On the Breath

​It feels like it has been a difficult time for breathing. Every time I turn around something happens that makes me gasp or hold my breath. Frightening deplorable acts of senseless violence or insensitive inane utterings of willfully ignorant people have caused me to interrupt in some way the easy flow of breathing that sustains me.
 
Breathing is fundamental. We need to inhale oxygen to sustain us and we need to exhale carbon dioxide. The physiological processes are beyond the scope of this post but suffice it to say we need to breathe. Our first impulse as we re-enter this plane is to inhale and our last act as we transition back to our home is to exhale. Taking in a deep breath when we are anxious immediately calms us down enough to act and react in a productive manner. When we are physically exerting ourselves, our breathing changes to compensate for that additional stress on our body. For our physical experience, breathing is a necessary act.
 
For the sustenance of our spiritual beings, breathing is also a necessary tool for optimal wellbeing. And, for the optimal interaction of our spirit and our physical bodies, breathing can breach the gap between the two and bring us into a state of peaceful harmony. Allowing the physical and etheric bodies to come into a space of synergy through breathing can bring us into a state of balance from which we can best serve ourselves and others.
 
Mindful meditation can help us to not only practice acknowledgement of the breath but also gives us a tool for dealing with stress-filled situations. Sitting or reclining in meditation and allowing the breath to be our focal point helps us to release anxiety and concerns as we concentrate only on the breath entering our body and the breath leaving our body. In doing this, thoughts and ideas will flow into our minds and we can acknowledge these and release them, and then return to the sole sensation of the entering and exiting breaths. There are many forms of meditation, some stationary and some moving, and these will be shared in a future post, but for now, focusing on simply breathing in and out will suffice.

One of the nice aspects of setting time aside for daily practice is that when we make this a part of our schedule, we can make it a part of our core strategies for existing in the physical world, and we can use this space of calmness throughout the day. We can take a minute or two in whatever situation we are in to re-enter this space from which optimal performance can thrive by simply focusing momentarily on our breath, bringing back to our core the sensation and knowledge of centered peacefulness. Daily practice ensures that we always have this tool at hand.
 
Mindfulness meditation can also help us to become in tune with the universe. The focus on the breath and the breath alone, releasing all extraneous thoughts as we breathe, helps us to reach that moment of connection with the All, with the Oneness of which we are an integral part. It is that space without thought, wherein only the breath exists, in which the silence of the universe can join with our own silence, allowing a synergy that is both informing and comforting. The peace in these nanoseconds is unparalleled in our physical experience and allows us to become one with all that exists on all planes in all times.
 
This week, please focus on your breathing. Acknowledge the sensation of breathing in and out and note how this awareness serves to calm and sustain you. Perhaps you would like to try a sitting meditation for five minutes. Simply sit quietly, close your eyes, and think of nothing but the feeling of air entering and exiting your body. Enjoy the stillness and know you are One with the Universe!
 

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