Breath

Josephine Wall: Breath of Gaia

You breathe,
Frosting mountains white,
Exciting trees to verdant flame,
Dancing sparrows on your wing,
Swirling waves into long sighs.
You breathe,
And all things live.

A central concept for Tao is breath. Without breath, there is no life. The complexity of this idea is great indeed. You breathe; that brings you oxygen. You breathe; that sustains you. You breathe; that regulates your heartbeat, feeds your brain, makes your blood red. Deeper still : You breathe, and the entire energy field of your body is sustained and set into motion. When that field, so intimately tied to breathing, is integrated with your mind, you have the power of spirituality. Breath. Don’t crassly think of it as mere gas.

Just as we breathe, so too does the universe breathe. In fact, we can think of the entire medium of life as breath. When the world breathes, all things are sustained. Weather moves as it should. Plants grow as they should. Animals are made strong. The very forces of geology are set into motion. And together, a mighty field of energy is generated, a much larger version of what happens in your own body. Connected to that field is a universal mind.

Do you want to know how spirituality works? Breathe.
Deng Ming Tao, 365 Tao

Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Love more, and all good things will be yours”
— Swedish Proverb

“Breathe-in experience, breathe-out poetry.”
— Muriel Rukeyser

“The most solid advice for a writer is this, I think: Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough” — William Saroyan

“

He lives most life whoever breathes most air.”
— Elizabeth Barrett Browning

When the breath wanders the mind also is unsteady. But when the breath is calmed the mind too will be still, and the yogi achieves long life. Therefore, one should learn to control the breath. ~Svatmarama

Basketball is an endurance sport, and you have to learn to control your breath; that’s the essence of yoga, too. So, I consciously began using yoga techniques in my practice and playing. I think yoga helped reduce the number and severity of injuries I suffered. As preventative medicine, it’s unequaled. ~Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Good breathing tips here.

There was arguing in my house this morning, with all the males getting all hyper. I was sitting calmly at my computer, writing and breathing. Later I had to calm down the eldest child before he left to go off for his gaming adventure of the day. If I hadn’t been actively thinking about breath, in the midst of this post, I might have gotten more upset, joined in the arguing, gotten out of control. But, I was breathing, and it makes a difference.

Now I can relax and enjoy the quiet of the day for a bit, get some gifts wrapped and just enjoy the day. Tonight there’s a party for Sony Playstation where my husband works, and that will be fun. There is so much to enjoy this time of year. We celebrate life, and breath.

I’ve had sad news this month of an aunt’s death and a cousin’s wife being killed in an auto accident, and it was difficult to send the cards of sympathy along with the Christmas greetings, but it is important to celebreate life even in the midst of darkness, even when others we love have gone. I miss my parents this time of year, very much, especially as I look at the beautiful Christmas tree and spot the one ornament that has been carried to it from my childhood Christmas trees, the big gold ball with my name in green glitter. It is the oldest ornament on the tree, as old as me, and when I look at it, I see myself reflected in it, along with all my memories.

Enjoy this precious season, enjoy family and friends, even if there are little spats – and don’t forget to breathe.