Week 2. Spiritual Practice
The Power of the Breath
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And furthermore...
“Because breath has no form as such, it has since ancient times been equated with spirit—the formless one Life. “God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living creature.” The German word for breathing—atmen—is derived from the ancient Indian (Sanskrit) word Atman, meaning the indwelling divine spirit of God within. The fact the breath has no form is one of the reasons why breath awareness is an extremely effective way of bringing space into your life, of generating consciousness.”
— Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
For example...
“As I learned, breathing properly opens you up. Each breath carries life and energy, or what the yogis call prana, to the rest of your body.”
— Belinda Carlisle, Lips Unsealed (Rock Star)
And...
“Every breath I take becomes deeper, and I become more confident of myself without my crutches. The lies I've filled my body and soul with aren't needed anymore. They're not welcome. I choose to live, not just exist.”
— Lead Singer James Hetfield, Metallica
Because ultimately...
“Pranayama is the practice of breath control. The word prana refers not only to breath, but also to air and life itself.”
— Supermodel/Humanitarian Christy Turlington
Additionally...
“Being aware of your breath forces you into the present moment—the key to all inner transformation. Whenever you are conscious of the breath, you are absolutely present. You may also notice that you cannot think and be aware of your breathing. Conscious breathing stops your mind. But far from being in a trance or half asleep, you are fully awake and highly alert. You are not falling below thinking, but rising about it. And if you look more closely, you will find that those two things—coming fully into the present moment and ceasing thinking without loss of consciousness—are actually one and the same: the rising of space consciousness.”
— Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
Therefore...
“To awaken, sit calmly, letting each breath clear your mind and open your heart.”
— Buddha
Furthermore...
“Be aware of your breathing. Notice the sensation of the breath. Feel the air moving in and out of your body. Notice how the chest and abdomen expand and contract slightly with the in- and outbreath. One conscious breath is enough to make some space when before there was the uninterrupted succession of one thought after another. One conscious breath (two or three would be even better), taken many times a day, is an excellent way of bringing space into your life. Even if you meditated on your breathing for two hours or more, which some people do, on breath is all you ever need to be aware of, indeed ever can be aware of……Many people’s breath unnaturally shallow. The more you are aware of the breath, the more its natural depth will reestablish itself.”
— Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
Which means...
“We can decide to take three slow, deep breaths upon awakening each morning. This simple act can set a course to start each day still, centered, and in the moment.”
— Music Producer Rick Rubin, The Creative Act: A Way of Being
And...
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”
— Philosopher Marcus Aurelius
And...
“Even if you only stop and focus on your breathing for a few breaths, or for a minute or two, its very valuable.”
— Buddhist Monk Nhat Hanh
And...
“Breathing is my best ally. By doing simple breathing exercises, I can quickly come back to center and feel more grounded.”
— Supermodel Gisele Bundchen
And...
“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”
— Buddhist Monk Nhat Hanh
Because ultimately...
“Being aware of your breath takes attention away from thinking and creates space. It is one way of generating consciousness. Although the fullness of consciousness is already there as the unmanifested, we are here to bring consciousness into this dimension.”
— Eckhart Tolle – A New Earth
Which means...
“Breath itself is a potent vehicle to calm our thoughts, create space, and tune in. It cannot guarantee that inspiration will come, though the vacancy may draw the muse in to play.”
— Music Producer Rick Rubin, The Creative Act: A Way of Being
Which means...
“Every time you take in a breath, you are repeating the pattern of taking spirit into matter, and thus repeating the first creation of Adam. And every time you breathe out, you are repeating the pattern of returning spirit to the material universe. In a way, every exhalation is a “little dying” as we pay the price of inspiriting the world. Your simple breathing models your entire vocation as a human being. You are an incarnation, like Christ, of matter and spirit operating as one. ”
— Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ
This means...
“As each breath goes out, let it be the end of that moment and the birth of something new. . ."
— Tibetan Buddhist Pema Chodron
Furthermore...
“As you breathe in, cherish yourself. As you breathe out, cherish all Beings.”
— Dalai Lama
Because ultimately...
“I want to breathe in the Spiritual.”
— Singer Tina Turner
Which makes...
“My genius is in my nostrils.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
To neutralize the power of the ego, we must understand and utilize the power of conscious breathing.
The breath is a powerful tool for bringing unmanifested consciousness (spirit) into manifested consciousness (the world of form), while drawing the illusion of linear time into the present moment. This makes conscious breathing an incredibly effective way to combat the influence of the ego—especially as it promotes the peaceful experience of Heaven on Earth in the now.
However, the ego and its powerful mind games will not take conscious breathing lying down. It will continuously try to reinsert a sense of lack, insecurity, and self-righteousness, while pulling your painful past into the present to distract you with fearful thoughts of the future.
The ego and its ally, linear time, are very powerful within their self-projected Earthly domain. Yet conscious breathing can neutralize their power—and it is merely one conscious breath away.
This is why the OCA Movement, and our decision to create (remember) Heaven on Earth, has created the Mindful, Conscious Breathing Mondays practice that you will discover as you move deeper into the practices that we share with you each week. Because to create Heaven on Earth, we must individually and collectively learn the divine power of conscious breathing.
So please, for heaven’s sake, don’t blow off Monday practices! Consciously inhale in, exhale out, and create unmanifested consciousness—Heaven—instead.
And maybe, just maybe, Mondays won’t seem so bad after all. We shall see. 😊
“The word spirit comes from the Latin word for "breath" - spiritu - and the origin of the word spirituality has to do with breath and life force, the mysteries of the ancients and all this.”
— Singer/Songwriter Chris Martin, Coldplay