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Let's look at breath.
How You Breathe Is Critical To Your Whole Life
As Westerners, we tend to breathe shallow and unconsciously. Heck, we never even consider how we're breathing.
Some of us know better. As a runner, I ran 10 miles a day for several years. And as any runner will tell you, breath management is critical to how well you do. If you breathe unconsciously, you can expect to pass out.
Think of the swimmer who doesn't manage or improve their breathing habits. They won't last long.
Your breath is critical to how well you live.
Why Breathing Is Spiritual
The Hebrew word for spirit is the same word for breath. Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."
Three deep breaths when you're tense, slowly releasing your breath on the exhale, is a universal way to calm down.
It's a fact, if you stop breathing, you're pronounced dead.
So our notion that there isn't anything to learn about breathing needs to be examined.
I'm a singer and I always struggle to develop my lungs to sing better. How about you?
Those morning walks are critical to our good health and well being.
Our problem is that we are adrenaline junkies and caffeine is the Christian drug of choice.
My dad, as a pastor, lived on caffeine and cigarettes, and died a premature death. And he was considered a spiritual giant.
How many pastors do you know, who down a Red Bull, or a cup of joe before speaking? It effects our spirit and our message. It pushes the adrenaline, and pushes other people in our sphere of authority and influence.
We're so addicted to caffeine and sleep deprivation, we've retrained ourselves and we've totally forgotten how it feels to breathe and to think normally.
Breathing As Spiritual Practice
So we have to retrain ourselves to breathe deeply, slowly, consciously, pausing at the end of each breath.
Regardless of what you think, the fact is: breathing and your spiritual life are inseparably tied together. At least in this life. Ever since God breathed 'the breath of life' into Adam. The evidence is all over the place, but frankly, we're unaware.
When I ask God for forgiveness, I consciously breathe out. I let all the junk out, and breathe in God's forgiveness. I breathe in his Spirit, his new life. That's a habit of prayer I formed many years ago. And quite frankly, it has sustained me through hard times more than anything else.
How do you think the breath prayer, or the cadence of the Black Preacher came about? What about monks praying daily? There's a breath cadence, a rhythm.
When I'm ready to be contemplative, awake and aware of God's presence, I shift. I start with my breath and my focus.
A side note here is that if you pray silently, the tendency runs toward head games, distractions, and 'run away thoughts.' Use your breath. Pray out loud, even at times with "groanings too deep for words." That 'private and personal' stuff has to go. You're a disciple of Jesus after all.
In Conclusion:
So when you're ready to focus and deepen your devotion to Jesus, to dive into your spiritual life, remember, your breath and your spirit are linked together.
And for Jesus sake, realize that your breath and your brain functions are tied together too. So breathe deeply and slowly.
Let me put it another way: Your breath arises with your spirit from the seat of your being. And that my friend, is where you commune with God.
You are a human being, not a human doing, first and foremost. Spend time just being present with God. 'Hang out'...just soak it all in. And let your religious preconceptions be burned up in the knowledge of knowing Him.
He knows you and He loves you. He's your Father. Your eternal and heavenly Father, who will never leave you nor forsake you. He wants to spend time with you.
Get to know Him.
Now, "may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you now and forevermore. Amen."
Photo Credit: Kevin Coner Keller
