Breathing in Dark, Breathing Out Light

You may already know that I'm a fan of Tonglen Meditation, which a style practiced by Tibetan Buddhists. Tonglen meditation focuses on pleasure and pain; through breathing in pain, you take on the suffering of all, and through breathing out happiness and light, you emit this to all.

Here's some of the basic steps of Tonglen orientation as recounted by Pema Chodron. You can also hear her at Listen at Tonglen Meditation along with audio.

1. When things are painful, think: other people feel the same thing, often at the same time.

This removes the sense of isolation from the pain, which leads to suffering.

2. Think: May we all be free of this.

3. Think: May I feel this so others are free of it.

Read about a range of meditation techniques here.