Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Consciously breathe to heal and transform!



     Okay people, today we are going to dive into a topic that while it may seem on the surface to be very mundane, is actually the key gate way to our transformation - the breath.  Most of us taking breathing for granted, after all it is something that happens without us having to think about it, correct?  And for the most part, that is what we do.  We obviously can also control our breath- holding it, changing it in different forms- large/small, slow/fast.  We can combine it with all sorts of yogic practices to spur deep states of meditation, raising the kundalini, and bathing the cells of our body with life giving oxygen.  With all of the possibilities I feel it's time to explore this further as a crucial tool for our personal healing and evolution.

     Breath is life.  Breath is power.  Breath is a carrier of energy, not just oxygen containing air that we need to keep our bodies alive.  Etheric energy rides upon conscious breath.  Some may refer to this as "prana" in the Eastern tradition.  It is not important so much what it is named, it is important to understand that it exists and is available to each of us if we so desire.  Breath is something we can exist the least amount of time without.  We can go days or weeks without food, maybe a few days without water, but only a few minutes without a breath.  It is the first thing we do when we are born, and it the last thing we do before we leave our bodies.  Many believe the soul itself rides upon the breath.  Henry Ford even went so far as to capture the last breath of his great friend Thomas Edison in a test tube he had sealed for posterity!  Breath is important, but we have generally been ignorant of its potential to transform our lives.

     The rising popularity of yoga in the West over the last 40 years has done much to educate many on the topic of breath.  In my opinion, the whole basis of yoga is about breath, learning what one can do with the breath in order to raise one's consciousness.  Of course the side effect of a regular yoga practice is also a well-tuned body, and that is important as well for anyone.  There are many branches to the "yoga tree", different schools of thought and different intents, yet all serve to expand one's awareness of Self, not just the personality self/ego but the larger being we each are.  I imagine that if all of our leaders were regular practitioners of healthy breathing, either via yoga or some other practice, far better decisions would be made!

     Accessing this tool of power - the breath, requires no special tools, just your willingness to explore and play.




Template of the Breath

Inhale  >   Pause >  Exhale
                                                                        
                                 Strength >  Power  >  Action
                                                                      
                               Grounded >  Balanced > Stability
                                                                          
                          Responsibility > Accountability > Integrity

  
     Above is a template of what the breath means.  There are 4 levels of the breath as shown.  I will attempt to explain this as it was explained to my by my guides recently.  The first level is the basic action of the breath, inhale-pause-exhale.  When we breath consciously, we inhale energy into our bodies.  Then there is a short pause where everything that has been brought in is integrated.  Finally there is the exhale, releasing all that is not needed.

     On the second level it is Strength-Power-Action.  We inhale into our strengths to create the power to take action.  Very simple indeed, yet so very powerful.  When we breath consciously (and it does not have to be for long periods) we integrate more of that etheric energy which is a part of us.  This gives us the power to move ahead in creating what we next want to see in that moment.  Taking the first three letters of this level we have SPA.  We all have our own internal health spa via our breath!  Check in with yourself when you are feeling stressed.  Notice how the breath can be restricted and reduced.  Now just stop and inhale into your spa, taking a few long deep breathes.  Notice the difference.  Understand how the breath can be used to aid you in being well.  Paying attention to one's own body is the key.

     On the third level we have grounded-balanced-stability.  This is definitely something that we can all benefit from by connecting to it.  To go through all of the changes and stresses of modern life it is so vitally important to be grounded in one's self, balanced and stable.  The breath provides for this at this level and this sets up the energy for the final level.

     Now we are inhaling into our strengths, and we are grounded in our own energy.  Now we go to the 4th level of breath.  As we bring the energy of the breath to its fullest expression within us, we now have access and benefit of the words responsibility, accountability and integrity.  Further said,  we have the ability to respond to change in our lives.  We take responsibility for our actions and therefore we can be accountable for our creations and what we say and do in the world.  This leads us to the final word - integrity.  Integrity is a powerful word because it brings forth the idea that we are fully standing in our truth in that moment.  We have created from it and we are the first to feel the integration of all of this energy within ourselves.  We are living wholly in that choice of being in our bodies and taking actions based on our free will and free choice as we move forward on our journey.

     To summarize this template, the purpose of the breath is to inhale the integrity of our whole being.  It's not just the physical self, it is the energetic/etheric self moving into greater alignment with us in the present moment.  This conscious "coming together" of the human and the spiritual parts of ourselves supports us to make changes within the 5D paradigm that we are now living within.  No longer is it enough to just stay within the confines of what has been known to us up to this point.  In order to advance ourselves, to become more, we need to pay attention to the vehicle of the breath.  We have to trust, and go forth into this unknown portion of ourselves, our true selves, to move forward into change and subsequent transformation.  The fifth dimension is all about each one of us doing our work, so that we will see the changes we want that are based in love begin to manifest around us.

Suggestions for working with the breath

     The energy of breath fuels us- physically, mentally and emotionally.  It's said that we cannot take an action without first taking a breath.  As I have mentioned before, practicing a form of yoga is a great way to work to understand one's breath, for it is the root of the practice.  What is you do not want to do yoga?  How about walking?  Try this:  While on a walk notice your breathing as it is.  Then attempt to inhale to a 4 count, then a brief pause, then a smooth 4 count exhale.  Depending on how practiced you are, you could do this as a 6 or 8 count as well.  Take the first words of the four levels and while you are doing this imagine yourself inhaling strength, feeling grounded and feeling able to respond to what life is bringing you.  Imagine energy riding into your body on the wave of your inhale.  Allow it to integrate in that pause after the peak of your inhale - it only takes a moment!  Then exhale evenly what is no longer needed.  If you would like, you can imagine exhaling toxins- whether physical, mental or emotional.  If you walk for say 30 minutes at a time, you could begin by trying this practice for the first 5 minutes of your walk and if you enjoy it you can expand it.  With practice you will effect a change in your unconscious breathing patterns that can be very beneficial!

     What we are working on here is taking the breath- the most fundamental tool of creation that any of us has, and we are bringing it into conscious awareness.  The reason that we are doing this is we are needing to integrate all of the changes that are happening to our bodies as the frequencies of the planet itself are amplified.  That, plus all of the energies that are streaming towards our planet from all quarters- known and unknown.  Many who are energetically sensitive are feeling these waves of energy.  Others are feeling urges that they need to make changes in their lives rather strongly, such as changing and improving diet, changing relationships in work or personal spheres, and sometimes a sense of wanting to go deeper within oneself and not just accept the mass consciousness version of reality.  In the fifth dimension there is only the vibration of love, fear cannot create there.  If you find yourself making choices out of fear, stop yourself and breathe for a few minutes and invite more energy in with your breath to assist you to move towards the integrity of your own truth as a being who has a right to these high energies.  For too long we all have been so immersed in fear and separation it almost seems fanciful that we could actually live in a world that is focused on love, do you agree?  We see love beginning to be spoken about in the media, yet fear and division are screaming their heads off still.  Do not "take the bait"!  Continue to establish your own energy within your body, your self, as a sacred place of strength and peace.  The strongest army is the one that never has to go into battle.  Value your peace.  The struggles of what is going on in the world do not belong to you.  Do not internalize them.  Remind yourself that yes indeed, you are an energetic being of great power who has squeezed a portion of yourself into this body to have this experience.  By working with the breath just a few minutes a day you will increase your power and your sense of peace.

     In the athletic realm, professional dancers and singers have to know how to use breath in order to achieve the results they want.  They are trained and they consciously use breath in order to achieve at very high levels.  For the rest of us, using a conscious breath can improve our strength and stamina.  The other day I tried it myself while exercising on an elliptical machine.  After warming up for about 10 minutes I noticed my heart rate.  Then I applied the slower, deeper breath in the 4/4 sequence.  After a minute or so the indicator of my heart rate dropped 10%!  This is just one anecdote to show you that your breath and the way you use it can create powerful change in your body.

     Now another way of working with the breath is when you are resting.  For example, you can practice the 4/4 breath as a way to relax your mind before falling asleep.  Even if you fall asleep easily, you can spend just 5 minutes quietly breathing and intending that you connect with your higher self in dream state in order to gain assistance with any issue you may be experiencing.  Intend that you receive this assistance, after all it is your right to have it (one of the biggest problems on Earth is people not asking for assistance often enough because they don't believe it's is real.  It is!)  A variant of this technique is asking and intending that you will visit a 5th dimensional classroom in sleep state.  I have done this several times and it produces profoundly deep sleep, as it's very difficult to consciously process what you will be learning while you are there.  You may, as I have, experience being woken up at 4 am as you "come back" to your body after your "night school".  In sleep state we are all regularly travelling out of our bodies, it is often not put to use very well and many times we end up in various levels of the the 4th dimension or astral realm which is not what we are targeting here.  Trust that you can indeed direct your consciousness in sleep state just as much as when awake, what is there to lose in trying?

     What I have begun to explain here with this article is that the breath is at the root of all creation we are making here and now.  It is the vehicle on which we bring in the power to create change in our lives.  I invite you to try some of my suggestions, or create your own experiments working with the flow of the breath.  The key piece to keep in mind is to imagine yourself consciously drawing energy from that etheric portion of your energy field into your body.  Practice breathing deeply, engaging your diaphragm to use more than just the upper third of your lungs at least once a day.  It will give you more energy, which you can put into motion to create something new for yourself.  As you create anew you invite in more stability into your life.  And finally, with some effort and practice you will begin to live in the integrity of your total being, not just in what has been known to this point.  I encourage you to seek out breath work practitioners and try out different ways of working with the breath.  There are many great experiences waiting for you if you choose this path.  By going deeper with the breath each of us can claim more of our power to life vibrantly and create the circumstances we want to experience, and that my friends is truly stepping into living from the 5th dimension.


Blessings and happy breathing!