to be alive in this beautiful, self-organizing universe
to participate in the dance of life
with senses to perceive it, lungs that breathe it,
organs that draw nourishment from it
is a wonder beyond words
~ Joanna Macy
why did i decide to write about breath?
just like the last post about language, there are themes that tend to go every day unnoticed for which i see a need for us to reclaim and pay attention to.
so i want us to put our attention on breath ~ as your meditation teacher would say, because breath is not just the air that goes in and out of your lungs. because from the first to the last, breath is our main tether to life’s force
let’s explore what that’s about
breathe was the latin verb spirare, which is the root for a number of verbs and other words
inspire ~ “breathe in” ; to incite with the ability to do or feel something. in the old sense still carried until this day is to influence, move, or guide by divine influence(s)
aspire ~ “breathe on” ; in the modern sense is “to try to be or do something”
conspire ~ “breath together” ; to plan a scheme with others.
conspiracy is a synonym for plotexpire ~ “breathe out” ; the end of an offer or of a product’s shelf life. expirare meant “die” in latin
respire ~ “breathe again” ; the noun form respiration refers to the breathing cycle
suspire ~ “breathe under” ; synonym for sigh
transpire ~ “breathe across” ; transpiration refers to the process of evaporation of water, but nowadays it means events that “happen” or “occur”
spirit ~ “the one who breathes” the essential or vital principle of something1. to be spirited means to have courage and enthusiasm
i aspire
to inspire
until myself expire
~ the ungoogleable michaelangelo
it seems that all we do in our lives revolves around breath, doesn’t it? and if to be alive is to be anima(ted’)2 so no wonder breath in many languages is also a synonym for life…
it’s no coincidence that ‘aspiration’ means both hope and the act of breathing. when we speak we use breath in our lungs to give our thoughts a physical form. the sounds we make are simultaneously our intentions and our life force
~ Ted Chiang, “the great silence”
in my personal journey, i give credit to two things which are able to keep me mindful throughout my day, this means that my mind stays aware “with me” instead of “abandoning” my-self and falling for automatic patterns, these “tools” are breath and the alexander technique, for which i’ll share more in the future
there is one way of breathing that is shameful and constricted.
then, there’s another way: a breath of love that takes you all the way to infinity
~ Rumi
breath connects us with the infinite whole
when we realize that as we breathe, we are also being breathed by and through forces and ways of being beyond our personalities.
we are the air of the breath of immensities
like the water in your body that’s just visiting, as long ago it was dinosaur piss, a week ago it was snow and next week it will be a cloud, air is no different. we’re visited, nourished and fed by the life force of other forms and through the cycle of filling and emptying is how we align in communion with the larger rhythms of life
our breath is the ultimate symbiotic communal ritual of engagement and biofeedback with the ecosystem, while air is a currency of love and life exchanged between us sentient beings. cooked and perfected for eons, brought and offered by ancient rooted and floating primordial life
the ancient rhythms of the earth have insinuated themselves into the rhythms of the human heart. the earth is not outside us; it is within. our bodies know that they belong... when we are in rhythm with our own nature, things flow and balance naturally
~ John O'Donohue
in the book “the ghost dance” author Michael Stuart Ani (while talking to a mushroom being), was told why they ~ the plants, have such a high investment in us:
during the day you breathe the air the plants provide you, but it is your night breath of dreams, the air you breathe out when you sleep, that is sweetest than any other for the plants.
plants will help humans for the sweet breath of their dreams alone because for us it is ambrosia
…
as my blood gives you visions, your ambrosia3 also gives plants visions.
i made you my scribe so humans can never say the plants have not warned them, not because i'm hoarding your tortilla breath, pendejo
~ Desheto, prince of plants
that was quite a bit of a mindblower for me and even though i took it with more than just a pinch of salt, it kept ringing true; as the old mapuche kimvn (wisdom) defines newen (life force / chi / prana) beyond the concept of energy but ultimately as the highest form of information, the breath of life that flows through the ether as well as our breaths. we as breathing living beings are latent newen, and we move this energy from outside in as well as inside out
to raise vibration.
breathe.
on.
purpose.
old wisdom also says that which we put our focus on, grows, that to give breath is to give attention. that we’re to breathe through pain and sadness, to fully embrace them so that the energies flow and healing is allowed. that dramas and failures must be given a new breath and seen from a new perspective of learning and growth
maybe that is my superpower
i can inhale pain
and breathe out poetry
~ John Mark Green
so what else can i write or say about breath? nothing much really…or nothing heady at least. as i gave attention to my breath, my air, i realized that all these words were just air too
breathe tenderly
as the lover of all beings
says the vijñāna-bhairava-tantra
to breathe is to inhale life
to feel the permeability of the boundary
the periphery, that is awake alive and aware
to breathe is to feel the nectar rain of the world tree
to feel the tree of the nervous system
bridging land and sky
like the trees do, like we all do
allowing the gentle breathing of trees
to teach us the balance between of rigidity and sensitivity
so that we can be strong and sensitive at the same time
make every breath a ritual
for balance, for alignment
make every breath a meditation
for connection between you an infinity
make every breath a ritual
to grasp that infinity
feel your mortality
and your smallness
in every breath
as to meditate on life in every breath
is also inevitably to meditate on death
feeling the subtle forces that move in and out
the pattern of order and chaos
within space and time
breathe in that eternal ocean
in which the dance of the serpent takes place
so that in the moment of death
you break open and shed the small self
who will you be at that moment?
what will you take with you on that journey?
as the elements of the body crumble
the liquids fade away
and the flame goes off
then at that moment
who will you connect with?
what will you melt into, if not the great mother
letting go into the arms of the mother
as she's both killer and creator
this is nature
the cycle of nature is death and regeneration
in every breath
crossing infinity, meeting eternity
now and every second
every single breath is a gift
to be present in the body
present in the land, present in all
breathe to learn
how to align your smallness to the infinite
breathe while staring into the vastness
the vastness of nature, time, space, light, animacy,
with feeling
cos if we're close to the resonance between us and the whole
we can fall to nihilism, despair and meaninglessness
for us to tune to this resonance
we do it through the heart
to align our lives with the infinite
is to learn
that breath is the key and the heart is the door
by opening and closing
both of them allow
to feel the vastness within
so that terrifying abyss
that dark blue emptiness becomes intimate and close
and the gentleness of the mother
can come shining through
with attention, through breath
within our hearts
we experience the infinite creativity
the pulse of nature ~ ordered and harmonic
the pattern in every-thing & every-being
the pattern that is both sensitive and aware
at the same time
appreciating the gift that is breath
the goodness of the breath
opens up the being for the bliss & the joy
allowing the being to be held
by the blue
that breathes us
since before we were born
the vapor given off and collected during an alchemical process (as with the distillation of alcohol) was called a spirit of the original material [wikipedia]