Breath
An everyday activity that transforms ordinary life into a spiritual life is the conscious use of breath. It quiets the mind and helps to center one in the chakra below the navel. Breath is prayer. Breath is energy. Breath is life itself. You can go without food for a month, but if you stop breathing for a few minutes, you will likely die or incur brain damage. Every time we inhale, we take the source of life into our lungs; every time we exhale, we let go of a part of ourselves. Drawing breath into the chakra below the navel strengthens the foundation of one’s being and develops internal power enabling one to stay focused throughout the day. As the navel chakra strengthens, one eliminates mental and emotional tension and begins to live with a quiet mind and heart. Shakti moves through the sex chakra and our inner chaos transforms itself into an awakened kundalini.
The power of breath expands and strengthens the chakra system awakening one’s inner life.
Breath plays an essential role in the development of a strong chakra system. It’s a moment-to-moment activity that sustains life as we know it: the power of existence every person receives from the source of creative energy. The Hindu So Hum mantra translated into English means I am That. As one silently chants the mantra during meditation, one listens to the sound of their breathing. They inhale to the sound of So, and exhale to the sound of Hum, and recognize that breath is I am That or I am one with everything, a sacred activity whether done consciously or unconsciously. In the Old Testament, Moses listens to the voice of God, “I am That I am”, a mandala-like wisdom that captures the true nature of existence, and the burning bush, like Kundalini energy, turns to ash all encumbrances, fears, tensions and insecurities, and clears a path to spiritual enlightenment. Breath won’t open a chakra on its own. Gratitude can open the heart chakra, and focusing the mind on the hara can open the core of one’s being. The power of breath expands and strengthens the chakra system awakening one’s inner life.
When one separates illusion from reality; recognizing that they wear the same costume and speak the same language; and distinguishes between the two, one discovers that this level of consciousness has nothing to do with the objective world. A highly evolved chakra system enables a spiritual seeker to perceive life’s true nature, free from preconceived thoughts that create and analyze maya. Without the conscious use of breath, it’s impossible to develop chakra systems that can pierce the veil of illusion.
Mordecai Moreh, a painter friend of mine, well-schooled in Kabbalistic lore, spoke about Abraham, the patriarch of Jewish religion. Born with the name Abram, God had changed his name to Abra-h-am. “The letter, “H,” Mordecai said, “is the Hebraic sound for breath.” Abram became Abraham when the breath of God was put into him, when he realized that breathing was sacred, that every moment of life was sacred, and each breath transformed him from Abram (his birth name) to Abraham, a child of God…
(To be continued…)
Painting by Mordecai Moreh, oil on canvas
