Change your focus to the gaps

What the method is

The method “Change your focus to the gaps” directly instructs the practitioner to shift attention to the intervals or pauses that naturally occur in various processes, particularly breathing. The core instruction, specifically regarding breath, is to recognize the moment “After breath comes in (down) and just before turning up (out)” – referred to as “the beneficence”. This also includes the similar brief cessation of breath after exhaling and before inhaling.

How it is done

The practice of this method involves:

Awareness of Natural Processes: The practitioner must observe the breath as it naturally moves in and out, without attempting to control or systematize it.
Synchronized Consciousness: Consciousness should become one with the breath’s movement. When the breath goes in, the practitioner’s awareness “goes in” with it; when it moves out, the awareness “moves out” with it.
Identifying the Intervals: The critical step is to detect the “moment when you are not breathing” – the short, subtle pauses that occur after the incoming breath completes its journey and before the outgoing breath begins, and similarly, after an outgoing breath stops and before an incoming breath begins. This requires keen, sincere observation and attention.
Total Immersion without Verbalization: True observation means “remaining with no word, with no verbalization, with no bubbling inside – just remaining with” the sensation. It’s about feeling the phenomenon, not intellectualizing it.
Continuous Application (Optional Variant): For a deeper engagement, the technique can be extended to daily activities. This involves maintaining awareness of the gap between breaths “when in worldly activity,” creating a dual layer of existence where one is simultaneously “doing and being”.

Commentaries and Insights

Transcending Duality and Fear of Death: Osho explains that for Tantra, each outgoing breath is a “death” and each incoming breath is a “rebirth”. The brief gap between these two is a “death-like” state. By becoming aware of this gap, one confronts and transcends the continuous cycle of dying and being reborn, leading to the realization of the “eternal element which is always”. This method helps in moving “From Death to Deathlessness”.
The “Happening” (Beneficence): If the practitioner can successfully feel this momentary gap, “the beneficence” or “the happening” occurs, signifying a profound spiritual breakthrough. This is a direct path to experiencing one’s “deathless” nature.
Mind’s Role and Simplicity: The simplicity of the technique often causes the mind to dismiss it, seeking something more “difficult” for the ego to conquer. However, Osho emphasizes that such simple methods are potent because they touch fundamental realities. The mind, being “tricky” and “cunning,” may resist or intellectualize, preventing authentic experience.
Connection to Other Practices: This technique is described as the first technique of the Vigyan Bhairav Tantra related to breath. It is also linked to Buddha’s Anapanasati Yoga, though Buddha typically did not explicitly mention the gap to prevent intellectualization or “desire to attain the interval” from becoming a barrier. Other similar techniques include observing the “turning point between two breaths” and the “fusion point of two breaths,” both of which refer to subtle moments of stillness or transition within the breath cycle that can lead to realizing the self or connecting with the cosmic source.
Physiological and Psychological Link: The momentary cessation of breath in the gap directly correlates with a pause in mental activity. When breathing stops, “the mind stops”. This highlights Tantra’s deep understanding of the connection between the physical body and psychological states, asserting that one can start from the body to influence the mind.
The Nature of Reality: The experience of the gap reveals a state of deep inactivity and silence, essential for becoming aware of one’s subtle presence. It is a way to shift focus from the constantly changing periphery of existence to the unchanging inner center.
Effort vs. Effortlessness: While initial “effort” (like disciplined observation) is required, the ideal is to achieve an “effortless effort”. If the method truly “clicks,” an internal explosion occurs, transforming the individual.
Importance of Authenticity and Trial: Osho encourages trying different techniques like “playing” with them for a few days to see if they “click” and bring a “feeling of affinity” or “well-being”. If a technique fits, one should then pursue it seriously and intensely.
Potential Obstacles: The mind’s tendency to postpone, create excuses, or seek external validation (like scriptural authority) are common barriers to practice. Fear of “not being” or the dissolution of the ego can also hinder deeper engagement. While the specific “gap” technique is not explicitly warned against as being “dangerous” in the way some Kundalini methods are, Osho provides general warnings about the intensity of Tantric practices and the importance of master’s guidance for powerful techniques.

Change your focus to the gaps