"In our daily life, our attention is dispersed. Our body is in one place, our breath is ignored, and our mind is wandering. As soon as we pay attention to our breath, as we breath in, these three things - body, breath, and mind - come together. This can happen in just one or two seconds. You come back to yourself. Your awareness brings these three elements together, and you become fully present in the here and now. You are taking care of your body, you are taking care of your breath, and you are taking care of your mind.
When you make a soup, you have to add together all of the right ingredients in harmony and let them simmer. Our breath is the broth that brings the different elements together. We bathe spirit and mind in our breath and they become integrated so they are one thing. We are whole.
We don't need to control our body, mind, and breath. We can just be there for them. We allow them to be themselves. This is non-violence."
- from "How to Sit," by Thich Nhat Hanh