The Healing Power of
Spiritual Breathing
by Dan Brulé
In the beginning,
we are told, "was the word," but behind the word is an even greater
power: the breath. Have you noticed that words are simply specific formations,
shapes and movements of breath?
In the end days, it is said: all the secrets and mysteries will be revealed.
Those end days must be approaching, because today, the breath itself seems to be
revealing those secrets to us. It seems that the secret of life has been right
under our nose all the time!
But it should come as no surprise, since almost every spiritual teacher
throughout time has pointed to the breath in some way, and every contemporary
healer makes use of the breath at some point.
Almost all the ancient languages use the same word for air, wind or breath, as
they do for life, vital energy, or spirit; or the animating principle of life.
This principle, this spirit of life, is called chi, ki, prana, or energy.
The breath is often overlooked and underestimated in our search for the source
and meaning of life, yet the author of Genesis tells us tells us that "God
took the dust of the earth and formed the body or man, and breathed into the
nostrils of man the Breath of Life, and man became a living soul."
So, is it any wonder that today, we can find our way back to God, we can meet
the source of life by turning to the breath--or more specifically--to what is
referred to in the Book of Genesis as neshemet ruach chayim: "the
spirit of life within the breath"?
The author of Genesis understood something that the yogis have been teaching
since early times: that there is a difference between the air we breathe and the
life giving principle contained within it. This inner breath also called chi, ki,
prana or energy runs through body, mind and soul. In German, the word Atman
means both soul and breath.
The movement of spirit in the body is reflected in the movement of breath. As
the Sufi Master Hazrat Inayat Kahn writes: "The healing power of Christ, the miraculous power of Moses, the charm of Krishna,
and the inspiration of the Buddha--all these were attained by breath."
The Course in Miracles teaches us that: "A universal theology is
impossible, but a universal experience is not only possible, it is
necessary." I believe that this universal experience is the breath, is
breathing!
In the Nei Ching: Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Chinese Medicine, we
read: "In ancient times, there were the so-called spiritual men; they
mastered the universe, and controlled yin and yang. They breathed the essence of
life and were independent in preserving the spirit. Their muscles and flesh
remained unchanged.
In his Book of Secrets, Rajneesh/Osho writes: ""If you can do
something with breath, you will attain the source of life. If you can do
something with breath, you can transcend time and space. If you can do something
with breath, you will be in the world and also beyond it." He said:
"there are certain points in the breathing which you have never observed,
and those points are the doors, the nearest doors to you, from where you can
enter into a different world, into a different being, a different
consciousness..."
I believe that Spiritual Breathing is to psychosomatic illness what penicillin
was to infection. Spiritual Breathing is the quickest way to clear your head,
settle your stomach, calm your nerves, and open your heart. It will uplift you,
center you, and ground you in your being. Spiritual Breathing opens your heart to
love and fills your body with light and life.
In the Songs of Solomon, we read "Breath restores me to my exact
self." Maybe that's why one of the most powerful modern spiritual breathing
methods is called "Rebirthing." It offers us a spiritual technology of
awakening to our essence.
It seems to me that the breath is the fire of the heart--the heart of love. The
Quakers have a wonderful tradition. At their Sunday service, people simply sit
in silence and meditation, waiting, open to inspiration. And when it comes, when
the spirit moves them, they speak. They say their piece (peace). They also hold
this great idea: "Now and then, you need to open all the doors and windows
of your heart and soul, and you need to let the spirit of God blow through you!"
Breathwork is a spiritual technology for purification and awakening. When you work with the
breath, you automatically develop spiritual skills. To play with breath is to play with the
subtlest form of matter. That's why people who have mastered spiritual breathing
can accomplish so much on the level of subtle energies.
Spiritual Breathing makes it clear that the original creative life force energy
that built our bodies in the womb is still available to us, to maintain and even
rebuild the body.
Yoga is the science of union (with God). And yoga holds as a central truth that
Breath is the connection, the bridge between mind and body, between the visible
and the invisible. Breath connects us to each other, and it connects all of us
to God, nature and existence.
Every breath can be a prayer, an invitation, a demonstration of our faith, our
trust. It can be an expression of forgiveness, gratitude and surrender.
Tremendous power is to be gained through combining meditation and breathing. In
the mid 70s, I was inspired by Richard Alpert (Ram Dass). He taught us to
practice a beautiful spiritual breathing technique: On the inhale we think
"the power of God is within me," and on the exhale we think "the
grace of God surrounds me."
Each of us must walk his/her own unique path. And that is the empowering
aspect of Breathwork: no one can do it for you! Yet, we are all breathing the
same breath. The breath that is in me now was in you before, will be in
the bird flying overhead tomorrow, was in the dog walking down the street
yesterday. It is not just a philosophy. It is a fact in reality! The same
atoms and molecules of air, the breath that Jesus breathed, Moses
breathed, Buddha breathed, that same breath is flowing into you right now!
If you really want to go into the deepest realities of life, and to reach the
highest states of consciousness, then you will have to awaken to the breath. It
is the path, or at least the doorway, to your essence, your core, your soul,
your heart of hearts.
Breath and breathing techniques are now being taught all over the world. Breath
awareness leads to the healing of stress, emotional problems, substance abuse, to
the healing of unconscious, blocks, fears, and anxieties.
The Angel of Breath is at work on the planet!
This Angel of Breath brings fire and light to everyone on the spiritual path.
Evolutionary contractions in the form of natural disasters, social upheaval, and
wars, are doing the work of pushing spiritual seekers out of
their comfort zone and into the dynamic working zone of spiritual awakening,
purification and rebirth.
It seems to me that everyone is born a spiritual master. But we forget, we lose
touch with our essence, our purpose, our source. The sadness, anger, and the love of a
child is total: it seems infinite. That is a reflection of the power and nature
of their spirit. As children, we are forced to choose between following outer
authority and listening to our inner divinity.
You can begin to incorporate the life of spirit back into your body and being. Simply
breathe in a conscious way. Practice breathing in a peaceful way, an accepting
way, a trusting way, a loving way, a grateful way, a forgiving way, an inviting
way, a surrendering way. Incorporating these attributes through spiritual
breathing makes manifesting them in reality easy and effortless!
More than knowing, believing or doing it, when you are breathing it, you are
"living" it. You are "being" it. Opening and relaxing the
breath is like opening the doors to your soul. Allow every fiber of your being
to be bathed in this life that flows from God. Spiritual breathing has been
called a biological experience of divine energy.
It takes courage to live a unique life, an inspired life. It requires that you
turn to your own inner truth. That inner truth can be reflected and expressed
through every breath you take. Breathing is like a language: the language of the
soul.
Spiritual Breathing can take you to the eye of the storms in your life.
Spiritual breathing can help you to balance yin and yang, peace and power,
rhythm and harmony. Learn from the breath itself. Follow your own bliss!
Start by watching your breath. Do what the Buddha did at the moment of
enlightenment: follow the breath as it comes and goes. Feel the sensations of
breath, the movement of breath in you. Be a witness. Observe, notice, pay
attention to what is happening inside of you in each moment, and be aware of the
one being aware!
Add to that the willingness to let go, to surrender. And then begin to conspire
with the life that surrounds and permeates everything in existence. Breathe
consciously. Feel the expansion and contraction of life! Celebrate the flow of
life, and marvel at the mysteries that life reveals to you through the breath.
Seek out others who are committed to breath mastery. Share your experience. No
one is free until we are all free. But if only one of us gets free, everyone
will be liberated!
Breathe peace and love, freedom and safety, energy and aliveness, love and
light. And watch the world within you and around you change forever.
Dan Brulé (Guchu Ram Singh) is a world renowned leader in the Spiritual
Breathing Movement, and one of the originators of "Breath Therapy." He
was first among the original group of Internationally Certified Rebirthers, and
is a Master of Prana Yoga (The Hindu Science of Breath) and Chi Kung / Qigong
(Chinese Medical Breathing Exercises). He is the founder
and director of the Growth Center, Inc. and One Sky International (Life
Skills/Healing Arts Institute), and a leading member of the International
Breathwork Foundation and the International Breathworker Training Alliance, Dan
teaches for various agencies and organizations, and in locations throughout the
USA, Canada, Europe and the world. You can contact him at 508.345.7574; danbrule@breathmastery.com
You are Invited to Discover, Explore and Develop
the Power and Potential of Spiritual Breathing.
Read what people
say about their sessions with Dan.
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out Dan's Seminar Schedule.
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