Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

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Deathquota
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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

Post by Deathquota »

I can completely eliminate myself and my working memory at any time, inducing gnosis. I am now working to control this ability. Don't expect me to contribute here often or at all (I have entered the phase of my life where I am studying).
Studying tantra with my entire soul right now, If you mind.

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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

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How are we going with this? Anyone still keeping up a daily practice? I know I am - I just finished another magick journal and had to pick up a new one this morning. This doesn't take much effort, and just half an hour a day tops - adding it to your morning routine, or using it as a way to relax and wind down after a hard day at the office is ideal and you will see definite benefits, Like EternalReturn mentions.

We spend too much of our lives off balance, and its important to regain that balance and feeling of being centered. Give yourself time to relax, and to unwind - too much of modern life is led at break neck pace and this simply isn't necessary, you can still accomplish everything if you can put yourself in a position of mental clarity and peace, in fact you will find yourself accomplishing more.

If you have dropped out of the habit of practicing Liber MMM and wish to get back into it, don't stress - you don't need to go right back to the beginning again. Focus first on attaining stillness, and then breathe. Be honest with yourself though - I've been doing this for a very long time and have had to back track many times when I felt I was jumping past the core elements too quickly, it isn't a sign of failure. Relax, be still, then breathe. Focus on your breath, on the stillness of your body and simply let go and be.

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EternalReturn
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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

Post by EternalReturn »

I'll start again with relaxation. Had a bit of a rough patch which surely threw me out of balance but I gained fantastic insights, so it was a good deal [smile]

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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

Post by Vjetruša »

Have you tried the techniques of vertical and horizontal breathing? It takes just 4 minutes of your effort a day and it can do wonders to increase the capacity of the lungs.
I think it is a good supplement for mind control and life in general.

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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

Post by EternalReturn »

No I haven't heard about it, can you please tell me more?

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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

Post by Vjetruša »

Vertical breathing - when we activate our chest and abdomen letting the air travel vertically - this is how most people breath.
Horizontal breathing - when we activate our lateral part of the chest directing the air into the sides and back of the ribcage.

Vertical + horizontal = total lung capacity.

It starts with a sitting position - spine straight (do not lean on a chair), a slight space between the legs (the size of a fist and a half), chin slightly tilted down, put your right hand on chest and the left on your abdomen. Close your eyes and breathe for a few seconds...normally, as you always do (use your nose not your mouth for this exercise). Concentrate only on your breath.
Feel with your hands which part is more active while you are breathing - the abdomen or chest.

Once you did that, you can start working on activating both parts for vertical breathing.
Take a deep breath – by inhaling first activate/fill your abdomen with air and then your chest (do this in one breath). When you are exhaling first empty your abdomen then your chest. Usually the exhaling can be a bit harder so imagine you are pulling your navel towards your spine. Keep doing this for minute or two and keep your hands on your chest and abdomen for easier orientation of your body.

For horizontal breathing keep the same position just place your hands flat on your lower ribs, palms touching your chest, fingertips touching each other. Breathe into the sides and back of the ribcage while keeping the belly still. Your ribs should expend like accordion instrument and your fingers will move away from each other when you inhale and return to touching as you exhale. Breathe like this for two minutes and your good to go.

Horizontal breathing is more difficult so you can even tie a scarf around your ribs (don’t over-tighten it, leave it a little looser) and when you inhale the scarf will get tighten.
Also, you can lie on your back, turn your head to the side and use your hands to create pressure on the lungs. This way, the air can’t go anywhere but horizontally in the ribs.

That’s all there is. Soon you will start using your vertical and horizontal potential at the same time. Your body remembers the motions that’s why you don’t need to do it more then couple of minutes (you can if you want)…you will start feeling your breathing getting much deeper in everyday routines especially in meditation, mind controlling and so on.

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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

Post by EternalReturn »

Very good, this is really similar to the singing excercises. I usually do a full deep breath and let it out with shhhhh. Intense practice but worth it. Best used when lying down.

I have also found out that breathing without any resistance, muscle tension or such can deliver shocking results.

Thank you for sharing this [thumbup]

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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

Post by Vjetruša »

EternalReturn wrote:Very good, this is really similar to the singing excercises. I usually do a full deep breath and let it out with shhhhh. Intense practice but worth it. Best used when lying down.

I have also found out that breathing without any resistance, muscle tension or such can deliver shocking results.

Thank you for sharing this [thumbup]
All these exercises are a good foundation for breathing without any muscular effort - this sounds like a strange fun fact :)

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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

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Vjetruša wrote: All these exercises are a good foundation for breathing without any muscular effort - this sounds like a strange fun fact :)
Absolutely, and please feel free to incorporate other breathing based meditations into this part of Liber MMM, anything that helps you fully focus upon your breathing. I think I've said this before, but meditation tends not to be about achieving something as simply letting go of everything and shifting your focus from the external world to your own inner self. Lots of people strive to meditate as if it's something you go to, but thats not the case - you will find yourself achieving a meditative trance much easier if you simply stop pushing to get to it and let it happen.

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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

Post by Vordana »

This needs to be apart of my daily routin for sure. I just sat and did a minute of deep breathing to see if I could relax myself, and I could, I felt my breathing slow and instantly felt at ease. I am going to do this at night when everything winds down and its quiet and I will have no distractions when I start to focus.
It is also nice to deep breathe and not cough as I gave up smoking a month ago, breath of fresh air [smile]

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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

Post by Clockwork Ghost »

Great to have you on board, Vordana [thumbup]

Give exercise one a go first and try to achieve around 15 minutes of complete motionless before focusing on your breathing - you'll be surprised how much deeper an experience it becomes, and how the motionlessness adds to the meditative state. In the early stages you really need to aim for a full half hour - fifteen minutes motionless, then breathing a further fifteen minutes while also motionless. The more you do it, the easier it will become - I spend the time thinking back through the day, but trying to avoid doing so with any sense of passion, simply observing it and making note of any key things that occurred that I should remember for later. By the time I'm completely at rest and fully focused on my breathing and being completely still I then simply let the whole day go, and that is when I may get a brief period of no-mind.

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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

Post by Cam Revillot »

Food for thought re: breathing technique
Spoiler:
Congratulations: Chances are that if you're reading this, and you're not a ghost, you've managed to figure out breathing. On the other hand, chances are you're also doing it wrong.

Take a deep breath right now. We'll wait. If you're anything like most people, you raised your shoulders a little and puffed out your chest like a pigeon in heat. You probably don't see anything wrong with using your chest to breathe, since after all, that's where your lungs are. What the hell else are you going to use? Your thighs? Well, smartass, it turns out that the muscle you're supposed to use to breathe, your diaphragm, is under your lungs and closer to your belly.

When upright, most people are habitual chest breathers: We use a shallow form of respiration that makes use of only the top part of the lungs. In reality, most of the blood vessels that take up oxygen are in the bottom, neglected half. Since so much lung power is going to waste, we get less oxygen, and as a result, we're all breathing more rapidly than nature intended us to.

Chest breathing also tends to upset the blood's oxygen/carbon dioxide balance and can lead to headaches, fatigue, anxiety and even panic attacks. According to one expert, you're also potentially suffering from sweaty palms, difficulty relaxing, heightened pain perception and general fatigue.

So how the hell are we meant to do it?

It turns out that breathing is one area in which babies are much smarter than you. Babies use a deeper type of respiration called abdominal breathing, which strengthens and makes full use of their diaphragms. It's only as we grow older that we revert to the more inefficient style. Luckily, you can train your body to go back to breathing properly, and over time, you can even breathe abdominally in your sleep.

To practice it, try to "inflate" your stomach as you breathe in, while keeping your chest relatively still. Then contract your abdominal muscles on the exhale. Not only will this give you more oxygen per breath, it will eventually strengthen the diaphragm. A stronger diaphragm means you get more oxygen with each breath, so your brain won't need to divert any away from your muscles, meaning that you get tired less easily.

A study on cardiac patients showed that this type of breathing leads to improved exercise performance and decreased shortness of breath, and it's also been linked to lower blood pressure. This is the reason that so many coaches recommend breathing practice as a shortcut to sports-based superpowers.
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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

Post by EternalReturn »

That's from Cracked article right?

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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

Post by Cam Revillot »

EternalReturn wrote:That's from Cracked article right?
Yeah, I love those guys
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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

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Funny and informative, what's not to like? :D

But I must interfere, and say that they are wrong. Vjetruša explained another technique that may deliver even better results. It applies both methods effectively leading to fuller and lighter breath. It's not completely wrong but the way it is written it can be misleading. The idea is to use abdominal muscles while breathing rather than back an upper torso muscles because you add weight to what your diaphragm must lift up. By focusing your breath to behave like a water being filled into a cup so to say, to start at your root chakra, perineum, or draw your breath from the ground - any technique works - you can achieve light and full breath which in turn will lead to more oxygenated brain and body which means your power level is rising and you'll fell like you can do anything. [thumbup]

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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

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EternalReturn wrote: But I must interfere, and say that they are wrong. Vjetruša explained another technique that may deliver even better results. ...
Maybe we each took something different away from the article then. The way I read it is that deep abdominal breathing, diaphramatic breathing, is better than the shallow chest breathing many people do, which you seem to agree with even though you prefer another possibly better option.
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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

Post by EternalReturn »

Yes, because I was misled with this info. I practiced diaphramatic breathing thinking that I shouldn't feel muscle tension in the upper torso effectively limiting my breath.

Vertical and horizontal breathing are a great visual cues to how can one breathe and with the support of the horizontal breathing, vertical can be applied which leads to the fuller breath and more control.

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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

Post by Cam Revillot »

EternalReturn wrote:Yes, because I was misled with this info. I practiced diaphramatic breathing thinking that I shouldn't feel muscle tension in the upper torso effectively limiting my breath.

Vertical and horizontal breathing are a great visual cues to how can one breathe and with the support of the horizontal breathing, vertical can be applied which leads to the fuller breath and more control.
It sounds like the article says b > a, and you're saying "no that's wrong because c > b" (Which doesn't make b > a wrong)

Am I misunderstanding you?
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Re: Liber MMM discussion - Discipline 2: Breathing

Post by Clockwork Ghost »

Hmmm... several posts from this thread have been reported for argumentative language and defamatory content. I don't think that the reported posts are severe enough to warrant a warning, but would ask that nobody say that any one way is right or wrong in a universal way. Please feel free to present a method as your own preferred one, but please refrain from stating that any one way is superior to another [thumbup]

It doesn't matter what method you use to breathe with, as the breathing itself is the focus - you are reducing your inner focus down to one singular point, this being your breathing, but could equally reduce it down using a metronome or other repetitive device. All forms of breathing meditation can be applied to this part of the process so long as they focus your mind upon them in a singular way, and dont involve complex calculations or any form of mantra.

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