Prayer is breathing

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Picture: Prayer. Young boy says his prayers. Just breathe. Prayer is breathing.

......................................................................

When you breathe
You don't say:
 
"I will inhale this molecule
Of air here
And that molecule
Of air there,
But under no circumstances
Will I inhale that molecule
Of air over there
On the left
Of the water cooler ....

Because that molecule
Of air over there
Is a molecule of neon
And I don't fancy
Inhaling neon
Because neon is an inert gas
And it will not contribute positively
To my respiration ....
 
And, anyway,
Neon is used to make flashy red lights
In Las Vegas
Which waste electricity
And therefore
Contribute to the gambling
Of greenhouse gases."

You don't say that.

You would be using
The word "molecule" incorrectly
If you said that.  
Picture: Prayer. Woman with flowers in her hair goes outdoors to pray.

And here is something else
You don't say.
 
You don't say:
"I don't want –
In this particular breath –
To inhale that
Particular methane molecule
Six inches above the shredder.
I don't want that
Particular methane molecule
Mixed up with my oxygen,
Thank you very much,
Because that
Particular methane molecule
Came out of the bum of a goat
In New Zealand."

You don't say that.

Only a dumbo would say that,
Or maybe
A dipstick with attitude
Might ventilate
A similar circumlocution,
If pressed.

But you don't say it.

From the goat's point of view,
A statement such as that
Could be perceived as
Unfair discrimination
Between gases,
And bummist to boot.

So you don't say it.  
Picture: Prayer. Man breathing outdoors. Prayer is breathing.

What you do actually say is:
"Don't say anything,
Just breathe ....
 
Just inhale the full,
Complicated,
Equivocal,
Munificence
Of the universe
Without judgement ....
 
Inflate your lungs fully
And accept the fresh air,
The whole lot,
In trust,
And stop being so silly."

That's what you say.

You don't
Say it out loud
And you don't
Articulate it consciously,
But that is what
Your vital being says.

The real you inside
Simply breathes
Without judgement
Because it is that trust
In benevolence
Which sustains
The internal essence
Of your present becoming
Now.

You know this intuitively:
Breathing is more
Than an expedient exchange of gases
For physical functioning.

Breathing is prayer;
Just do it.

Do it.

But do it better and do it more.
Breathe more deeply.
And breathe more slowly.

Switch off your brain,
Cut the crap,
Flush the religious obfuscation
Down the tubes
And do it.
Breathe.

It's the spiritual economy,
Stupid.



...............................................



Is prayer a waste of time?

What is the function of religion?

More Norfolk koans

Index of blog contents

Picture: Prayer. Woman stretching and breathing outdoors. Prayer is breathing.

Is prayer a waste of time?

http://alcuinbramerton.blogspot.com/2004/11/is-prayer-waste-of-time.html
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Picture: Is prayer a waste of time?


Alcuin: What do you think about praying, Flutterby? Is prayer a waste of time?
Flutterby: No, it's not. For a lot of people on your planet, perhaps for most, prayer can be a very useful spiritual exercise.
Alcuin: What is prayer?
Flutterby: Prayer is breathing.
Alcuin: Breathing?
Flutterby: Yes. Prayer is breathing.
Alcuin: What sort of breathing?
Flutterby: Slower than usual, deeper than usual, conscious breathing.
Alcuin: What? Really stretch the ribcage? Hold the breath for as long as possible?
Flutterby: No. Not that. No useful spiritual exercise involves pain, strain, endurance or unpleasantness. Just breathe a little slower than usual and a little deeper than usual. And maybe pause the breathing process for four or five seconds between each inhalation and exhalation. And while you do that, gently pay attention to the breathing process and enjoy it.
Alcuin: Enjoy it? Enjoy prayer?
Flutterby: Yes.Picture: Praying together. English girl and African boy.


Alcuin: Prayer is boring.
Flutterby: If prayer is boring, it is not prayer at all.
Alcuin: Isn't it?
Flutterby: No. Breathing is not boring. Conscious breathing is deeply refreshing.
Alcuin: Eyes shut or eyes open?
Flutterby: You decide. Do what feels best for you. Maybe close your eyes and, while you're breathing, focus your attention on the ajna centre between the eyebrows.Picture: Third eye mandala. Ajna centre. The sixth primary chakram.


Alcuin: The third eye?
Flutterby: Yes. The interdimensional eye.
Alcuin: Right. What about posture?
Flutterby: How do you mean?
Alcuin: Kneeling? Standing up? Sitting down? What is the best posture for breathing?
Flutterby: You decide. Try out a few different postures. See what works for you. See which position helps you to breathe with the greatest comfort and freedom. Sitting up straight with an absolutely vertical spine, or lying down with an absolutely horizontal spine helps a lot of people.
Alcuin: Why?
Flutterby: Because for a lot of people the human spiritual anatomy seems to function best that way.
Alcuin: The chakras and things?
Flutterby: Yes. The interdimensional portals and energy centres in the human spiritual anatomy seem to work well in those orientations.
Alcuin: Is anything which makes you breathe especially slowly or especially deeply a form of prayer?
Flutterby: You could say that. One of the reasons why lots of sex is good for you is that it makes you breathe more and it makes you breathe deeply and it makes you breathe better. And the same thing goes for exercise and laughing and singing.
Alcuin: What should we think about when we are prayer-breathing?
Flutterby: Think about as little as possible, I would say. Just enter the process peacefully and become the breathing itself.
Alcuin: Isn't that a bit passive?
Flutterby: You could say that, yes. But prayer is not what we do to God. Prayer is what God does to us.
Picture: Ask and you will receive. St Germain. I AM the Ascension in the Light.

You always get that which you ask for if you ask for it with your Soul instead of your senses.

If you ask in words alone, you will not receive what you ask for because you have not asked God for it - you have asked your senses for it.

When, however, you have actually written your desire into your heartbeat, as some have automatically done all their lives, from moment to moment, you unfailingly acquire the knowledge you ask for.

It comes to you in a timeless flash, in the rhythmic language of Light which God uses to talk to His children.

Violinio Germain

Source: here (07.12 .93). Bible link here. And more about St Germain can be found here and here.



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Shamanic drumming - a form of prayer
An essay by Jim Ewing


Picture: Prayer. Young boy and his dog say their prayers.

Give it a try

Prayer is breathing

A Prayer for the New Age

Meditation - the direct encounter

Why is church so serious?

How is religion?

The unwisdom of belief

Index of blog contents