The Sacred Breath

(second of the three-part series)

I remember a question I have asked myself some months ago: What makes a person spiritual? Is it praying or talking to God? Is it performing rituals? Or reading holy scriptures? Collecting ritualistic implements? Is it chanting a mantra or incantation? Or preaching the teachings, perhaps? Anyhow, there is only one simple answer that instantly popped up in my mind. The word spirit is Latin for breath. Initially, I was surprised, and it came to my senses that to live a spiritual life need not be complicated.

But the Spirit has been purportedly labeled by different means: it is known as a "holy ghost", unseen yet felt; or it can be a force, an energy, that flows in different energy points of the body, as it was cataloged by ancient oriental physicians. The Spirit is also known as an intelligence, working like mysteriously simple, a cosmic field that envelopes the whole universe with its inner workings beyond the logical reasoning of modern man. Seeing these differences conjures up both direct and indirect interconnection of all ancient wisdom and contemporary insights. Whatever language used, the Spirit is definitely a universal phenomenon that proves not stark contrasts, but evident similarities. Furthermore, the Spirit is not really something out-of-this-world phenomenon elaborately discussed in many scriptures and mythologies. It cannot just be understood in a manner of intellectual arguments. To simplify, anyone alive, human being, has a direct, tangible access to the seemingly mystical entity. For the Spirit is nothing but Life itself, the air that freely flows in and out of us. Awareness of the Spirit, thus, is awareness of breath.

"Nakalimutang huminga!" (Forgot to breathe). A cliched, tongue-in-cheek remark among Filipinos to refer to someone who died. Would this be an eerie analogy for many of us whenever we are unaware of our breaths? Although we are alive but we are so unaware of our breath because we complacently allow our body to breathe involuntarily. Being unaware of breath is like forgetting to live. Even though we breathe involuntarily, or unconsciously, it is still a far cry from breathing with full awareness. Forgetting to breathe with awareness is akin to death. To breath is solely our own mindful responsibility. To bring this awareness back is to lucidly understand that God, Life, and Love are all but one essence right under our noses.

The breath, therefore, is the link to the mystery of Life, or God. The Book of Genesis says, "...from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living." (Genesis 2:7). Mystical traditions like Hasidism and Sufism have emphasized the importance of breath in understanding and establishing relationship with God. Eastern traditions have used the terms prana and chi to refer to the breath and its significant role in deep spiritual practices. This universality of breath cannot be ignored, and must be acknowledged not just a connection to God, but as a central tenet that is a common denominator of all religious traditions.

Beyond religious truths is perhaps how being aware of the breath really influences our everyday lives. Sometime I had a stuffy nose that, at the very instant, I began to appreciate the importance of breathing. My meditation practice has helped me, and more so to understand how I simply forsake the breath in my everyday experience, so as to lead me to value my breath. To reinforce this insight, I was able to recall that our body utilizes oxygen to fuel key metabolic processes that run the life within our bodies. Lower oxygen is always related to lower immunity defense. And in many studies, lower immunity defense may mean that one has lower Loving awareness. Interestingly, breath awareness interconnects deeper, and that is to the awareness of the Love within.

The Sacred Breath has now lead us to a more essential realization of Love. This realization is both easy and difficult. Easy, because Love is really an effortless being, the true nature from which our lives emanate. But it is also difficult. We all have our inner pains continuously layer inside us, blocking us from Love. For instance, negative emotions, which arise primarily as our reactions toward external circumstances and past conditioning, leave us callous to this Loving awareness. Our tendency to distract ourselves and escape from pain makes it more difficult. We often look for Love as a feeling, and being overwhelmed by negative emotions creates confusions and repulsions, amplified with many stereotypical rationalizations and never-ending self-defeating thoughts.

Our breath is something we often neglect, the thing we often overlook yet always at hand. Amazingly, the moment I bring back my awareness to my breath, amid all emotional and mental storms, the intensity of my suffering and resistance lessens literally, if not disappear altogether. It helps me more to become aware of the pains, to understand where they come from, and to resurface the equanimity that I had lost when I was overpowered with emotions. What is remarkable is that there is no need to struggle to find a feeling or experience of Love. Because Love itself has manifested as the Sacred Breath.

Regarding my ostensible perception that I am torn between breath and moment, it is indeed an illusion. Truly, being in pain and focusing on the breath somehow prevent me to appreciate how the beauty and sensibility of the present moment unfold, yet since the breath is present moment itself, I cannot really miss anything. This is when the Awareness Continuum becomes visible. The Sacred Breath, at the other end of continuum, transforms into the Sacred Moment, as my awareness recognizes that breath itself operates in the eternal Now. Breath enlarges my experiences by virtually easing my pains, giving birth to profound insights, and engaging me to cherish whatever surrounds me at the very minute of existence. The Continuum paradoxically shows that at any point, the Breath and the Moment exist, both simultaneously and separately in the process.

(to be concluded)