Oct 17
19
Breathing, Life and Spirit
Are Almost Synonymous!
Take in the breath of life…Spirit.
The most challenging aspect of staying in the present, in the NOW, can be achieved in large measure by focusing on our breathing. Words in ancient texts in a variety of languages that are translated into English as “spirit” also may be translated accurately as “breath” and to be fair, “wind.”
All healing modalities, even so-called western medicine, recognize the need to be able to breathe in a healthy manner. Likewise, western medicine has also in a significant way adopted a proactive stance on the health benefits of meditation and all forms of meditation start with a focus on our breath — not past breath, not a breath in the future, but this breath here and now in this present moment.
Ever increasing and across the spectrum of every facet of society, including business, religion and science, meditation is being recognized as a benefit to health and this takes us into arguing about which method of meditation is superior. Almost every meditation technique incorporates deep breathing as an integral part.
LET’S FORGET, for just a moment, ANY method or system of meditation and focus ONLY on breathing.
It has been amply proven that you can live for months without food, several days without water, but only minutes without breathing, with practice the minutes can be increased to a longer time element than minutes, but only just.
Holding on to past moments breath does not feed the body…you need new Spirit.
In other words, breath is vital for vibrant LIFE and whether it is synonymous with SPIRIT depends upon point of view, it could, however, be interesting to contemplate for a moment that the same ancient texts in a variety of ancient languages from which the English term Eternal Life is translated are accurately translated as NOW, one thing many experts agree upon, is focusing on our breath is one of the simplest ways to bring us into NOW.
This is not the nature of the average mind. The average mind dwells in what has been and is anxious over what will or might be in the future. Even those who think of themselves as spiritual consider what foods are best to eat and plan their days around meals and meal times.
The average mind thinks about the to-do lists for several tomorrows and the unpleasant experiences we’ve had in the past. The times we focus on what’s NOW are rare.
Enter this moment by breathing in…what now?
When our minds are in the past or in the future we miss out on NOW and if it is possible that NOW equates to an alternative existence we might refer to as eternal, including the beauty and blessings in our present surroundings then we miss out on the spiritual side of LIFE.
Even those of us who consider ourselves spiritual think about what we’ll have for breakfast, the day’s to-do list, or the unpleasant conversations and experiences we had yesterday. The times the mind actually stays in the present are rare and fleeting.
We cause ourselves undue pain and sorrow over flash-backs to incidents long past and worry about future unknowns that are beyond our control.
Learning to breathe healthfully builds upon itself; learning to focus on the breaths we take has an eternal benefit, don’t miss out on it.
bc