“Then the Lord God formed man [Adam] from the dust
of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man
became a living being” (Gen. 2:7 NRSV).
In the creation story, Adam did not become a living being
until God breathed the breath of life into him. We too often take our breathing
for granted. Unless we have an ailment like asthma making it is difficult to
take air into our lungs, we seldom think about breathing. It is natural. Yet without
breath we would not be living beings.
In my forthcoming book A
Mellow Heart (Working title), I claim
that the existential loneliness in our culture is caused by our alienation and
exploitation of nature. Yet without nature we couldn’t breathe. There is a
symbiotic relationship between our ability to breathe and nature. We take in
oxygen from plants, and we breathe out carbon dioxide. In turn, plants take in
carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. What is life-giving for humans is
poisonous to plants. Likewise, what is life-giving for plants is poisonous for
humans. So deforestation, the exploitation of nature for commercial purposes,
has a direct effect on our breath and our loneliness. Deforestation (and many
other exploitative practices) alienates us from nature because it places us
above rather than within nature. In contrast, breathing makes it abundantly
clear that in order to be a “living being,” we are dependent on nature.
Recognizing that we are part of nature, and in order to
repair our alienation from it, we need to become more aware of our breath.
Becoming more aware of our breath puts us in touch with our dependence on
nature and that we are part of the created world. Since God created nature, we
also become aware of God. When we become more aware of our breathing, it
becomes sacred.
I practice sacred breathing by sitting still and breathing
in very slowly and deliberately what is life giving and breathing out the same
way what is poisonous. Breathe in love, breathe out hate and repeat for 10 to
20 minutes. The physical benefit of such breathing is total relaxation; one can
literally feel one’s blood pressure lowering. I also can feel the stress of any
given day melt away. Yes, I confess that at times I fall asleep from being so
relaxed. That is not bad if we are in need of rest. The spiritual benefit of
such breathing is becoming acutely aware of the presence of God, and becoming
mindful of one’s place in the larger scheme of things.
I try many combinations of life-giving/poisonous polarities.
You can imagine your own. Breathe in peace, breathe out anger. Breathe in beauty,
breathe out ugliness. Breathe in my God-likeness, breathe out my propensity to
sin. Another combination that I use but doesn’t fit the scheme I’ve presented above
is: Breathe in grace, breathe out gratitude. This has been very meaningful to
many people who have practiced it.
Sacred breathing helps us to relax, to sense God’s presence,
and to mitigate our alienation from nature. Sacred breathing helps to make us
more aware, more present. Sacred breathing helps us to be grateful for the “breath
of life” that God has given us.
Add you own live-giving/poisonous polarities in the comment
box for use in sacred breathing.
Breathe in God's love, breathe out fear.
ReplyDeleteI chose the house I live in because a door from the master bedroom opened out to a secluded side yard. It was nothing but a bed of weeds inviting snakes. But I told Danny...this will be my prayer garden. Two years later he blessed me with the finished garden for Mother's day. Now in addition, I will add sacred breathing to my time in the garden. Thanks for the insights. Jeanette
Another insight is that when we were created, God breathed the breath of life into us. It takes breath to speak words. I have concluded that my words are alive with the creative power of God. They can produce life or death. Lord, help me speak only life!
ReplyDeleteYes, words are extremely important and powerful. The Hebrew name for word transliterated is "dabar". I understand that "dabar" contains the meaning of a missile that is launched and that it can never be retracted. That's why when Isaac gave his "word" of blessing to the wrong son, he could not retract it. It had to remain on Jacob. Therefore it is important to use that power, as you say, for creative purposes rather than destructive ones. "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight."
ReplyDeleteEnjoy to the fullest your prayer garden.What a wonderful thing to have a retreat right in your backyard.