You can sit in your chair or you can sit in whatsoever posture you feel to be comfortable. Then fold your hands together in your lap, with the right hand underneath the left hand -- the position is important because the right hand is joined with the left brain, and fear always comes from the left brain. The left hand is joined with the right brain, and courage comes from the right side.
The left brain is the seat of reason, and reason is a coward. That's why you will not find a man brave and intellectual together. And whenever you find a brave man you will not find an intellectual. He will be irrational, bound to be so. The right brain is intuitive... so this is just symbolic, and not only symbolic: it puts the energy into a certain posture, into a certain relationship.
So the right hand goes underneath the left hand and both the thumbs join each other. Then you relax, close your eyes, and let your lower jaw be relaxed just a little -- not that you force it... just relaxed so that you start breathing by the mouth.
Don't breathe by the nose, just start breathing by the mouth; it is very relaxing. And when you don't breathe by the nose, the old pattern of the mind does not function any more. This will be a new thing, and in a new breathing system a new habit can be formed more easily.
Secondly, when you don't breathe through the nose it does not stimulate your brain. It simply does not go to the brain: it goes directly to the chest. Otherwise a constant stimulation and massage goes on. That's why breathing changes in our nostrils again and again. Breathing through one nostril massages one side of the brain, through another, the other side of the brain. After each forty minutes they change.
So simply sit in this posture, breathing by the mouth. The nose is dual, the mouth is non-dual. There is no change when you breathe through the mouth: if you sit for one hour you will be breathing the same way. There will be no change; you will remain in one state.
Breathing through the nose you cannot remain in one state. The state changes automatically; without your knowing it changes.
So this will create a very very silent, non-dual, new state of relaxation, and your energies will start flowing in a new way. Simply sit silently doing nothing for at least forty minutes. If it can be done for one hour that will be a great help. So if possible, start with forty minutes, then by and by reach sixty. Do this every day.
And meanwhile don't miss any opportunity; whatsoever opportunity comes, go into it. Always choose life and always choose doing; never withdraw, never escape. Enjoy any opportunity that comes on your way to do something, to be creative.
©1999 Osho International Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Published by St. Martin's Press, NY.
Article Source
Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously
by Osho.
The book begins with an in-depth exploration of the meaning of courage and how it is expressed in the everyday life of the individual. Unlike books that focus on heroic acts of courage in exceptional circumstances, the focus here is on developing the inner courage that enables us to lead authentic and fulfilling lives on a day-to-day basis. This is the courage to change when change is needed, the courage to stand up for our own truth, even against the opinions of others, and the courage to embrace the unknown in spite of our fears-in our relationships, in our careers, or in the ongoing journey of understanding who we are and why we are here.
Click here for more info or to order this book. Also available in a Kindle edition.
About The Author
Osho is one of the best-known and most provocative spiritual teachers of the 20th century. Beginning in the 1970s he captured the attention of young people from the West who wanted to experience meditation and transformation. Even since his death in 1990, the influence of his teachings continues to expand, reaching seekers of all ages in virtually every country of the world. For more information, visit https://www.osho.com/
