Inner Work

For the week of January 31, 2005

Breathing TV

A commonplace activity that can be particularly numbing to our inner life is watching television. The programs and advertisements seem designed to manipulate our emotions while keeping us passively mesmerized, sometimes in excitement, sometimes in a stupor. Yet so much of our entertainment and information come from TV that it is difficult, and perhaps unnecessary, to break away from it. Because TV watching is not in itself a destructive habit like smoking, excessive alcohol, or drug abuse, we can work our spiritual practice into it.

An immediate difficulty reveals itself in seeing that because we are so passive when we watch TV, our energy falls to a low ebb, both in quality and quantity. The apathy engendered in TV watching naturally keeps us in an autopilot mode of functioning. Flowing along with the images, sounds, and words puts us into a state not so very different than dreaming. We tend to lose whatever self-awareness we had prior to watching.

So … we look to raise our energy level while sitting in front of the TV. To do this we practice energy breathing, which is a special form of conscious breathing, while we watch TV. Because of its natural, physical movement, the breath offers a prominent object toward which to direct our attention. Adding the further step of refining our attention enough to intentionally draw energy from the air strengthens our foundation in this one ever-transforming moment, helping keep us inwardly alive. The energy extracted from the air fuels our inner life, dramatically increasing our awareness and the level of our presence. Whether we practice simple breath awareness or intentional energy breathing, we make our time count toward our lasting welfare.

For this week, work at conscious breathing, and if possible energy breathing, while you watch TV. This practice is not intended to encourage us to watch more TV, but rather to make our existing TV time more profitable, more soulful. If you are among those who watch little or no TV, find another of your activities for the breath practice, like web browsing or reading newspapers, magazines, or novels.

About Inner Frontier                                    Send us email 

Copyright © 2001-2024 Joseph Naft. All rights reserved.