Where Voluntary Meets Involuntary

Part of what makes breathing a perfect choice for meditation is that breathing is uniquely both voluntary and involuntary.  You can control it.  You can breathe deeply, shallowly, slowly, or quickly.  You control it to speak, to sing, to play a trumpet.

And yet, try to skip it for a while.  Try not to breathe.  Eventually, the automatic part of the brain takes over.  "I don't care what you say.  These lungs are going to breathe."  Your breath becomes involuntary, and is involuntary most of the time.

This is why meditating on the breath is possibly the greatest of all meditation exercises.  Buddha said that this one practice alone could lead to enlightenment.

In meditating on the breath, I try to let the involuntary part of my brain take control.  I just watch what it decides to do with me.  It is incredibly difficult to resist the temptation to "step in" and "take over" with my willful mind.  But therein lies the power of this exercise.  I have these breathing muscles that I can control, but can I let go of this control and just watch my body act?  If I can do this during meditation, it will be easier as I go on with the rest of my day, to let go of control whenever accepting things as they are is the wisest choice.