The Importance of Breathing


Have you, by chance, noticed a weird energy in the air recently? I've been feeling something pulling at me for the last week - an energy that wants me to delve into negativity but, luckily, is finding no real foothold with me anymore. There have been several swarms of this energy that have swept through in the last couple of years. They are meant as clearings for old energy to move out for the new, light-filled energy to come in, but for those who refuse to do the spiritual work, the confrontation of the self, this may end up merely causing more disconnect. Astrologers are giving warning about next week (12/15-18, 2021) being a time of great upheaval - that may be either uniting or divisional, but, more than likely, enlightening. [If interested, start here.]

We have all been witness to the dichotomous polarity that seems to have occurred, particularly in the last two years, to the point of many of us feeling a complete disconnect with what was once our world too. Where I stood only two years ago in mind and heart is vastly different from where I stand now. I watch fascinated with those I stood with in solidarity once seeming to have lost their center in order to ride along on this nauseating roller coaster ride taking them to nowhere. But, I write not to hash out a political debate, for that is by far not what's happening in the world, though it has been simplified as such. I write to remind each and every one of us to find our center and keep re-finding it. I hope all who read this will join me in doing the following:

  1. Connect with nature, particularly receiving sun each day (take vitamin D as needed).
  2. Seek out the joy. Seek out the joy. Seek out the joy. Even if it's the most ridiculous or simplest of acts - do it every single day, if not every moment. I can't stress enough the importance of this.
  3. Breath meditation.

Many of us have been probably under the idea of breath meditation as the standard way in which meditation has been taught - take long, deep inhales and release slowly. Using breath to evoke peace within, evolutionary thought, and create euphoria is mastery and one that should be developed by the individual soul. It helps, though, to have techniques to play with in order to feel the effects upon the body, mind, and heart complex and find what works for you.

  • Using chant
    • Use the first vowel sound of your name on the exhale (ie. my first vowel is the 'e' and sounds like 'eh', so this will be the sound I use.) What this does is to realign your body/mind/heart complex to your soul.
    • Upon the exhale chant an 'I AM' phrase (ie. I AM love) or just 'I AM'. Play with it and see what feels better. Your 'I AM' is the same as what's called the Christ Consciousness or your Higher Self. In a sense, you are honoring it here.
    • Use AUM. AUM = I AM. I would like to caution with this one, however. Most, if not all, teachers, practitioners, and authors will equate AUM with OM. Letters, as do words, have vibration depending upon not only sound but the symbols. These are two completely different vibrations. The AUM recalls the Christ Consciousness of the 'I AM', the God-connection. OM does not, but instead creates an aggravation between mind, heart, body, and soul that stops connection to the God-Source.
  • Add movement
    • Qigong (and other modalities such as Tai Chi) incorporate energy balancing through movement. Personally, I can't stress enough the shift in alignment when employing Qigong. It's like receiving a spiritual bath and my entire body perks up in pure joy.
    • Yoga. Though usually placed under the same heading as Qigong, I would not equate the two. For me, yoga is more physical than spiritual but that may be different for you and I do find benefits. Kundalini yoga I will add following my Qigong routine which gives me an added boost. The ego-eradicator, which uses a fast-paced breathing technique, helps to do just what the name implies - eradicate the ego.
  • The Wim-Hof Method. (Follow this link HERE for the guided meditation or grab the book HERE.) This one creates a bit of a hyperventilation response from the body which causes the sensations of tingling and light-headedness and operates like the ego-eradicator by cutting through the crap that gets in the way of the mind-heart connection. When I perform this technique, I feel like I've been smoking weed afterward. Yah, I haven't done that in years but I definitely still remember the feeling. High as a kite. You'll love it - you won't have the munchies and it won't leave you feeling discombobulated for the rest of the day. Wim Hof also adds in cold showers to jar the mind and body into a stressed state that prepares them for the day to come. I highly recommend reading the book.
  • Tummo. This meditation practice includes a fast-paced movement and helps to bring up the temperature in the body. (This video explains the basics to beginners HERE. This one offers a full understanding HERE, and this one adds the element of cold HERE.)

Think of the breathing meditation as a poem. Shakespeare employed an iamb meter that alternated stressed and unstressed syllables which sanctioned a natural flow like the accent (stressed) of the inhalation and the unaccented (unstressed) exhalation of breathing. At certain contrived moments, a caesura would be added to mark a natural hesitation or pause in the prose. One reason I like the Wim Hof Method is because it takes the rhythmic pattern of deep, strongly accented breaths placing them alongside the disruption of the pause. The disruption is one that dings the brain center more than anything else, causing it to become highly attuned and aware while the regulated breathing pattern creates a super influx of oxygen that saturates the body into an energetic calmness. Though that last sounds contradictory, the deep intense breathing directs the body to a state of awareness which allows a certain physiological disruption in the body’s normal functioning that not only sedates but causes a vibrational tingling that can be fairly euphoric. So, the idea of a breathing meditation would be to disrupt and refocus all components of the mind/body/heart complex, not merely the mind and/or heart as we normally presume.

Some things to keep in mind when choosing or formulating a breathing meditation:

  1. First and foremost, does it create a communion with the God Source in a way that is individually recognized by the heart/mind/body construct?
  2. Is there a compatibility with the routine(s) that creates a desire for investment with time, commitment, and the five elements of Air, Water, Earth, Fire, and Source?
  3. With the idea of the five elements, does it bring a unified emergence of thought, emotion, action, creation, and Spirit?
  4. Does the body feel vibrationally heightened and enhanced?
  5. Does it help direct focus, particularly on positive energetic desires?
  6. Is there a sense of euphoria or joyful calmness presented?
  7. Does the modality have a set accented, rhythmic pattern with rest following (or rest stops within) that feels like joyful freedom? 
  8. Is the routine one that works both with the rhythm of breathing and the pause of holding?

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” - Ezekiel 37:9

Let me know in the comments what your routine consists of. Do you follow one of the methods described above, one I haven't listed, or something unique only to you? Share your method, if not mentioned, so that others may also experience it for themselves!

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