King, Queen or Pauper, there’s one thing we all have in common;
One thing that tells us 24/7 how we are doing;
By speeding up when we are tired and slowing down when we feel relaxed.
By being peaceful when we enjoy what we do; by being erratic when we’re upset;
By being shallow when we’re frightened and being full when we feel safe.
Its the first thing we do when entering the world as well as the last when leaving it while in between we cannot go without it for more than 10 minutes.
It is what is called Prana with the Indian Yogis, Chi in Martial Arts; and in her book Energy Medicine, Donna Eden describes how it’s called Baraka with the Sufi’s, Orenda by the Native American Iroquois and Holy Spirit in the Christian tradition. It is the energy that keeps us going; the energy of life, the voice of our Life’s force and most of us know it as: Breath.
Every culture, every tribe has its own concept of it often connected to the realization that it is the source of everything.
Without oxygen there would be no life on earth;
without breath there would be no humanity.
Breath being an autonomous mechanism we are most often too pre-occupied to actually observe how it reflects our every mood and responds to every event that befalls us in life, yet breath is basically our Storyteller.
Following our breath tells us exactly how we are doing, every moment of the day.
Even more so; consciously using breath, directing it to physical symptoms or mental issues in need of healing; in other words sending energy,i.e. life force to a particular spot in time and space, has the power to modify pain or excess behavior. The simple ‘take a deep breath in” is a much used method to help people calm down or prepare for what is coming.
While breath is life force available to King Queen and Pauper alike, it is also what connects us all. In other words we all breath in and out that same force; whether you’re rich or poor, spiteful or loving. In breath we are part of a collective. each and everyone of us using the life force of breath in our very own way; as such each and everyone of us contributing to life in our very own way.
Tibetan monks have translated this concept of the ability to contribute and heal, for yourself or others through breath into a practice called Tonglen or Tonglin breathing.
For those who wish to learn more about this very very simple and yet amazingly powerful method of healing, I’ve attached a four minute video presented by the much admired teacher Pema Chödrön
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwqlurCvXuM
