Best of 2009 Moments of peace. An hour or a day or a week of solitude. What was the quality of your breath? The state of your mind? How did you get there?

© 2009 Mahala Mazerov

Almost every week I hear someone say they’d love to leave everything behind and live a blissful life in some remote monastery.

My mental response is “Oh sweetie. I’m not sure you understand. Are you ready to give up your job, family, cell phone, car, computer, favorite Thai restaurant, and shopping? I’m not sure leaving all your distractions and drama behind to work with your mind 24/7 is going to feel as relaxing as you think.”

Now, if you know me at all you know my love and incredible admiration for people who have committed themselves to monastic lives (or even month-long meditation retreats.) But most of us have not developed the quality of mind to be able to engage in such practices in a way that would lead to clarity and calm.

Fortunately, and maybe even because our minds are so untamed, we don’t need a monastery.

All we need is three conscious breaths.

Just three breaths, in and out. Nothing special. Just three breaths where we know that we’re breathing.

You can easily put these into your day by choosing a specific time or action when you will take them. Washing dishes, brushing your teeth or just after you finish the meal are three possibilities. Other times might be when you get into a car or when you’re in the grocery checkout line.

These are just ordinary breaths. You can do them in public and no one will know the difference.

I love these breaths. They have a restorative quality.

Quiet mind. A warm, full sense of well-being. Space.

For one tiny moment I imagine how lovely it would be, working continually with my breath in a mountain top monastery.

Then the fantasy bubble bursts. I return to my day, but at least with a greater sense of embodied peace.