A Day of Dedication: Breath

Breathing is an essential part of being human. Whether we notice it or not, we do it all the time. We have parts of ourselves that go on without "us" knowing it. Like our heartbeat, our blood flow, and any involuntary actions. And then, there are parts of ourselves that are voluntary, like consciously moving one's hand. The breath is an interesting part about being human for the breath is both voluntary and involuntary. A lot of the time it goes on without our awareness. Only when we bring our awareness back into the body and back into the breath, can we breath fully and truly be in the moment. Most of the time we are only taking "sips" of our breath and are unaware of what is happening in the present.

The word "spirit" is from the Latin word "spiritus" meaning breath. The Father (consciousness), The Son (the mind), and the the Holy Spirit (our breath) is the trinity we are all comprised of. When linked in harmony, deep peace can be felt within. This is our natural state of being. However, in our modern culture we are so used to being controlled by our thoughts that we take this unnatural, disharmonious state as normal. A majority of humanity is in this state of discontinuity with the present moment, partly due to our culture's obsession with "security" in the "future". Although, first and foremost, this is a problem from within; as is all of the problems you see in the world today. There is a crisis in consciousness on the global scale. So, to tackle this problem, it starts here, it starts now, and it starts with you. 

I invite you spend an entire day dedicated to your breath, the awareness of your breath. Start when you wake up in the morning. Slowly, bring your attention to your breath. You will notice your mind will take over you and lead you astray, this is okay. Every time you notice you are no longer focusing on your breath, see this as an opportunity to re-focus your awareness to the breath, to the moment. Notice how you are drawn away from it by a stream of thoughts. Once you get a feel for this, start to watch the thoughts as they arise and as they go. You will see where they come from; nothingness. Indeed, they will come and go, just like a wave or a cloud. If you are not aware of these thoughts and do not accept them, you can and most likely will become lost in their story, seeing yourself as them; this is known as attachment. In this mental fog, you will eventually notice you completely forgot about the breath. You will wonder where you went and how you got there. It's okay, all that matters is that you are aware of the discontinuity with the breath. Simply, bring back your attention to it and repeat this whenever it happens throughout your day. It's fascinating to see how lost we get in thought without the slightest awareness of how. Eventually, you will see the space that the breath will open up for you. This space is who you are. Thoughts will still come and go, but instead of being hypnotized by their story, you will be free in this inner space of stillness; this is known as detachment. Remember, the breath is a fantastic way to come back to the present, and when mastered, life will once again be a gift. 

The Day of Dedication blog posts will be a series of posts, so look for more in the future. :)

Photo Credit: Satori