benefits. Great post!

2. I remember spending hours meditating in my younger year, but back then it was about checking out from the world and looking for a solution to how miserable I felt. The Gentle Breath Meditation is very practical and can be done in less than 10 minutes. Connecting to my breath brings my awareness inward, and from there I have been able to become a better observer of life, rather than getting pulled in and distracted by it.

3. In the tenderness and gentleness of connection to the breath our body and mind are brought into a deep harmony that is felt throughout the whole being.

4. If there was nothing else offered by the course of Universal Medicine then the Gentle Breath Meditation, then this alone would be an extraordinary offering to humanity. This simplicity, grace, beauty and absolutely profound depth can be found within this beautiful cycle and flow that is within us all is simply the doorway all of humanity needs to walk through to reconnect with who they truly are.

5. The Gentle Breath Meditation is about re-gathering and re-connecting back with our body and a re-introducing a quality that we can take back into our day with us – this was so refreshing to me the first time that I did it and very different to any other meditation I had done before. It’s like it confirms that you have everything you need within you already it’s just that you need to re-connect back with it.

6. For me my meditation starts with my breath, and these days I play with it. Its not so serious, it informs me of how I am but I don’t use it to judge myself. The playfulness extends out now to seeing if I can maintain an awareness of my breath, my body when other things are going on… being engaged in conversation or working on an email, writing this comment. When I do there is a magic that happens and I tap into a rich source of information from what I’m feeling… I’d highly recommend it!

7. Very true Lieke that is : being in your body, with your presence of your Soul and your mind(spirit).

8. Great discussion x

9. Incredibly wise words we would all do well to heed, thank you Adam.

10. Meditation is a tool we can either use to check-out or check-in. The former is harmful to the body, the latter is healing. The key for us is to discern in what way we are using this tool and to be very, very honest with ourselves in this process. Our entire evolution depends on it.

11. ‘True meditation for me is about connecting to a quality of gentleness or tenderness that is innate in our body and surrendering to this quality that is already there’. The Gentle Breath Meditation is not trying to have us believe that there is a place – or peace – that we have not yet attained and can get to if we do this practise. No. The Gentle Breath Meditation allows us to reconnect to what has always been in us, to who we truly are and it does so with the body. It includes our bodies and allows us to surrender to our bodies without the control we might otherwise exert.

12. I’ve heard a lot about meditation being about picturing something, a ‘happy place’ or even an object to focus on an attempt to stop the mind wandering. It makes sense though, that if we were to connect back to a function our body is actually performing, like breathing, we are keeping the connection of our mind and body together. This feels so much more real, and practical and sustainable, because we can be connecting to our breath all the time, eyes open or closed.

13. I really liked the way the Gentle Breath Meditation was presented, in that it wasn’t about escaping or getting to some higher place, it was all about earthing yourself really. Bringing you back from wherever we’d taken ourselves off too. It’s presented in a way that says you are already everything and we just need to reconnect to that by bringing attention to our breath which reminds us we have a body.

14. ‘…When I go out of my body into my mind, I feel I lose my innate intelligence, which includes feelings of what to do and what not to do, what to say, and what is safe to do and what is not…’ This is very true and I can say that I feel the same – when I am not in my body – I lose trust. I default to security led by the mind. I cut off from an instant and unquestionable wisdom.

15. I love this article more each time I read it. Leaving my body and going into my mind never brings feelings of acceptance or knowing that staying in my body does.

16. The simplicity of the Gentle Breath Meditation is beautiful, just to feel your breath going gently in and out and how your body respond is amazing to feel, not always easy to go there, when we have lived the intensity of the outer world but it connects us with what we know is true, the wisdom of our body.

    1. For me once in my body, I can then feel a readiness for whatever I am about to encounter. The Gentle Breath Meditation has truly supported me to halt the high levels of anxiety that used to affect me.

17. The difference between having the body and mind work together connected as one, or the mind running the body to its whim is so profoundly different. A difference worth exploring, connection brings simplicity and clarity, whims bring complication and confusion.

18. The gentle breath is a revolution and a revelation… a doorway to our inner heart which opens the connection to and experience of the divine that becomes a continual living inspiration

19. Our breath is always such an honest reflection of our connection.

20. Looking through the comments, it looks like you are not alone with your experiences in meditation. I too tried many different forms and found that the basis of them was not really about connecting the mind and the body but often treating them as almost two separate entities, with a strong focus on just the mind, and ignoring the body that was often in very uncomfortable positions! The Gentle Breath meditation does support a mind-body connection and brings you very much to the present moment.

21. Thank you Lieke my experience was a bit similar. I used to hear people talking about their meditation , it was mainly people who did yoga. They talked about how great mediation was how great it made them feel . They talked about how long they would mediate for . So an opportunity came in a big group where I joined in on a mediation. I looked around and all I saw was a big group of intense people . But I tried the meditation and I tried it a few time with different groups and at no stage did I get to what people were explaining to me about meditation. At all time it felt like a waste of time it was like eating something my body did not want. I now know that these people were dis-connecting from themselves and feeling the comfort and bless of no responsibility.
    Later in life I came across Serge Benhayon and I was introduced to the Gentle breath meditation, my body just loved this, as it was dedicated to a whole body re-connection, responsibility and purpose.

    1. Yes very familiar John, basically if our body does not like it we can be sure that it is not true for us either.

22. True meditation allows us to reconnect to a deeper level of beingness where our movements can be a reflection of that which is divine.

23. I used to view meditation as a check out from the world, a moment (sometimes a long moment) where I would take a break from it all. If I was feeling anxious or racy for example I would try to shut off from that. These days I use meditation far differently. I check in with myself. If I’m feeling racy I stop and feel that. Then when I feel that, I can also feel what lies beneath and try to connect to that. It’s now a moment to check in with myself and see where I’m at.

24. The integrity that Universal Medicine brings to meditation is crucial in my experience, laying the foundation for a meditation that truly supports, helping us to regather and re-align with a harmonious quality of energy that we can then bring back into the way we live.

25. In the Gentle Breath Meditation that I have done so for the first time when I was 18 years old – made me realize what I had missed the previous 18 years – mind and body being in one time (space). Hence it brought great joy in my heart to have this connection to my body which then brought it all together. Feeling present in the moment, more observant and understanding of what was happening within me and around me. A HUGE gift to receive for the first time, but surely a huge deepening every time I do this meditation. I tried meditations before, well if I look back now I strongly know and have felt that none of them have supported me in any way shape or form – only have caused damage and the opposite effect (being more in my head and disconnected from my body).

26. On my journey of looking for what I felt, I was missing in me; I came across many different types of meditations. All were, as many here have said, were a way of checking out. Instead of feeling our body we were trying to leave our bodies and go to fairyland and float. The Gentle Breath Meditation allows us to reconnect to ourselves in the madness of the world that surrounds us that helps us observe and not absorb the world we live in.

27. I grew up that meditation needed to be in a certain way. I had this admiration when people could meditate for hours and me thinking I was useless whilst I sat so uncomfortable with my legs shaped like a pretzel tingling or becoming numb and I would fidget like crazy, or that my mind would wonder with thoughts. Let’s face it, for most of us this is how meditation is projected and there must be something wrong if you can’t sit still for hours on end.

    Since I was introduced to the Gentle Breath Meditation, I’ve realised there is no trying, just being with me and the breath that enters into my nose and I can more or less do this anywhere, what a beauty full yet simple way to be with self.

28. Yes, meditation can be a bit mental, i.e. using the mind to control the practice of breathing, yet the gentle breath meditation was different in that it was all about the body and growing the awareness of feeling how I am. We can’t really ever let go of our tensions if we are in the mind, as it is only from the body that such things can be truly released. So meditation need not be wishy washy, but instead just a simple connection to how we feel and discarding that holding us back from feeling tension free.

29. The Gentle Breath Meditation can be used as a conformation of our connection and once we are confirmed in that connection it is then our movements that maintain the connection we have confirmed. Thus it is a movement, seeing our breath is a movement, a movement with a quality that is recognised and held. Our breath as a movement is confirming our connection, so then we know our next movement will be a conformation of that quality, which is in this case at-least gentleness. Bringing focus to the quality of our breath keeps our mind focused, as our mind can never be empty, then our movements expand that quality, which deepens our connection.

30. Connecting back to the body and its whole body intelligence gives us a gorgeous feeling of spaciousness within ourselves. The answers are all there when we ask for them, there is so much to learn from the experiences the body shows us. .

31. Yes, we need to learn to feel again if something is a fix (making it look like the issue is gone but it’s roots are still there) or if it is bringing true healing (digging the weed out with roots and all). If we become aware of this again certain shocking diagnoses, ‘out of the blue’ won’t happen anymore as we can see we built up a way of living that is not in accordance with the body for such a long time that it had to come out big.

32. “Thus, when I come out of the meditation I am more surrendered in my body and feel equipped to deal with life and its intensities that we cannot stop from being there. For me this is true body intelligence.” Absolutely Lieke, being in a position to make a choice from a body that is more than equipped to deal with what is there because you have given it the space to be itself, which is absolute love.

33. I like what you share here Lieke. I used to try heaps of forms of meditation, sit in uncomfortable positions and all sorts but they never really worked for me. I have done the gentle breath meditation as presented by Serge Benhayon and it is great but what I love most, is bringing my mind and my body together in everything thing I am doing, so my walk, my work or my drive can be a meditation in itself. In each moment, I can connect me with my mind and what I am doing rather than being on autopilot. It feels great, I know the difference as I often forget and try a few different ways but know really what way works best for me.

34. Having done a lot of meditation in the past, I found that if I focused on an image of something it became just a mental activity and I would feel quite cold and heady. I didn’t realise how disconnected I was from my body until I tried the Gentle Breath Meditation which brings the mind’s focus to within the body and in doing this I become aware of tensions in the body. As soon as this happens the body naturally starts to let go of the hardness I’ve accumulated in reaction to the world and I start to settle more deeply into my body.The mind always needs something to focus on, but by focusing on the body and feeling the natural warmth and yumminess of the body I don’t get bombarded by thoughts that take me away from myself.

35. Yes, Lieke, the Gentle Breath Meditation helps us re-connect back to a exquisite quality that is innate within us and there all the time, even though we may lose touch with it when we react to life.

36. Its definitely not about checking out, but checking in! Bringing all my attention to my relationship with my body and I’m truly feeling. The space inside just expands and the warmth spreads from my heart to my extremities.

37. The Gentle Breath Meditation supports us to connect with & appreciate the true spaciousness within, slowly, steadily as this is activated and moved it becomes a solid foundation from which to walk through life’s intensity.

38. What a great review of what true meditation is all about, I loved your line “true meditation is about connecting to a quality of gentleness or tenderness that is innate in our body and surrendering to this quality that is already there.”

39. Amazing blog Lieke, I have never experienced meditation before the one from Universal Medicine however I don’t feel like I have had to do it to know truth from lies.

40. ‘What are we meditating on?’ A good question, Lieke, and one that needs to be asked. Meditation has become quite popular as an antidote to a busy lifestyle but is it just another form of checking out or is bringing us back to a settlement in our body? If we have a need to block out any ‘disturbances’ it suggests we are trying to create an isolated place where we can retreat to away from the onslaught of the world. If we are using meditation to connect to the body then a short meditation will nourish us, and far from feeling the need to disconnect from the world, we will feel refreshed and able to deal with what comes at us because we are connected to ourselves.

    1. Reality is we can’t just bury it all or turn a blind eye or pretend life isn’t happening, so rather than find ways to escape, it supports us more to find ways to connect, accept and be part of life. Meditating in a way that is short, sweet and connecting is awesome, but hours on end of meditation, to not feel is not the answer at all.

    2. “Meditation has become quite popular as an antidote to a busy lifestyle” great point Sandra, when I read that I wonder if we should not question our busy lifestyle we want a moment ‘out’ of, instead of trying to fix it with an antidote that is an hype at the moment without knowing what we are really doing.

41. Lieke you have a very sweet way of explaining the beauty of having your mind and body together, working as one whole.

42. The Gentle Breath Meditation is different to other meditations I’ve done. It is a way for me to connect with the natural rythym of my breath and body, and then to take that into my daily life and to take the gentleness into everything I do…in the beginning this was such a big shift from the rushing and anxiousness I lived with.

43. Thanks, Lieke, I love the way you have re-defined intelligence here, and clarified that the true purpose of meditation is to re-connect to the body and a quality that confirms the divinity inherent in us all.

44. It is so simple when the true principles of meditation are learned and how our focus on our breath bring an awareness of our body. Then once there is this connection it is then able to remain as we go about our movements. So why would anyone sit and meditate for hours when the truth is always what we feel in our bodies, could it be that our body is numb and only connects to more numbness? As you have shared Lieke we can all equally connect to our body with every movement so that, when we can align to ‘true body intelligence, it is the most beautiful feeling I know, which is to be one with my body and mind together’.

45. We have indeed missed the answer to our stress and tension. Relieving stress by avoiding, checkout or imposing a state of calm does not deal with our inability to be in the world and the tension of not living who we truly are.

46. My first experience of meditation was very spiritual and from what I had heard from religions like The Catholic Church I thought of meditation as though it was something that was actually quite unenjoyable having to sit for hours! The way this form of meditation is done is for sure nothing like the way it is done when you are using it to simply reconnect to the body!

47. For many years I practiced meditation following Tibetan Buddhist instruction but on encountering The Gentle Breath Meditation I have come to realise that in all those years that the meditation achieved nothing other than relief and escapism from the stresses of life.

    1. I too have experienced different meditations and that’s exactly what happens. They offer temporary relief from stress, but the minute you go back into your life, nothing has changed. The Gentle Breath Meditation was the first meditation I did that offered something diffferent.

       1. And what the Gentle Breath Meditation offers is so much – a practical tool, a bridge to connect to our Soul and our whole body intelligence, the doorway to commit to live in full, …….

       2. I used different forms of meditation to escape big time. The Gentle Breath Meditation is profound in it’s difference, connecting me back to my body, soul and to life. It is powerful in it’s simplicity and a great tool for day to day life.

48. I agree with you Lieke that when I do the gentle breath meditation my whole body feels open and surrendered and this makes me more equipped to live life.

    1. It also allows me to respond to life rather than be in reaction to it. It gives me space in a way.

49. Yes Lieke – thank you. We are everything we truly are. Hence a true form of meditation simply connects you back to all that exists within you. Nothing less , nothing more.

50. For years I grappled with the belief that I had to quiet my mind, that a still mind was the desired outcome and that would deliver me some kind of bliss. Now I see that as such nonsense and is something that is impossible. I remember when I first heard Serge Benhayon present that the mind needs something to focus on – what a relief. And it’s true, I’m not even sure it’s possible to empty the mind but there can be a stillness in the body when the mind is focused. Generally I find I can connect to that stillness when my mind focuses on the body and what I am doing.

    1. It was relief for me too Nikki, and when I focus my mind with what I am doing in my body, as in when I exercise, I go for a walk, cook dinner or in Esoteric yoga for example, the stillness and feeling I get in my body is so much better than any feeling of trying, getting frustrated, busy lost in thoughts or such that I experienced when I tried to meditate in the past.

51. Realising how meditation is about connection was so simple, beautiful and powerful – great to get the head right out of the way.

52. If we are meditating because life is too intense why do we not consider looking at why we are so impacted? Are we living in such a way where we cannot be ourselves in life or are we absorbing others emotions or the drama in life.

53. The more connected I feel in my body, the more spacious I feel inside and out, because with that connection there is an inner-knowing that prevents me from reacting and filling my body and my mind with the energy of emotional turmoil like I used to do.

54. The Gentle Breathe Meditation is a gorgeous way to bring stillness and harmony back into the body. A beautiful reminder thank you Lieke.

55. The difference I found with the gentle breath meditation was to be able to surrender to all that we are – a magnificent stillness.

56. Meditation is usually associated with sitting still and being at peace, but the true and greatest form
    Of meditation should teach us that moving (what we do all of the time) is where we achieve true enlightenment. Once we have a quality in the body and begin to move it magnifies.

57. As a tool to bring us back to a present, aware and inspired relationship with life I have not come across anything more transformative than The Gentle Breath Meditation.

58. I am learning more and more how it is absolutely vital to be clear of our purpose in anything and everything. At times we can may be drawn to something that can be vitalising like food with an intent to do the opposite, ie to avoid feeling what there is for us to face. So being clear of my purpose is important. Also when I know why I am approaching something, then I am better placed to be able to discern if what is in front of me serves that purpose and unlikely to be sucked in by what I have heard about it.

    Meditation has been one of those areas that needs this awareness. I have in the past approached meditations as a relief from the tension of my daily life, and many meditations have delivered bliss which I thought was great at the time. Since my experience with the Gentle Breath Meditation presented by Serge Benhayon my whole understanding has broadened. Compared to what true meditation is, I can now feel how disempowering my previous relationship with meditation and what was actually offered was for so many years.

59. I once did a meditation teaching diploma in the early 1990s and after one week of sitting cross-legged I could not walk for two weeks. The Gentle Breath Meditation places no such strains on the body, but it frees the mind and body to be one, so the connection achieved is available so it can be taken into our daily movements.

60. Is it possible we have got the word “meditation” mixed up with pictures of what we think it should be but not actually clarified what it truly is? What I mean is that there is a general understanding that meditation means coming into a place of centredness and clarity. But what is this place of centeredness and clarity? Is it a place of relaxed numbness where we feel less connected to the dramas of the world but equally in effect ourselves? Or is it a place of deep surrender to our inner feelings, having a clearer sense of what is true and what is not?

61. For many years I practiced meditation under the auspices of Tibetan Buddhism and I was always ambivalent towards it. It was physically demanding, requiring the dedication of long periods of time and what apparent benefit/relief from the stresses from life or insights I gained were short-lived and in hindsight illusionary. With the Gentle Breath Meditation, however, the time required is very short, there is no physical hardship and the wellbeing I experience is manifestly apparent in so many ways in my life.

62. It is interesting listening to others talk about meditation, it is a topic that when it is approached from the head it can become complicated and short lived but when it is approached from the simplicity of our bodies and lived consistently and not for just short periods of time the benefits are humongous as we have access to true body intelligence and that is gold! Thank you Lieke

63. The Gentle Breath Meditation is actually a very natural thing to do, it requires no special poses, thoughts, visualisations or objects – it’s just breathing ourselves and connecting through gentleness. This is why it’s so portable, i.e., it can be taken into life and the quality of gentleness of breath used in work or other activities. It’s not weird or “out there”, in fact it’s like coming home to your true self again to breathe so gently and tenderly.

64. The thing I love most about the Gentle Breath Meditation is that unlike other meditations I have tried there is no shock when I stop and re-enter the busyness of the world, but simply the stillness I have brought to my body magnified through my movement. And so it is with joy, not trepidation or numbness that I continue my day.

    1. Great point Jane, it’s not a check out from the world and therefore also no shock to come back.

65. Only when we find settlement in our body can we feel truly at one with the world – we can let go of the busyness of the day and truly feel the beauty within.

66. I have heard Serge Benhayon speak about meditation as being in movement – and bringing conscious presence to movement. Now this definitely breaks the traditional beliefs about what meditation is and is for. Ultimately we are beings that move all of the time, and whilst laying still and resting is important it is the quality of movement that determines our overall state of being.

    1. Yes and even lying still and resting is a movement because we are breathing and there are processes going on in our body all the time. So making the quality of our breath gentle or tender it makes a lot of difference. I agree that our quality is mainly defined by our movements and to add that I found true rest is only possible after true movement and vice versa.

67. It’s so important to have tools to back us up when life gets intense, the gentle breath is a great one for me too, there are heaps of ways we can support ourselves when things are intense, I also find walking, exercising and moving my body very beneficial – it’s a bit like pressing a reset button.

    1. Love this. And the more time we spend present in life the more aware we become of the things that take us off course and the more adept we are at simply pressing the ‘reset’ button.

       1. True, the more you discover who you are heading off course becomes such an awful feeling it becomes quicker and quicker to catch it.

68. Totally agree, meditation is not about “… checking out of our body for a moment of calm…” but to check-in with ourselves and connect.

69. It is powerful to feel and consider our bodies in terms of space. When we have taken on emotional reactions they crowd out the body and create a build up of tension. But as we clear out these old reactions and heal the hurts, a beautiful feeling of space opens up which allows us to feel who we truly are.

70. The Gentle Breath Meditation is an amazingly simple beautiful technique bringing us to connect to our inner stillness and truly supports us to be in the world with presence knowing and love.

71. What I often tell those who I refer to this mediation is my experience of it being like a personal coach. When we connect through the Gentle Breath Meditation and let’s say a day later we find that very hard it gives us a marker and from this marker we can see what triggers us, making us go into reaction and losing connection with ourselves.

72. I have tried and tested several meditation forms but none ever did anything more then a momentarily escape from what I found intense or the runnings arounds of my mind. Indeed in some cases my mind would be more focussed but still I was mostly in my head. With the Gentle Breath Meditation there was instantly a different experience that did not only settle my mind but helped me get centred deep within my own body. I have experienced it as being a bridge to ourselves within, without escaping what is around ust

    1. Beautiful Carolien, I love this. Appreciating the significance of being able to be in relationship with ourselves deep within, without cutting off from the world.

73. Understanding that mediation is just a return to our natural connection that we hold and not a journey anywhere or achieving anything releases so much and leaves a simple process of surrender.

74. I love the feeling of coming back to oneself, back home all in a gentle breath.

75. Before Universal Medicine and the wonderful explanation Serge Benhayon offers about meditation I was not aware of just what it was possible for me to choose. Until that point I thought the best I could do for myself was to relax using whatever techniques brought relief from the trauma of how I was living life. How wrong that was, I soon started to appreciate the depth of stillness, awareness, harmony and connection available and Universal Medicine’s Gentle Breath Meditation was a perfect tool to start me on the way.

76. Its fascinating how even the way I close my eyes and sit down greatly effects the quality when I meditate. Every thing matters. And what I find interesting is the more I feel and know it is about reconnecting rather than trying to get anywhere suddenly my body drops and the tension goes.

77. I agree, we cannot escape the intensities of life and the world around us, but we can learn how to deal with it as opposed to react to it. The Gentle Breath Meditation is a great place to start.

78. It is wonderful to experience how when we connect with that quality of stillness and tenderness through meditation, there is no need to do it for extended periods for it is about reconnecting rather than avoiding the tension we feel.

79. When I first started to meditate many years ago I never considered what I was meditating on or what I was connecting to. I understood that there were different meditation techniques but I considered them all coming under the one umbrella and having the same outcome. It is only since I have become aware of the two possible energies we can connect with, one the soul, the other the spirit, that I have realised that all mediations are not benign or healing.

80. This is great Alex and really makes me consider what meditation can be about. And how actually is it about being more present and more aware rather than isolating ourselves.

81. Meditation is one of those misunderstood words. We think all mediations are a good thing, they are something to use for a moment to relax or distract us away from life. But what if meditation was about being active and part of life and choosing to be in a certain quality first before we do anything? We can live meditation each moment of our day – of course, if we feel we need to deepen or have been taken out by life then sitting with ourselves for a moment is very useful.

    1. Yes the misunderstanding and also bastardisation of words is the root of many of our problems.

82. I agree, no trying, no pictures or visualisation, no harming and stressing the body but a “True meditation for me is about connecting to a quality of gentleness or tenderness that is innate in our body and surrendering to this quality that is already there.” It is a simple sweet physiologically supportive choice and it feels amazingly supportive.

83. It’s important to understand that true meditation helps us to connect our body. Any other form of meditation simple takes us out of the body which is ultimately an escape. For true healing and true awareness we need to stay in connection with the body, as this is how we feel the truth of what is there and what is going on. Without the connection to the body we are in pure illusion.

84. I loved your description of what meditation is Lieke and how it is possible to be a normal part of everyday life, a few moments here and there to reconfirm connection with oneself and with the world rather than using it to escape from both.

85. I like how you describe the coming together of body and mind and how meditation is simply this union instead of an escape into the mind away from the body.

86. When we mistake meditation for bliss, we’ve lost ourselves in an illusion which is in fact far worse than the more obvious despair we can often find ourselves in. It’s now the vogue thing to seek out meditation as an escape from life. All this does is take you further and further away from the real you. Meditation should be about reconnecting to the real you so that you then bring the real you to life. We are made to be in life and not run away from it – and it is for each of us to learn to not shy away from life but to bring all of who we truly are to every aspect of life – and reflect this commitment and return to everyone else.

87. Meditation can’t take us anywhere, but true meditation can re-connect us back to feeling ourselves within our body, and thus we can deepen from there.

88. Checking out is becoming more and more prevalent and the numbers of people with dementia is rising very quickly. When we meditate in a way that has us connected to our body we establish that connection which helps us to keep mind and body together so we do not check out and do not succumb to alzheimers or other debilitating dis-eases.

89. Thanks, Lieke, for your simple but complete definition of what meditation is truly about – “establishing a quality and a connection that brings my mind and body together as one.”

90. And it is when we are connected to our breath that we are able to feel what our bodies are communicating more clearly. I find meditation is a great reflection of the way I have been living during the day.

91. Meditation for me is about building a relationship with my body and not one that takes me away from it.

92. Many years ago, when I was learning the various meditation practises offered by the different religions, there was always this sense of trying to achieve something which forever seemed impossible to achieve, and there were those who seemed to be content with this eternal unrest but I could never find a settlement in it. Furthermore, it did always seem to be something that I had to shut myself away to do, to separate myself from my family and from society in general, which always made me sad because essentially I was shutting myself off from the people I love to focus on something that made me feel like a terrible failure.

93. The first time I tried meditation I found it intensely boring and impossible to keep my mind focused on one thing. Then I dabbled in quite a few other types, most of them designed to get us further into our heads on some creative thinking journey, checking out from reality even further. What I love about the gentle breath meditation is that it is so simple: literally breathing and feeling the gentleness of that breath. No magic tricks, no escaping, just feeling what it is like to breathe, and from there, what the rest of your body feels like, and infrequently at first, but then more so as I get used to it, a deeper stillness that’s underneath any surface level tension, raciness or anxiety. A stillness that’s always there, just waiting to be reconnected to.

94. Some religions and spiritual movements advocate meditating for hours on end. This doesn’t feel very useful in the end result. I’ve found the Gentle Breath Meditation to be the most effective exercise of this type I’ve ever done. It’s super-simple, super-effective and takes about 10 minutes which is all I need to then go about my day.

95. Amazing what you’ve shared about meditation not being a way to escape from the intensity of life, but rather to create space so that we can observe and not absorb or feel caught up in it. This makes meditation a great tool to help us enrich not escape life.

96. There is a big difference – I too tried it when I was younger and could feel that jarring when I came back into the noisy, untidy world that was so at odds with my meditative state. These days I welcome the thoughts, interruptions and noises as they are part of the life that is pulsing around me – the meditation is there to support me to connect my innermost with the rest of the world.

97. It could be fair to say that for the vast majority life can be a struggle. From my experience from one who has been part of that many and who is still part of that many, (frequently) the Gentle Breath Meditation has been the best medicine. The perfect antidote to stress it supports the body to open, surrender and a wellness of being that makes it easier to be in the world and getting on with it.

98. Having experienced many types of meditation over the years and intense Pranayama meditation practices with yoga I can speak with authority and say none of these meditations ever supported me in anyway, they left me feeling quite numb and disconnected from my body that left me feeling very separate to others, the Gentle Breath Meditation is the exact opposite of my earlier experiences and connects me deeply to myself allowing for a stillness and quality that offers a powerful healing that unifies us all.

99. I have also tried lots of other types of meditation and struggled to really and consistently connect to the mental focus that it required. Gentle Breath Meditation is indeed a much simple way to connect to the whole body and build a way of being consciously present that you can carry on into your day

100. Meditation is typically an extraction and removal from life… yet, the Gentle Breath Meditation is a preparation for and gateway to living life in full meditation – that is, in the quality of full body connection in all we do.

101. Being one with our body and mind allows deep settlement and presence, from this place we can read what is going on with in and with out and we are the master of our life.

102. One of the greatest things that the Gentle Breath Meditation has taught me is that at any moment I am the master of my own quality in my body and that I do not have to take on what is going on around me.

103. The Gentle Breath Meditation offers the opportunity for us to reconnect back to ourselves when we have become anxious, tired or stressed. It seems that as most of us live everyday with this level of tension in our bodies the Gentle Breath Meditation is a powerful tool for all… only 5 minuets needed and continued awareness as we go through our day (to the best of our ability).

104. It is the most joyful feeling to have to be One with your body and mind – true intelligence.

105. Many people have made meditation part of their lives. Yet, when we ask for details, we find that what people do in the name of meditation varies quite a bit. This is a reality, people have very different experiences and go to different ‘places’. For some people, it is all about living the body and wonder around. For other people, it is all about becoming one with the body. For some people meditation is an activity that cannot be integrated to life. For others, it has to be integrated to life. As with everything else, it is important to know that there are choices in meditation. It is also important to know that the differences make a difference and that not everything under that heading is equally good for you. It is important to meditate on meditation and choose one that really brings the whole of you up and helps you to feel in oneness. The gentle breath meditation does that.

106. I agree Abby, I used to think of work as being a strain longing for my days off, time I could go outside. But now enjoy work, in fact I love it! The interesting thing here is that now it is often my days off when I can feel more tired not because I have been doing lots of things but because I have lost my focus and purpose with what I am doing. Essentially anytime I say to myself ok you can have time off without putting a purpose to it I am saying I want a break from life, my body, what is going on etc.. and I have found after that I then feel tired if not exhausted even though I may have just been lounging about all day in the house. We are designed to work and as you say work regenerates ourselves.

107. Certain forms of meditations are actually deeply harming to ourselves, other people and our body.

108. People can often use meditation as a way of shutting down, as you say, escaping, to not feel their hurts, and be fooled that they are connecting to themselves but really they are creating a greater chasm of emptiness inside them selfs – thinking they are doing good or achieving enlightenment for shutting themselves away for ten day silent retreats and sitting in uncomfortable and often for some painful positions for hours on end, shutting out people and the world – this is not so with the gentle breath meditation.

109. There is purpose to the Gentle Breath Meditation. It sets us up for life, rather than other meditations which are designed to escape us from life.

110. True Body Intelligence – TBA – this should be a class taught at all schools – supporting our children to expand on what they already know. It would change everything. For example, I watched a documentary recently about a school that changed the food that they cooked in the canteen, got rid of the junk in the food vending machines and swopped out all the sodas for water. Within a week they noticed dramatic changes in behavioural patterns, the concentration of the children and the atmosphere of the whole school. It was startling. Amazing that we call ourselves intelligent when 99% of us are ignoring even these simple messages and continue to pour such a junk diet into our children.

     1. Such a simple remedy to a huge global issue. Interesting to see if any other schools take it up.

111. The gentle breath meditation is like no other meditation that I know of, in that it is short, sharp and to the point and it has a purpose. You only need to do it for 5 min max, you focus your mind to the in and out breath, you surrender your body and with this whole body connection you get on with what needs to be done.

112. It was a revelation to me to understand that I can actually breathe my own breath, that I can actually determine how I breathe, i.e. gently and lovingly with myself and in my rhythm, instead of having the world breathe me, i.e. following the busyness and demand in every moment.

     1. This is amazing comment. What I mean is if you read it with no pre-knowledge or judgement then it is actually totally insane!! That we don’t actually breathe our own breath – or even know that we can. It’s totally crazy, yet what you have written is the whole truth of a gigantic proportion of humanity. We need to stop and just take a really long look at the most basic movements of our lives. This is the problem; everyone vexes about the complexities and big pictures; how do we cure cancer, how do we get to space, how do we build faster phones, how do we stop the planet from melting; none of these questions will get answered nor will they support humanity, until we start to have the humility and courage to ask the really, really simple questions – such as – who/what is breathing my breath.

        1. I agree Otto, we need to look closer to home and take the responsibility we have over our own life, with the simple everyday things that life is, that will bring us the answers that we need or more so that will dissolve the complexity we have made life to be.

        2. Babies learn to crawl, then walk, then run. Us adults could learn a lot from that. Get the simple stuff mastered first.

113. The Gentle Breath Meditation is the simple yet powerful tool that paves the way back to true connection with ourselves, and with that the greater awareness of all that we hold that is not truly us, but only serves to burden, impose and make us less aware of our connection.

114. Gentle Breath Meditation is so simple an easy to do, feeling the connection of mind body and soul is absolutely gorgeous but staying with this feeling through a busy day is another matter and one that is a work in progress.

115. Before the Universal Medicine courses where I learned the Gentle Breath Meditation the word had a bit of a mystique, to me it was a spiritual alternative activity. Yet with the Gentle Breath Meditation I found it to be simple and normal and enhancing of my everyday activities. The idea that we can improve our awareness and connection to our body through a simple in and out breath is quite amazing, and all in 2-3minutes of practice.

116. Through the presentations of Serge Benhayon and the Gentle Breath Meditation I discovered that this is not only a tool that brings me back to me – but is ultimately a way of being and connection that I can actively live every moment of every day.

117. Oh that pencil. I remember trying to meditate on that pencil. I hated it! And then I tried lots of other types as well, and was not a big fan of them either. Leike, you hit the nail on the head when you write that many meditations are only for a moment time, some respite from the world, and then you went back into the fray.

     With the Gentle Breath Meditation, it is so simple, yet so powerful. And because it is about the breath, you can come back to it at any time. You don’t need to lock yourself in a room, or sit on a mountain somewhere, it is all about you and your breath. (and we do that breathing thing a lot ;-0 !).

118. I have had instances in the past where I know that I was meditating to try to find relief from the day or to fix what has happenses and know that this does not work. Meditations power lies in the opportunity it allows for us to understand the quality of connection we have been living and to deepens this with a new marker.

119. The title of this blog is actually calling us to question and look responsibly at meditation itself: “Meditation – what are we meditating on?” – in some schools they are now enforcing mindfulness meditations – and it appears that it is not doing anything other than sending the kids even more unruly and all the more misbehaved…To me it appears that most mediations currently ‘marketed’ are just another way to be distracted and hence it reveals that meditation when not used correctly (in other words when not used to really connect us to our body and how we feel), cannot truly support our body. It is worth contemplating on what we engage in and how we use it.

120. ‘True meditation for me is about connecting to a quality of gentleness or tenderness that is innate in our body and surrendering to this quality that is already there. It is about establishing a quality and a connection that brings my mind and body together as one.’ It is a very simple technique and feels beautiful.

121. “It is the most beautiful feeling I know – to be one with my body and mind together.” Lieke I only can agree being one with the body and the mind is the best thing to do as with that there is no time for negative thoughts or this “internal judgement”.

122. Being connected to our own breath, our own rhythm and in that being connected to the fiery warmth within us is indeed the best feeling ever. And what I now know is that this is in fact our natural state of being. No matter how often I disconnect from my own breath, my own rhythm, it will almost remain. It’s only the connection that we might lose, but our essence remains. Connection with ourselves equals breathing our own breath. How beautiful and scientific is this! Our breath as the foundation of our entire life.

123. One of the things I have noticed since using the Gentle Breath Meditation is how beautiful it is to take the quality I reconnect to with me into my day and how supportive this quality is in dealing with the everyday challenges of life.

124. Meditation has been twisted and reverted to be a doing and a means to escape, and in this we damage ourselves much more than we realise. It’s no different really than taking a mind-altering drug to escape – the latter at least being a lot more honest!

125. You know what I do when life is intense – I escape – into my head – or I can use the knowledge of the Esoteric work as relief. This is definitely not the answer it doesn’t help nor support me or anybody. Now don’t get me wrong I don’t always do this, but it’s more often than not at the moment. There’s lots of things I don’t want to take responsibility for. I am learning though.

126. A candle – in all seriousness I was asked to do this once at a Buddhist retreat I chose to go on, and I did as I didn’t know any better so to speak at the time, but something didn’t feel right with the mediation practices I was shown at this time, so I would skip this in the morning and choose to go for a walk in the woods to see if I could see deer, or by the loch to watch the sun rise – for me this was far more meditative as I was totally connected to myself, God and nature – though I may not have realised it in full at this time.

127. What I love about the Gentle Breath Meditation is that it is a 24 hour experience, not just a ten minute sit down stop – we can be aware of our breath at any time, breathe gently all of the time, and stay connected with our body all of the time.

128. I never understood meditation at all, could not do it when I tried, and did not ever get the point of checking out, then what was supposed to happen? But the way meditation is taught by Serge Benhayon, checking in to the body makes perfect sense, the body and mind becoming one and the connection bringing a way to live life from, gives a true purpose to it.

129. Love what you have exposed here Lieke, meditation is used far too often as a form of checking out, a way of relief from one’s problems, the Gentle Breath Meditation on the other hand teaches us to be present in all we do.
     Being present with ourselves is the only way if we want to have lives that are enriched with our own love.

130. I tried a short mindfulness course once, and did a lot of experimentation with meditations associated with different kinds of yoga practice, but nothing gave me the connection, clarity and focus that The Gentle Breath Meditation so easily delivers.

131. A true Meditation like the Gentle Breath Meditation bring such a focus and connection to the whole body that it enables the participant to become a student of their own body. As a student of our own body the Gentle Breath Meditation brings a connection so we know who we are, therefore from this knowing it takes away any criticism and judgement of our self or others.

132. “I felt all of my body – warm and delicious, as well as very still and precious in quality.” The true purpose of meditation, to return us to a full connection with our essence within us. Anything less is robbing us of our most golden treasure.

133. Years ago a friend of mine taught me Transcendental Meditation (TM). I only did it once. Everything in me was telling me that it was wrong for me. It felt like I was shutting my body down and going somewhere else, which is exactly what was happening. There was something in me that knew that my body is the place to be, and that true healing comes from staying with myself and dealing with everything that is there. TM felt like an escape and didn’t feel true to me. In contrast, when I discovered the Gentle Breath Meditation it brought me right into my body and showed me how lovely I am. When we connect to that loveliness there is no need to escape.

134. One of the things that really struck me and has stayed with me ever since learning the Gentle Breath Meditation is when Serge explained that the mind is made to be think, and that it is up to us to choose what it is that we give it to think about. Not only did this mean that I could choose to keep my mind connected to my body in the breath (and also in movement) but as an extension of this I could begin to consider that there is always a choice, what we are going to choose – connection or disconnection?

135. The Gentle Breath Meditation can sometimes be exposing and difficult, simply because it brings us back to the body and how we have lived in it – this can at times mean feeling the tension, anxiety, drive, emptiness etc that we have walked around in until the stop moment to meditate, but when we feel these things we get an honest look at where we are at and can choose to connect to the inner essance that is always within

136. When I first heard Serge Benhayon present that meditation is about connection, and then you live that connection, it was like a light bulb going on for me and made complete sense. Why else would you bother meditating to reach a place of bliss or Nirvana, to then come out of it and carry on as usual? This dipping in and out of bliss or escape didn’t ever feel right to me.

137. The Gentle Breath Meditation enabled me to restore a true purpose to my life, to transform the quality that I choosing to live in from one of emotional and physical disregard to one of immense tenderness and care. Such a simple tool has gone a long, long way and will be a lifelong companion because it has enabled me to restore a deeply loving relationship with my best friend – my body.

138. Very well said, Lieke. You dispel a lot of the false perceptions about meditation here and bring it to its true purpose which is to connect to the body and its innate wisdom.

139. The Gentle Breath Meditation is the most wonderful support in everyday living in so many ways, in particular keeping one present in everything one does which results in being far more productive, at ease with life and the lessening of stress.

140. I have found that checking in to my body, reconnecting to my whole body, is a wonderful thing and something that supports the deepening of awareness. Meditation in my view and my experience is about reconnecting, or confirming and deepening this connection within and then, very importantly, maintaining this connection into every activity in our day. Hence this connection becomes a way of life, not just a moment to stop and rejuvenate.

141. Ha Ha! This brings back memories Lieke! I cannot believe how long I continued to sit cross-legged with my eyes closed for an hour or more in a group of equally keen people, in order to ‘improve’ the art of meditation and ‘bettering’ our lives.
     It was not an enjoyable process – numb feet and a very aching back was usually the result with the pain being excruciating at times, which became the total focus of the ‘meditation’ along with the longing for it to be over and finished.
     The Gentle Breath Meditation is the complete opposite – a few minutes of deep and true connection within my body during the day simply restores harmony in my body and the day. There is no need to ‘better’ my life now, being re-connected to the innermost essence is exquisite, even though there is so much more to return to.

142. Great sharing Lieke, as meditation is for many a way to get more healthy when in truth they are checking out and avoid the pressure they accumulate through the day. I have done those meditations myself and it felt like dreaming, not being aware anymore in the body. The Gentle Breath Meditation supports me to connect to myself and from this point discern where I have taken on energies, which do not belong to me in order to come back to my natural expression.

143. A lot of meditations have a focus of emptiness – to empty the mind and focus on nothing but space and that emptiness. Why focus on emptiness when we are so full of love and rich with awareness and feelings?

144. In the early days of The New Age and learning about meditation, I would see people doing deep breathing, counting breaths and sitting in awkward positions – I love the Gentle Breath Meditation because we start by sitting or lying comfortably. It is not about being a martyr but allowing our bodies to deeply rest.

145. It’s true meditation is the next big thing at the moment but great point what are we actually doing when we meditate? Are we simply managing the mind or can we actually reconnect with our bodies and our inner essence or stillness and therefore energetically make a change in our being?

146. I too meditated in the past but can now classify that as checking out in my mind in complete disconnection of my body. The Gentle Breath Meditation however, does connect to the body instead and in that gives focus to the mid to concentrate, on and as you say Lieke, connects to an intelligence that can only be accessed through the body and never throught the mind, an universal intelligence that will show us the way back to Soul.

147. In all of my modality sampling over the years, they all had the same kind of base with mediation, to leave ourselves and go someplace and chill, numb, float; anything other than to feel your body was their primary purpose. The Gentle Breath Mediation is the only one I have found that is all about connecting us, to bring us back to our bodies.

148. The Gentle Breath Meditation a super practical tool for re-connecting the body and the mind and then this awesome combination is ready for anything that life presents it with – having a deep knowing of what is needed in any moment.

149. When I go out of my body into my mind, I feel I lose my innate intelligence…This is something to really ponder on for if we really feel what a decision maybe instead of making a rash choice, our outcomes would be so much brighter.

150. “It was from this moment that I learned that meditation is not about checking out of our body for a moment of calm and to basically escape from the intensity of the world. The point is, after this ‘outing,’ we always have to come back to our body and feel it, and the intensity of the world it carries once again. In other words, it does not change anything.” This blows the whole concept of what we have been led to believe is ‘traditional’ meditation out of the water as the Gentle Breath model offers the complete opposite. Rather than providing a space where we can literally leave our bodies, it brings complete focus and connection with the mind and body working togetether as one. And by taking that focus into everything we do we have the ability to be completely present all of the time.

151. I ran away from meditation as I couldn’t justify sitting for long periods of time but knew deep inside that if it was shared to support and build the body with purpose then that made sense to me. Along came The Gentle Breath Meditation presented by Serge Benhayon and life began to make a whole lot of sense!

152. “Meditation: What are we Meditating on?” – good question Lieke, and also why are we meditating i.e. for what reason. I would meditate to ‘feel better’, or ‘to fix’ something, maybe ‘focus on a decision/dilemma’ ‘to empty my head’ — but all this just takes one away from the simplicity of one’s breath, its [gentle] quality.. feeling this gentleness, and so feeling oneself as being this too – i find it is from this point clarity is felt through quality, not ideal or mental logic.

153. Beautiful blog Lieke. I grew up with people meditating and anxiously getting irritated if anyone made a sound and snappily telling us to be quiet. Internally I thought to myself ‘how can this meditation be that good, if they still treat people this way?’. Now I can understand that this kind of meditation only offers brief relief – no wonder they were upset. The Gentle Breath Meditation is so different to me – it’s not just a moment but a key to unlocking a quality you then can live throughout the day – a consistency of living joy.

154. Meditation is a tool that can be used to either reconnect us to the truth of who we are, or a tool used to escape from this.

155. I’ve never heard such a clear understanding of the difference in meditating based on the mind and as a check out from the body and meditating based on the body and the quality in it. When I hear it like this, it’s obvious as to why any old meditations did not work and how in fact they were just a respite and a relief but not really dealing with anything. I love the Gentle Breath Meditation and how it allows me to come back and feel all of me, body included and to reconnect to the feeling of who I am, super simple and less than 5 minutes, it really has changed my life.

156. I used mediation as a means of seeking enlightenment, under the belief that once enlightened all my worries would disappear and the world’s woes wouldn’t touch me and I wouldn’t have any issues or tensions. It came with a mystery and escapism from this world of materialism. There was also an arrogance of knowing the world was more than just what could be seen and I knew better. The Gentle Breath Meditation has supported me to appreciate the wisdom in the world -the particles we all share – and to inspire me to be in this world and commit to being here 100% (so less and less checking out); to no longer wish to escape it. This is huge for me and the enlightenment I once sought I now see as just avoiding knowing who I am and the truth of why we are all here.

157. Very true Alex, these assumptions can be very misleading of what is actually delivered. What is key is the simplicity of the Gentle Breath Meditation, the fact that it only takes a few minutes to bring one self to feeling the delicious surrender into the body that Lieke is describing.

158. Yes, all these words are commonly accepted as the new thing we’ve discovered or rediscovered (and been ‘humble’ enough to concede old techniques having merit) that are key to our well-being; when actually there is as little discernment as there is in following the next research findings of what is good for the body to eat. The Gentle Breath Medication is completely transparent which is unlike most that is on offer.

159. I tried meditation when I was younger but never really understood why nothing really happened apart from becoming uncomfortable sat with my legs crossed and so quickly gave it up. In discovering the true purpose in mediation and how simple it is having been a revelation and exposing of just how strong our preconceived beliefs on such matters can be.

     1. Only because we have allowed the meaning of words to be bastardised we have lost the true meaning of these. While meditation is there for us to reconnect with the source of our being and that is the universal intelligence that can only be felt trough the body and not through the mind, we have made meditation something from the mind and only through the mind and therefore will never find the connection we are looking for.

160. The Gentle Breath Meditation as taught by Serge Benahyon is so far removed from any meditation that I ever tried, and the only meditation that I ever truly understood as it made complete sense. It brings such a deep connection to you and your body, and has such a clear purpose to it, where as all other methods I have tried have just left me feeling a bit stranded, not really knowing what I was supposed to be doing and certainly not feeling like I was in my body – in fact the total opposite on some occasions. And whatsmore, this Gentle Breath method is so simple and accessible to everyone and can only be of benefit.

161. I was pondering on why I never liked the idea of attending meditation classes and have never been to one because of how I felt about them. I felt it was heavy, difficult and didn’t feel right for me. I remember my thoughts were telling me that I should try meditation classes because they sound great but the feeling in my body was one of heaviness whenever I contemplated going to a class. I am glad I listened to my body and honour what I felt. The feeling I got from The Gentle Breath Meditation is completely opposite. It feels simple, easy to practice and every particle in my body feels light and joyful when I practice it. What I love about it is that I can include people around me while I am doing the Gentle Breath Meditation, it leaves me feeling more connected to myself and to people.

162. The difference I am hearing when reading your blog is between checking out and checking in. The ability to take a moment to re-connect with the body, with stillness and move from there. It is a tool that can be applied anywhere, noisy or quiet in my experience!

     1. Exactly Lucy. There is a difference between trying to escape life and it’s intensity and learning to observe life in full, engage with it but not get overwhelmed by it.

163. I agree Lieke . . . .”It is the most beautiful feeling I know – to be one with my body and mind together.” . . . and also to breath one’s own breath rather than breathing in the intensity of the world.

164. Meditation as a simple tool to reconnect to ourselves. With this being the only (ONLY) purpose! No travelling, no attracting a better job, a partner, more money etc. But simply to reconnect when we’ve lost ourselves in the dynamics of everyday life. I love the gentle breath meditation. To me a clear and very precious gift for us to learn who we truly are, fiery love!

165. What is often deceiving about most types of meditation on offer is that it can leave people in a state of bliss, which is no different to a type of drug, but is even more sinister because it is natural, costs nothing and appears to look ‘so good’.

     1. This is very true Vicky. I realise why I never liked that feeling of bliss because I know the consequences of this short lived moment of bliss can be a downward spiral of darkness and addiction. This is why I stayed clear of drugs and meditation classes because I felt they would not be supportive to my body or life.

        1. I am still fascinated by the energy of bliss as it can be quite deceptive. I am observing how it can be used at any time by anyone who doesn’t want to feel their current state of being, and instead give out or project that they are in a difference place, ie ‘bliss’. The dictionary describes it as, “reached a state of perfect happiness, oblivious to everything else.” Maybe another word for this is ‘dishonesty’.

166. It is beautiful how the Gentle Breath Meditation returns us to connecting with our body and stillness within, and then we take that connection into our daily living.

167. The gentle breath meditation is literally life transforming. Such an easy tool to use at anytime and anywhere that makes an instant change to how my body feels in just 3 breaths.

168. For about a year I persevered with attending a meditation and philosophical discussion group – I appeared to be the only person who was unable to keep my mind focused on an image in my head!
     The Gentle Breath Meditation has changed this completely and I love the sense of having a deeper relationship with my body through having more awareness and conscious presence with it.

169. We can be so desperate to escape from life – understandably so, given the intensity and strain – that we’ll go into all sorts of meditation activities – sitting on our bum for hours, our legs going numb, shaking like a loony-bin (yep, that’s a meditation people seek to, to escape and find nirvana) not talk for weeks on end while sitting on one’s bum, etc. As you point out Lieke – after the stint, however long it is, you’ve got to go back in the world again. But you go in as the recluse that’s withdrawn from life – and this eats away at you and your life-force.
     I have been there – deeply sensitive, life was too harsh and there were all sorts of tantalising meditation activities to seek out and run away into.

     Underlyingly, the anxiousness of running on empty would never leave me – it would just come back often even stronger.

     The gentle breath meditation is as different as night is to day. For one, there is no escaping – the whole point is that we have this tool to breathe gently consistently, while we’re in the midst of doing things, and thus consistently bringing ourselves back. And it connects you to the one thing that brings you back to you to be steady in the crazy world we are in – your body. Two feet solidly on the ground, as you breathe your breath – that is, God’s breath, in and out of your lungs.

     With traditional meditation practices I wanted to run away from the world. With the Gentle Breath Meditation I wanted, and still do, to fully dive in to the world and be me in it, in full.

170. It is essential to discern what happens to your body when mediating including if you go off somewhere else or go into bliss as ‘nice’ as they may feel they do not support the body to be in alignment with our innate divinity.

171. The gentle breath meditation is the opposite to all other forms of meditation and I agree” It is the most beautiful feeling I know – to be one with my body and mind together.” and has changed my life also so much in connecting to my self inside deeply and then the intensity of life becomes something that just is and the support from inside allows in the natural universal flow of life.

172. I just assumed that meditation is good for me. But isn’t this another example of me giving my power away to the experts? It makes so much sense to use meditation to connect to myself and then from there I can make a better decision about what I need.

     Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine presents a simple meditation that allows me to feel a deeper connection with myself. A place that I have always had and no one can take from me. It has supported me to live in a way, so I can truly make a positive difference in the world.

173. Its interesting how there is an idea that one has to meditate for hours, but actually, with the Gentle Breath Meditation, it clearly demonstrates that it takes no more than 5-10min to stop, reconnect and feel your body… this complete stop and feeling of connection and surrender actually feels like you are with yourself in stillness for more than 10min … a true arrest of a busy momentum.

174. Once I tried to meditate outside on an early morning, I lit incense, sat on a hard ground and tried to close my eyes, I couldn’t fee any calmer – Im not sure I make my mind still for more than 5 seconds I was more wanting to smell the incense haha. But my point is we have to be discerning about how and why we do something such as meditation – we are taught and take on a complete false way of moving our bodies and using our intelligence that when we sit we call it relax time, where as before all of this change and when I was a child I used to play and play for hours and had more energy than I could image – so its got to do with how we use our energy not being clever.

175. It is totally a different intention to meditate to re-connect to our innermost rather than to create a state of calm or to empty our minds. Rather than seeking to avoid the intensity of life, we can engage in life and feel the tension. but from a place of stillness.

176. ‘In that moment I feel the whole of my body like it is a big space and from there it is very clear what I need to do, how I need to do it and when’. This is confirmation that being with our body and in absolute commitment all else will flow. Very simply living absolute trust.

177. The gentle breath meditation is different from others forms of meditation I have practised – there was always this irritation, and feeling annoyed with other meditations that I do not feel with the gentle breath. I get to feel my body more and also you do not have to sit there for hours on end, with body parts going numb, which often felt like an endurance test.

178. Although I never did those kind of meditations where you wonder off into your thoughts or try and focus on a mental image or goal, I can remember in school once being asked to meditate and everyone lay down and pretty much just fell asleep – there wasn’t a reconnection, more a moment of relief and escape from the day. What I love about the gentle breath meditation is that it actually sets you up for living in life fully, not sitting around all day but being active and taking your connection in the meditation out into life.

179. I have tried so many different meditation styles in the past but none of them settled me from within, and those guided ones, don’t change anything in the body, they may feel good at the time, but probably because you think you have shifted or moved something but your really just taking the focus away for a time.

180. For a long time I didn’t understand what meditation was. When I started try experimenting different kinds of techniques and methods. I always had this feeling of not doing it right, and the meditation itself was the goal, the climax, those fleeting moments of bliss were what I sought. What I have learnt from Universal Medicine is that it is only just a beginning, it is a preparation for me to be in the world, and the moment I open my eyes and thereafter – that’s what matters.

181. This I can relate to Adele, coldness does have a huge effect on my expression too yesterday in the cold supermarket in my summer dress I totally got frustrated and doubting about what to buy which was not there before. How we treat ourselves and care for ourselves does have a huge effect on how we are with others.

182. It makes so much sense that meditation is not about going somewhere in our mind (we do that already all the time) but actually connect to our bodies more deeply. So it is not an escape into a better world but about staying present and feeling ourselves and staying aware of all what is going on.

183. ‘When I go out of my body into my mind, I feel I lose my innate intelligence.’ Going out of the body disconnects us from the wisdom and beauty within and so we start replacing that with information and attempts to find love from something or someone outside ourselves, when all along what we most long for is within us and is awakened once we reconnect deeply with the body.

184. I love the Gentle Breath Meditation because it is a ‘check in’ rather than a ‘check out’ of the body. It bring me back to my body and the natural rythmn of my breath, very simple in and out, and with that I feel myself in my body. It brings an honesty to me of where I am at.

185. Lovely Lieke, how meditation becomes easier and easier in life the more we do it and checking in to the body becomes no effort at all, but such a natural feeling to return to connection to ourselves. The stillness we hold with true meditation then becomes a movement we can move with to become a part of everyday life.

186. I used to think of and use meditation as a way to sit out the world but now see it as a way to simply reconnect and then take this quality out with me into the world. Slowly then everything becomes like a meditation because it confirms and deepens my connection.

187. People can use meditation in the same way people drink alcohol, eat sugar, do excess sport or go into their heads and overthink and comments locate things – to escape life.

188. I saw a TV clip of a famous personality talking about why they meditated the other day, it was along the lines of being able to forget about everything – this is what meditation was sold to as me before I was presented with the gentle breath meditation. The very first time I did the Gentle Breath Meditation I was blown away I had never experienced anything like it. There was no lightening bolts or epiphanies – simple feeling myself it was so simple and profound, and has always stuck with me.

189. What do we do when we find life intense, mostly we seek some sort of relief (and escape) and many people turn to mediation. I did too, I attended yoga classes with a free meditation after the class finished. I always felt so empty afterwards with no real feeling in my body, plus my legs were numb. What a difference when I tried the Gentle Breath Meditation, no numb legs and not left feeling blank but much feeling in my body. The difference was like day and night.

190. I agree it is super important to be very clear about what our purpose is behind any meditation for that is the quality we are magnifying in us and will be left with afterwards.

     1. So true and this is rarely discussed. I often wonder why and then realise that meditation is like everything else, it can be used to check out or check in. Checking out just exacerbates a momentum or pattern of behaviour that we are not coping with, checking in gives it an opportunity to stop so we can re-connect and embrace life more connected to our heart.

191. Beautiful description here Lieke of the purpose of meditation. I too tried many different forms of meditation previously and could not carry on with them as I also found them to not really support me. When I came across the Gentle Breath Meditation as presented by Serge Benhayon, it felt completely different and I have continued with it for nearly 10 years now and it has been very supportive for me.

192. All my experiences of meditation (and there were many) up until the point of discovering the Gentle Breath Meditation took me out of my body and into my head.

193. I know I have done several different meditations and have come to realise that they didn’t feel great and they weren’t sustainable because of this. Now over 13 years with practicing The Gentle Breath Meditation as presented by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine I have a tool that connects me to my Soul and this allows me to feel the Power in the quality that this brings.

194. People are desperate for something that brings them back to themselves and supports them through the overwhelm of life. But faced with a proliferation of meditation techniques and programs marketed as a business rather than offering a true service makes it difficult for them to find one that will truly support. The Gentle Breath Meditation offers this, and is freely available on-line on Unimedliving.

195. We have a funny story in our family as someone meditates and absolutely swears by their mediation how it has calmed them down nothing that happens in the world touches them they are so deeply calm within their bodies. And we were all very impressed with this new way of being for them and they did indeed seem very calm. However apparently while driving around the busy streets of London it seems they lost the plot completely became extremely upset and angry as the passenger in the car. The outburst intrigued me, just what was happening when they were meditating was it just a way to bury their feelings more deeply into the body and if so is that a healthy way to live? The mediation clearly hadn’t helped with the anger issues as they were still residing in the body, just needing a situation to trigger the anger. Which shows to me that unless the anger issues are addressed as to why the person is angry in the first place and resolve that, meditation is only going to mask what is really going on, which is what indeed happened.

     1. It is very humbling and sobering when we find issues that we thought were sorted by our use of meditation, medication or treatment modalities have not disappeared at all and at times come up in a more aggressive manner. It shows that many techniques are designed to just offer relief, without the actual understanding and honouring of the whole of the human being and the energetic dynamics at play, so all they can do at best is to bury the issue until it resurfaces after ages of percolating in our body and shocks us with its intensity.
        I am so appreciative of the Gentle Breath Meditation as well as the many modalities introduced by Serge Benhayon that is not about relief or burying, but completely honours humanity at the deepest level.

196. Lieke, I can relate to what you share. I have experienced many different types of practices called meditations: guided and creative visualisations, yoga breath meditations, counting, and focusing on a single object or flame, all very mental in orientation and didn’t take me anywhere. The beauty of The Gentle Breath Meditation is its simplicity, by breathing gently, we focus on the whole body and as you say, is a surrendering to the Divine. Over time it becomes part of us and all of life becomes a meditation.

197. Leike my first introduction to meditation was similar to yours, my friend would be sitting in the middle of the living room and if I came in whilst he was meditating I was to creep around quietly and ignore him. I found it quite mystical and I was always curious with what he got from it. What I love about the Gentle Breath Meditation is that even in a room full of people, noise and activity it is still possible to connect to our breath and feel gentleness return to our bodies.

198. I remember trying to meditate, sitting cross legged on my floor focusing on the point between my eyebrows and getting incredibly uncomfortable. Nothing really changed, I was waiting for this eureka moment – which never came. All that did come was a numb bottom an empty mind and a feeling that I had ticked off my meditation for the day in the hope that something was changing. It was dull and a bind to do, so I didn’t stick at long. The Gentle Breath Meditation is completely different as I feel a connection to me as my body lets go of the hardness it has accumulated during the day.

199. I’ve read and heard about many kinds of meditation. Usually done at the end of a yoga session to ‘unwind’. The Gentle Breath Meditation is the only meditation I’ve ever done where it actually can be done in movement. That says a lot. And it is about being totally present not resting.

200. Meditation for escape or meditation to connect? They are worlds apart, so its vital that we are discerning about the type of meditation we are doing. They are not all the same.

201. As with anything, what we do can have extremely different effects (e.g. in this case meditation can either reconnect us or help us to check out away from life) depending whether we have a purpose and what that purpose is.

202. You raise an important question here Lieke that highlights the fact that there are a wide variety of meditation techniques that have different focuses and purposes. We must be discerning in our choice of meditation and not assume that all meditation is what we want it to be. For me, this innermost connection is truly vital and meditation must be about re-establishing, supporting or deepening this connection further.

203. What a stark difference between the two types of meditation. One feels cold, the other feels warm. One feels separative, the other feels welcoming and inclusive. One feels empty, the other feels full and rich and lovely. I know which I choose.

204. The Gentle Breath Meditation enables one to fully connect with one’s body, mind and spirit as one as no other meditation does and to then maintain that connection in everyday life.

205. The Gentle Breath Meditation has been the only meditation I have actually been able to do. It very quickly restores a connection to a tenderness and stillness within my whole body that I have never felt inside my very busy head. Undoubtedly the best way to get out of my head and back into my body.

206. Thank you Lieke, you make a really great point, does the meditation style we choose bring relief (and escape) from the intensities of life or does it reconnect us to ourselves in a way that supports us to engage with life more fully and steadily? If it’s actually a relief or escape then it’s really not much different to alcohol in the sense that you get to check out for a while but nothing much else changes.

207. I used to meditate to have out of body experiences, not that I ever really achieved that but the Gentle Breath Meditation is all about being with your body and I find doing this while I am working is such a beautiful thing as well.

208. Awesome Lieke, I appreciate how easy it is to meditate now, and how enhancing it is to health when this is the gentle breath meditation, how it is just about being less driven by the mind and more in tune with the body. It seems silly to think of disciplining the mind to not be distracted, surely it is better to bring the focus to the body and feel, feel, feel.

     1. Thats a great point Stephen, at first I really struggled with meditation and the Gentle Breath Meditation was so simple yet my mind would fight it. Today after a bit of practice and allowing myself to accept that simplicity of mediation to re-connect and not escape I find its an amazing tool that I can goto.

209. Many people are looking for relief from the intensity of the world and meditation seems to be growing in popularity as a way to cope. Looking at how we live our lives each day and the quality of our choices, what is supporting us or not, is what will truly redress overwhelm.

210. This is beautiful, Lieke. Like you, I have tried other types of meditation, mainly guided visualisation and breath counting exercises, none of which made any true difference to my life. The Gentle Breath Meditation is something I can return to at any time of day – it doesn’t require me to sit for hours on end. Unfortunately whenever I do it sitting or lying down, I tend to fall asleep, but that’s showing me a level of exhaustion and a willingness to check out with sleep, so it is teaching me something about the way I am living. What it has done is to make me more aware of how I am breathing as I go about my day to day activities, and to keep my breath gentle.

211. So often meditation is almost advertised as a tool to take you somewhere, to achieve some form of enlightenment… and rarely is it to surrender in a connection that allows you to be empowered and embraced by the exquisite divinity within. From the latter, in connection to who we are, it is truly beautiful to allow ourselves to be moved through our day with this true body intelligence as our foundation and our guide.

212. Often meditation can be done with a focus to get somewhere else other than here, or improve ones self or relieve certain symptoms. I have experienced it can actually disconnect one from the body, which is where our true connection lies.

213. On meditation Lieke [pre being introduced to Gentle Breath Meditation], your line here — “I did not feel my body and I sort of felt isolated in my mind and cold – not the most pleasant feeling” – yes i’ve experienced the same, and found it hard to focus too on my own becoming quite self-militant in a bid to try and get it right, or perfect it…even guided meditations left me feeling spacey, disconnected or discombobulated and remember having to lay down and sleep the feeling off. The Gentle Breath Meditation couldn’t be further from being the opposite of all this, because there is no trying, it leaves you alone without feeling you have to get anywhere or accomplish anything, to be with yourself, your breath quality, and nothing else. As a result afterwards I feel refreshed and restored, connected.

214. The gentle breath meditation is indeed very enriching in my life, it has brought me an awareness of my body that I forgot I could have. It is a true body experience, to reconnect and know that we are much more than just a brain.

215. I heard on the radio this morning that a number of schools are introducing daily mindfulness meditations, the point of the news article however was that such a practice was being introduced without any understanding of the long term effects of this practice. I’ve never done mindfulness so I can’t personally comment, however I have used often the Gentle Breath Meditation and know the quality I bring to my body when I choose to connect to myself and surrender to the natural, steady and delicate quality within, and then take this quality into the day, or the next moment. Life felt very different after I had become familiar with this way of connection.

     1. I have had an experience of mindfulness mediation as someone brought it into my school. However it didn’t allow me to connect in full to my body, but was more of a distraction from it. Whilst those who use it may say the ‘right’ things about its effects, it didn’t really resonate with me. I have however practiced and taught many children the Gentle Breath Meditation and the difference in the class can be extraordinarily palpable, even if only done for a couple of minutes. I have learned that if used as a tool for body connection mediation in this way can support hugely with how we feel and how we get on with our day – impacting on all our interactions and relationships along the way.

216. I can so relate Lieke with your past experiences of meditation. I started meditating at age 14. I refused to go to bible study group so was told I had to attend a meditation group my parents had been attending for years! I was given a word to repeat over and over and over in my mind, sitting in a chair for half an hour twice a day. It felt just as numbing as the bible study! I didn’t feel any different during or afterwards, and didn’t see any change or improvement in my parents lives over the years either. Sometimes it felt like a justifiable escape. However The Gentle Breath Meditation is something else altogether… it does bring us back to that innate quality within each and every one of us, and bringing that quality into all that we do, has a profound effect on our lives and everyone we meet.

217. I can feel the deep appreciation for the Gentle Breath Meditation you have Lieke. I have just returned to it after a period of time without meditating and I am also appreciating the difference I can feel in the way my day plays out when I have meditated in the morning.

218. I meditated for years a very long time ago, even in ashrams in India. I meditated for hours upon hours and even did silent retreats for weeks, so i could say i am an expert on my experiences of meditation, and it is all that you described Lieke. When i returned to the West, I felt it difficult to readjust back to my daily life, i did not feel solid or connected to the body. I carried an air of arrogance that i was heading to enlightenment and the ‘mundane’ life was insignificant. Which in fact I isolated myself from life and only wanted to return to India to go into retreat and withdraw from life. When i was introduced to the Gentle Breath Meditation by Serge Benhayon, although it is called ‘meditation’ it is so much more. It is reconnecting to the body and to life. It holds the key of how we can live in full in our body. We live in our body permanently, while we’re alive at least, and living in this body and in life is actually enriching, there is a confidence and there is a commitment to life and all it offers. It is by living life in full all the joys and challenges. Within I am deepening and feeling a sense of truly returning to God. Enlightenment was always a chase to go somewhere beyond reach. Living in the body is returning to the essence, which is within, and expressed out through life. There is no chase for the unattainable, it is right here where within where I stand and live, this body and the quality of the essence that comes through.

219. I totally love the Gentle Breath Meditation too. I feel much more calm and connected when I do it and it supports me to feel what is going on for me so that I can deal with things as they arise, rather than trying to escape them.

220. I stayed clear of meditation for the same reasons Lieke. It never really appealed to me because I didn’t feel the need to mediate in that way and it felt like it shuts people out and I didn’t like that feeling even though I had never been to a meditation class. When friends described it to me I just knew this kind of mediation was not for me. When I first experienced the Gentle Breath Meditation I was blown away by how easy it was to apply to my day and what I love about it is I don’t need to sit in a room and be quiet because I do practice it anywhere. It connects me to my body and the stillness within.

221. The way meditation is taught in the mainstream practices has never worked for me either. It feels like a lot of pressure to empty the mind, but emptying the mind is like asking your heart to stop, impossible. Bringing focus back to our body, now that’s difficult in itself if we have a very busy head, but it’s certainly a lot more supportive and actually reminds us that we have a body and that the head is not the ruler.

222. I did many hours of meditation – starring at a wall as part of being a Zen Buddhist. It was a very difficult time and the meditation brought nothing to me, my levels of despair were unbearable! There was no body intelligence or recognition of this. It was all about emptying the mind and people had some very weird experiences as well as passing out and head butting the wall! Today I find that if I am having any issue coming back to my body reconnects me to the divine wisdom and all else that isn’t love dissolves.

223. Meditation was given to me as the answer to all my woes. If you are having trouble with life, stressed, angry, lonely etc then you meditate which then gives you this peaceful state. If it didn’t work then you didn’t do it properly or do the right one or you needed to do it for longer. I could never get my head around meditation and it was something I didn’t have the time or the patience for. I assumed this made me a bad person or an outcast in a way because I couldn’t meditate like other people spoke of. When ever something came up I would think that meditation was the answer but then I would say to myself that I couldn’t do it and so you would beat yourself up in a way. Then along came the Gentle Breath Meditation and it was so so simple and easy and what’s more it actually worked. This changed the way I viewed meditation and gave me a point that I had always felt, a meditation that was for living and supported you to be where you are and didn’t try and take you away. I need support to live, not to be taken to a place for a break to then return to the same spot.

224. Beautiful blog Lieke and I agree the feeling of the gentle breath as you focus on your breathing is quite lovely and tender but the other remarkable thing is it is not a meditation which asks for hours of sitting. It is a way to re-connect feel your body and then get on with living your day.

225. The power of the Gentle Breath Meditation allows us to connect to a certain quality within that we can take into our movements and be in constant connection with God and all that is.

226. In a society today, where we currently live with a significant disconnection to our bodies which is considered to be ‘normal’, I found it an extremely enriching and inspiring experience to feel the union of mind, body and Soul through every breath, when introduced to The Gentle Breath Meditation. For me this was life changing as I finally had a marker of what it is to live in connection to who I am, the real and all of me. I instantly could feel how living in connection to this quality was possible, and how it was this connection that I was missing and searching for in my life. I could also feel how beautiful and empowering it was, and still is, that this marker comes from within me, as such is with me wherever I am.

227. My experience was very similar after experiencing the Gentle Breath Meditation. Having learned numerous other meditation techniques over the years and finding them challenging and also not feeling inspired to do them on a regular basis, I found the Gentle Breath Meditation particularly simple, taking only minutes on occasion and a great way to return to my body rather than being caught up in my mind.

228. I did a 4-day meditation retreat where we meditated from about 7am to 7pm with breaks in between. Oh my, I hated it. I called it Buddha Boot Camp. It was done in half hour slots and I could not wait for the man to ring the bell to say it was over. Only for it to begin again, and again, and again! It was a battle of the wills – the mind and the body were so at odds. And that is just one type of meditation I tried, there were many others.

     But I was like you, only until I tried the Gentle Breath Meditation that things really started to change. I still did struggle at first because it was challenging to connect with gentleness when I have been living with hardness for so long, but it was so different to others and I could feel myself connecting more and more to my body and in turn to myself, that I kept it up. And it is so simple – gently bringing the mind and the body as one, no more fighting. Even reading this today, connected me back to my breath. It is a game-changer for sure.

229. What are we meditating on? Such a great question and the corresponding awareness is “do we feel our mind and body are connected during and after the meditation’? To me this is the quality and essence of The Gentle Breath Meditation – that I feel fully connected back to all of myself, with the mind and body moving as one as impulse to from the body and not the body pushed by the mind.

230. I can recall I was a bit skeptical of all types of meditations and when I first heard Serge Benhayon present a meditation I didn’t participate and just sat back and watched. There was definitely a stillness that came into the room and everyone settled. After that I trusted it and when I participated in the next meditation I could feel the irritations in my body arise but underneath that a deep settlement and acceptance. I find this is a great tool to bring me back when I have lost my rhythm.

231. I meditated following the teachings of a guru for 2 1/2 years. If I acknowledged how I feel about my body today, I wouldn’t have lasted 2 minutes back then. Sitting cross legged is uncomfortable and before long, painful. The meditation itself was very ordered with only a brief period of sitting and breathing at the end. I rarely felt great afterwards but would either hold out for those times when it felt cool, or only do it as I’m stubborn! Anyway, I can attest that the Gentle Breath Meditation does what it says on the tin – no uncomfortable positions, just a chance to check in with your breath and body.

232. I agree – meditate to connect not to escape has been the most amazing experiance – getting up from the chair more connected than before is an amazing feeling.

233. Applying the Gentle Breath Meditation, as presented by Serge Benhayon, literally changed my life. I used to do it religiously twice a day and slowly I found that I wanted to be more and more in my body and to have my mind and my body working together as one. I also found that I was much less reactive to life when I meditated regularly. As time went on the way that I lived became a meditation so I do not have to stop and meditate in the same way any more. The Gentle Breath meditation is a hugely powerful tool to re-connect us back to ourselves.

234. For years I did the Gentle Breath Meditation as the first thing every morning. It reconnected me with a warmth that I couldn’t remember for a long time. A breath full of acceptance and appreciation of whatever presented itself in my body. This way I’ve discovered how powerful, delicate and vitally important our breath is. Through our breath we’re connecting to a certain quality of energy. The richness of my true breath, fiery love, is the most special feeling there is to feel.

235. Thank you for sharing Lieke. What is profound about the Gentle Breath Meditation is that it is something you can do in every movement. That it is not about checking out but rather about being present.

236. I did a lot of different meditations and most of the time it left me frustrated as I was not able to empty my mind or to see images that others seem to get so easily. The Gentle Breath Meditation was completely the opposite it felt very natural and it left me feeling gentle and with myself and my body. I agree Lieke ‘It is the most beautiful feeling I know – to be one with my body and mind together.’

237. I have had some crazy meditation experiences like sitting naked in sweat lodges, sitting under pyramids, listening to drummings the list goes on, ultimately they were grand things and they connected me to something but ultimately they distracted me physically and from connecting with myself. When I came across the gentle breath meditation I was blown away by the simplicity, and the reflection that it gave me about the quality of my connection with myself.

238. Reading your words describing the Gentle Breath Meditation actually assisted me to reconnect and drop deeper into my body… Such a vital tool to have in a society thats become 24/7.

239. Thank you, that is very beautiful and simple, as meditation before I met Universal Medicine’s Gentle Breath Meditation , did not work for me, same it was boring and it did not truly help me to be more connected at all.. actually the opposite! Since I got introduced to the Gentle Breath Meditation I was for the first time introduced to a modality that helped me to surrender in my body and feel my breath through my whole body – a flow that is rich of a full love, warmth and truth (purpose). Hence, I knew this was a very true modality for me that truly supports me in every way, to whenever I am off track (disconnected to myself) easily come back to my breath and body.

240. The difference you have highlighted is important Lieke as it does directly affect our body, the connection to our body and the truth it communicates to us everyday. The Gentle Breath Meditation is so simple yet the effect flows on into all areas of our lives and is life changing.

241. I learned a lot of different meditation practices throughout my life, from active meditations to dancing meditations, sitting still, breathing techniques, different postures, laughing, crying – you name it I did it. But once I came across Universal Medicine and the Gentle Breath Meditation I came to the same conclusion you did Lieke, that none of those techniques had supported me to truly connect with my body, even though some required quite a level of physical fitness. But the connection that I learned to have with my body through the techniques that Universal Medicine teaches, feels very very different and changed my life profoundly as it supports me greatly in the intensity of everyday life.

242. Absolutely gorgeous sharing LIeke… “It is the most beautiful feeling I know – to be one with my body and mind together.”

     1. There is a depth of wisdom we can connect to through the body, where the body and mind is in unison…we embody the truth of yoga.

243. Well said – for meditation is everything about true connection which is contrary to the relief and checking out, peace, numbness and more that it is commonly sold to us as.

244. “True meditation for me is about connecting to a quality of gentleness or tenderness that is innate in our body and surrendering to this quality that is already there.” Beautifully expressed Lieke. It is the surrender to our stillness and a easily accessible healing modality we all can embrace. To simply connect and be with the amazing intelligence and connection of our divine bodies, is absolutely heavenly.

     1. Yes Lieke, healing is accessible to all when we surrender to our bodies natural rhythm and move from here. The body just releases and re-calibrates itself as needed when we honour our bodies daily conversations.

245. The gentle breath meditation is a very simple tool, but an extremely powerful and empowering one. It is awesome for re-connecting you back to your truth and giving you a base from which to move from.

     1. This is true – something that we can all do very simply in any moment – nothing arduous, inaccessible or mysterious involved and the gentle breath meditation delivers us to our true core..

246. It just makes sense for meditation to be something that develops our relationship with ourselves so that we can bring more of us to life.

247. Universal Medicine’s Gentle Breath Meditation revolutionised my perception of meditation in the fact that it is not something to be done in isolation from life, but to hold through every move made in day-to-day life.

     1. So true Michael… breathing our own breath, the gentleness of breath, in all that we do, totally transforms our lives.

     2. Yeah, it’s so cool – you can do it just about anywhere. A lovely way to get back to yourself without having to isolate yourself.

     3. Yes very well said Michael. That is what is the difference from many other meditations which have to be done without interference of the world which makes you feel disconnected instead of connected.

     4. This was why I avoided other forms of meditation in the past because it felt restrictive to me and like you’ve shared Michael it was done in isolation to life which was not something I would like to do. This is why I love The Gentle Breath Meditation, I can practice this while I am alone or in a busy shopping centre. The beauty of this is I don’t have to shut out the world to reconnect to the stillness and love within. It is about being in stillness, connected to myself and still deeply connect to people at the same time.

248. The Gentle Breath Meditation is a power-full tool. Being responsible about our thoughts and returning our mind to conscious presence after a Gentle Breath Meditation is important, so use it to return. In returning, the mind is re-connected to the inner-most, and this returns us to our natural divinity. Connection never leaves us but is shut down because our true divine connection gets misplaced as our mind has been tricked into believing it has the answers.

249. Hi Lieke, I could feel my body surrendering and could appreciate the quality of tenderness I hold within from just reading your blog … amazing and thank you. Really cool point about meditation which I feel is important to talk about. I tried meditation before knowing Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine even going on a 10 day silent meditation retreat … which did absolutely nothing! And previously as you have shared it was with meditation that the mind and body were seen as very separate .. that meditation was about being in the mind totally forgetting the body!!! The beautifull thing with the Gentle Breath Meditation brought through and held by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine is that it is about the whole body; it is completely holistic and can be felt. In an instant no matter how racy etc we are it is a tool where we can come back to our true innate quality of gentleness very quickly.

250. On experiencing the Gentle Breath Meditation for the first time all the other – and there were many – forms of meditation I had tried over the years were exposed as not being the healing modalities that they were made out to be. I had never before felt such an immediate and strong connection to myself and that felt so amazing. This simple but hugely profound meditation is one of the tools I use daily to reconnect to my body; a body that I have come to know is way more intelligent than my mind.

251. Meditation for me is a moment with myself, my body and equally with God. I find that it is so easy to skip over and avoid making time for such moments but they are so very important as it gives time to reflect, appreciate, check in, see where one is at with themselves and their body and offers greater quality to then take to the next moments of our day.

252. I too had tried meditation albeit very briefly. I didn’t feel any benefit what so ever so very quickly gave it a wide berth. Then I heard Serge Benhayon introduce the gentle breath meditation as an introduction to one of his workshops. The result was very lovely. I felt the shift in my body immediately and felt an inner calm and connection I had only felt as a child. The process was so simple… only 5minutes, but that 5 minuets gave me a marker of how I could be in life just by simply focusing on the quality of my breath.

253. Surrendering the mind into the body is I agree an absolutely exquisite feeling, and so much more. By simply bringing the mind back into the fold and bringing a completeness to ourselves, we are able to then get up from our meditation and walk in life full and whole.

254. I love the clarity of understanding you bring here Lieke. This feeling of true body intelligence, bringing mind and body together, unites all the elements of the body as a whole, to live in a true harmony with ourselves.

255. Great question Lieke, far from meditation being an assigned escape from life’s intenseness only to be thrown back in, the Gentle Breath Meditation, as presented by Serge Benhayon consolidates a simple & steady union between mind & body that can be connected to in any moment throughout our day.

256. Meditation for me can be the act of walking – and I don’t mean zoned out walking in a trance or really slowly, I mean walking feeling the joy in my body and my amazing connection to nature.

257. “True meditation for me is about connecting to a quality of gentleness or tenderness that is innate in our body and surrendering to this quality that is already there.” Beautifully expressed Lieke. I love the Gentle Breath Meditation too – and love it when done in a group too. It takes a few minutes to reconnect – if feeling unconnected – and then I can take that quality out into my day.

258. Previous meditations have promised to deliver me something that I have sat for hours trying to achieve. I love the simplicity and practicality of The Gentle Breath Meditation. 5 to 10 minutes max and I’m good to go. It is about giving myself a moment to stop, breathe gently and connect to my body and check in with how it’s feeling. When I’ve finished I take that quality with me as I go about my day. I don’t always hold it, but it gives me a marker that I can always come back to and continue to deepen.

259. A great distinction you describe Lieke, I can certainly relate. I never considered myself someone who could meditate as I had similar experiences to your childhood days too. The Gentle Breath Meditation was the first that I ever found ‘worked’ in that I could use it to restore a sense of myself that I loved having, so looked forward to doing it. The interesting thing was that once I connected to that loveliness inside me, I had no need to keep doing it, but would feel like there were things I wanted to be doing. Now l’ve learnt how to breath gently most of the time, so life is like a meditation and I rarely even sit to try and restore something. A simple but VERY powerful technique that becomes a livingness.

260. I spent years doing a particular type of meditation which was definitely about checking out and escaping from my body and my life. I agree that the contrast with the Gentle Breath Mediation is that it allowed me to still my racy mind and re-connect with my body and from there feel what it is needed next.

261. There seems to be an exponential growth of various meditation courses, mindfulness classes and similar at the moment. Have others seen the same? Is this the ultimate illustration of the arrogance of man? Do we really feel that our minds our evolving us to any kind of truth? Just take a look at the world and how we are living…perhaps our minds aren’t the answer? Perhaps the real answer lies in empowering the wisdom that lies somewhere else in our bodies?

262. One of the things that I was often told to do in the many forms of meditation that I have tried along the way was to ‘silence the mind’ … to….’empty the mind’. I could never do this and it seemed to me that the more I tried the busier and more loud the mind became!! Serge Benhayon has shown me a totally different sort of meditation – one that is entirely to do with connecting to the body – where our true intelligence lies. It’s a brilliant tool, brilliantly simple. Not to say that I still don’t, at times, find it hard because my mind is so busy but it now seems madness to me that meditation should in anyway be focussing on the mind. Body, body, body – that’s where the gold resides.

263. I have had not tired lots of different meditation, but I have tired a few, somethings that people have shown me or I have found along the way, they often tell you to imagine something or focus on something in your head, one I did told me to keep my eyes open, so my head was always engaged. All of these brought I kind of brain training, stimulation with a befuddlement or bliss state but not a true regenerative stillness. And then the Gentle Breath Meditation (GBM) was introduced, it is divinely simple in its application and purpose, it physiologically makes sense and once practiced sitting or lying with eyes closed can be used in every day life with eyes open, when I am in the supermarket I breath the GBM, in the car, on the way to work, in work etc my body has become physiologically altered through making the choice to breath in through my nose and out through my nose gently and it feels amazing and is so supportive. It brings a sense of calm, stillness ad support that a is like noting I have felt before. The in breath feels like the breath of connection and stillness and the out breath feels like living that connection and stillness.

264. Gorgeous Lieke, you’ve really highlighted the difference between meditating to escape, check out or have a mental ‘time out’ moment from life, and how we can do it to surrender and bring our body back to the highest quality.

265. Great point – what are we meditating on when we meditate? Having been exposed to a variety of techniques, it has always felt like an invitation to escape from reality and I found that this does not serve long-term. Sooner or later, life represents itself right under our nose and nothing has changed. There might be a certain degree of equanimity in the beginning but the longer ago the meditation, the more engulfing and overwhelming life can seem. Only the Gentle Breath Meditation teaches connection and commitment and does not advocate checking out or withdrawing from life.The Gentle Breath Meditation is very practical and has purpose and can never be a self-perpetuating foray into some kind of nebulous goodness.

266. Lieke like you I had experiences of meditation being used to escape life and “go somewhere better”, it was a check out. Whereas when I started the Gentle Breath Meditation I found this is was all about checking in, reconnecting and from that short 5min I would walk away more with myself and more part of life. the complete opposite of how I had meditated in the past.

267. The Gentle Breath Meditation has helped me hugely become more aware of my body and feel more whole in myself. By that I mean that my thoughts and mind and my body are all in the same place at the same time. It’s a fantastic tool, plus, who knew that being aware of your breath was so delicious.

268. Having had many years of different types of meditation in the past and sitting there for hours, I never felt as I do when I do the gentle breath meditation, which only takes 10 to 15 minutes.

269. When I read blogs like this it feels beautiful to pause and appreciate that connection we can and I have developed with my body. To have the body and mind together is exquisite.

270. The Gentle Breath Meditation has completely transformed how I live, as I have been able to connect to my body and build a very nurturing relationship within myself as a consequence. It is a very tangible tool that can be practiced and expressed throughout the day. The more we build the connection with the gentle flow of breath within us, the more our movements reflect this quality, creating a tender flow and harmony to all we do and practiced on a regular basis builds a completely new and very strong foundation to life.

271. I too have found the gentle breath meditation unlike any meditation I had previously tried. It has been the only one that has brought me a deeper awareness of my surroundings and simultaneously a deeper connection to my body – the very opposite to the brief escape from both others would deliver.

272. In my first introduction to the Gentle Breath Meditation I experienced within five minutes a greater connection with myself than I had ever done in years of Buddhist meditation practice.

273. Before learning the Gentle Breath Meditation about 6 years ago, I practiced another form of meditation. The major difference between the two is that the other form seemed to create the awareness of a kind of stillness within the room or place I was sitting whereas the Gentle Breath supports my connection to stillness within me and then to my whole body. Connecting to the stillness that is innate allows me to live from this space within in everything I do. It may seem like quite a subtle difference but in fact it is very profound and powerful. My experience is that this connection to the stillness within then affects the quality in which I walk through life and the quality of the energy I leave in my ‘wake’. This is very important because these more loving energetic imprints mean I have a more loving impact on life. It is in a very real sense, life-changing.

274. Meditation is so super simple and can be done anywhere or any place.. you don’t need any special tools or techniques to do it because it’s as simple as bringing your awareness to your breathing and making sure you’re breathing gently. This was a revelation to me -that something so easy and simple could be so powerful. I tried to make it complicated, but quickly realised it wasn’t it. Focusing on my breathing and my body has a powerful stilling effect – much deeper than calm, which feels very temporary. It connects me to an inner stillness that is always there, but that I’m not always choosing to be consciously aware of.

275. Ditto Lieke. I had tried many meditations before coming to the Gentle Breath Meditation and they did nothing for me. I used to either fall asleep or my mind would go off taking me out and away from my body. At times it felt blissful but now i see there is no point in feeling this bliss in my mind, only to return to reality with a thud. I’d actually given up on meditation and was reluctant to try the Gentle Breath meditation but am so glad I did, it was the first step for me to truly connect to my body and to start to change how I was with myself.

276. Thank you for sharing Lieke – like you have said meditation is about establishing a quality and a connection, one which we can then take with us into our day. It is not somewhere or something we go to to escape and have rest bite from the world.

277. If I ever imagine focussing in an object with all my will, I can feel very clearly too, the level of disconnection to my own body would be of gigantic proportions. Would that be meditation? This world comes from the Latin meditationem (nominative meditatio) “a thinking over, meditation,” noun of action from past participle stem of meditari “to meditate, think over, reflect, consider.” To me, the last word brings us closer: consider. Consider the possibility of being differently in/with your own body. Consider the possibility of allowing your body to show you the way. The Gentle Breath Meditation offers this possibility. It offers the possibility of true meditation.

278. Lieke I too have been practising this Gentle Breath Meditation that Serge presents and it has been life changing. I started out very diligent every morning sitting and taking ten minutes to practise and down line I started to feel a deepening and how there were layers to my surrendering. Now it has become something that I can connect to whilst living and moving in life. Being able to continue this state of being while going about life is a level of mediation where it becomes our livingness.

279. Lieke this is simply stunning, the warmth that you bring to your writing about the Gentle Breath Meditation.

280. Love that Leike ‘true body intelligence’, my experience of meditation prior to the gentle breath was also to do with the mind and often visualisations, which I enjoyed but as you share did not involve my body, I never tried to focus on anything apart from looking at a flame but again didn’t feel anything major. Then the first time I did the the Gentle Breath Meditation I was blown away by how much I felt and how amazing I felt in my body. I will never forget it. I love that I found this true support and love sharing it.

281. Lieke you show how the interpretation of a word can mean different things to different people. Meditation for many is an escape but the Gentle Breath Meditation is a beautiful reconnection to the stillness within.

282. In my search for the meaning of life, I had rambled around different modalities that all had some form of mediation. There was one that the result, only after months of practice, was going to the place that was devoid of everything the void where nothing existed. There was a warning that when you were there things could attack you! And I had paid money for this! The gentle breath meditation is all about coming back to everything we are and not checking out into some blissful space!

283. My experience echoes yours Lieke. Having attempted meditation numerous times in the past and in a variety of contexts I can firmly say none of it benefited me in any way – it was either long, uncomfortable and arduous or a brief, trippy escape. The Gentle Breath Meditation is a short, simple and entirely effective means of connecting one back to one’s body, and essence, and is the gateway to development of the most beneficial kind – for self, others and all.

284. I spent many years and experimented with many techniques involving meditation, use of Sanskrit mantras and the rest, in the attempt to ‘connect’. It took the simplicity of the Gentle Breath Meditation to show me that I’d not just been seeking ‘connection’, but had actually and primarily been seeking relief from life, if not escape from the intensity I felt all around me, pretty much 24/7.
     How deeply empowering it is, and continues to be, to appreciate and understand that it is our embodiment and choice to be deeply connected and present with our own bodies, that actually enables the consistency of connection with the essence – the being – of who we are to be known.
     And then, what need of relief? It all dissolves when we say yes to our own soulful light, our own love, flooding through this body, this vehicle… To deny the body is to deny and reject life – and no-one is served when we embark upon such a course.

     1. “And then, what need of relief? It all dissolves when we say yes to our own soulful light, our own love, flooding through this body, this vehicle… ” ah beautiful words Victoria. Who needs meditations to escape life when we reconnect to ourselves, our soul, be it through support of the Gentle Breath Meditation or not. Because the disconnection is what creates the emptiness we try to escape later on.

        1. Exactly Lieke. ‘Escape techniques’ thus only further imbed the separation from the Love of God, from the Love of our Soul, that pains us in the first place. I have no qualms admitting today that it was my utter discontent with the world (on very deep levels) that had me seeking such ‘refuge’ in the past. Yet there was in truth, no actual ‘refuge’, but rather an allowance of my body and being to be poisoned energetically (through my withdrawal into such practices), all in order not to feel or deal with the pain of separation in the first place.
           Granted, there were no role models I knew of in those times to present another way – a way of returning to deep embodiment and presence with all that we are, as Serge Benhayon has done since his work began. The proof is in the pudding that this is all very real, possible and being lived today by many…

        2. To put it simply… There ain’t no purpose in sitting on the mountaintop in isolation from humanity and our world, when our Love is deeply needed here, and now.
           Confirming that we can indeed live the love of the soul in this body is the confirmation that all of humanity needs – not a withdrawal, isolation and retreat that is founded in the pain of separation and only demonstrates to others that one cannot BE soul-full and live in this world as it is.

285. Powerfully said in absolute simplicity Lieke: “…meditation is not about checking out of our body for a moment of calm and to basically escape from the intensity of the world.”
     Meditation, as I’ve also experienced with the tremendous and simple support of the Gentle Breath Meditation, is rightly about deepening our presence and connection with the essence of who we are, in and with this body. When we are truly with ourselves in this way, our life can become a living and lived meditation – with no seriousness nor ‘exiting from life’ in sight, but rather the consistent joy of knowing who we are and fostering this connection through our lived way, every single day.

286. I was a person that sat for hours working out what was wrong with me and then thinking I have solved all of my problems. However, there was one big reality that was glaring me right in the face, I don’t need fixing, giving the grandness that is inside of me permission to be lived in my body allows everything else from there to be completely taken care of and the Gentle Breath meditation has been a great support in feeling this as a truth.

287. It is quite amazing what a difference it can take to just stop for a moment and connect to our breath and body. That is all that is needed a moment or a few minutes max.

     1. Absolutely Nicola, just stopping and breathing and connecting can make such a difference. When I feel a bit tensed, breathing gently supports greatly to let go of this tension. It is the gentle movements of my ribcage, tummy and belly muscles that restore the harmony in my body.

288. What I have discovered is that meditation is there for us to develop a connection and way of living that we live each moment and therefore it is all about life and never is it about checking out.

289. Isn’t it odd how a tool that is designed to help us reconnect more fully to ourselves by way of re-syncing the body and mind so that the perform in synergy with each other, has become a tool by which we escape into the mind and leave the body behind. The tragedy of this is that our bodies are finely tuned instruments capable of receiving vast amounts of information from the Universal Intelligence we belong to, but when we cut ourselves off from them, so to speak, we do not allow ourselves access to this and instead use a highly bastardised form of meditation that has little to do with connection and much more to do with amputation!

     1. So very true Liane – well said!

     2. I have often heard the phrase of cutting off one’s nose to spite their face, but is this not what meditation has been doing? We are taking our brain on holiday and leaving our body at home!

290. Lieke thank you for the simplicity you have expressed here as you remind me my own experiences about ‘meditation’ growing up as I felt like I was a total failure here. The Gentle Breath meditation re-awakened what was the most natural thing to just be and appreciate feeling the connection from the body, from within.

291. I have experienced people I lived with meditating in the past, it was always a very mysterious and seemingly difficult discipline, I never saw any positive change in the people doing it. When I learnt the “gentle breath meditation” I found a meditation so simple and practical, it can be done in 2-3minutes, building a greater awareness, and then from there we are more open to being with others and less bothered by stress.

292. Fabulous blog Lieke. As a child I was taught to meditate by doctors as part of a research project on treating recurrent abdominal pain in children. I listened to ‘relaxing ‘music and did breathing exercises but they left me feeling cold and did nothing to address the extreme distress that my body was alerting me to. The Gentle Breath Meditation as presented by Serge Benhayon is completely different. Through this meditation I was able to connect to my natural loveliness. This meditation is something I can do anywhere, anytime when I have disconnected from myself.

293. ‘ ..what we are doing or trying to achieve when we are meditating? A great question to pose Lieke – and to follow it up with… ‘meditation is not about checking out of our body for a moment of calm and to basically escape from the intensity of the world. ‘ This is super important to consider. When we ‘check out’ and leave our body behind we are not only escaping, we are actually stopping ourselves from going to that place of true stillness that sustains and nurtures.

294. “Thus, when I come out of the meditation I am more surrendered in my body and feel equipped to deal with life and its intensities that we cannot stop from being there. For me this is true body intelligence. In that moment I feel the whole of my body like it is a big space and from there it is very clear what I need to do, how I need to do it and when” – Lieke I feel the same too after The Gentle Breath Meditation – it’s such a simple practical technique that you can do anywhere, anytime, nothing special required or needed – just the focus on the quality of breath ensuring its flow is gentle. It’s great for dealing with anxiousness or at times of under confidence too.

     1. Meditation is the most powerful method to keep the mind fit.

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