I believe in breathing.  ha ha.  Actually, as part of my spiritual search, I’ve read many books on meditation, and though I still have my “monkey mind”, I definitely have found value in breathing.  I have come to see that when I am anxious, I breathe short panting-breaths in my upper chest.  This breathing is accompanied by tight shoulders and neck. 

When I discover I am breathing in this fashion, I pause, straighten up; and begin deep, slow breaths; moving the breath into my belly.  After a couple minutes of this breathing, all the tension has gone out of my shoulders and neck; and I continue my day in balance.

I like to belly breathe when I pray.  It helps my mind expand.

The other day as I was sitting in my prayer chair, breathing; I reflected upon the story of the little fish asking the big fish where the ocean was, only to be told she was in it.

When I pray, I tend to reach outward toward my immense and limitless God.  But as I thought of the little fish, I remembered that I’ve been taught that within each of us is the divine spark of God.  So, God is within and without.  Like the little fish taking in the ocean, I breathe in God.  Creation comes to me on the inbreath.  But Creation is already in me through the divine spark; so when I breathe in, God comes to God; and when I breath out, God intermingles with God. 

I never liked the”In with the good air, out with the bad”.  I love the idea of God always with me, feeding my very cells with His energy, strengthening me, filling me. 

Now when I pause to become aware of my breathing, I am aware that God is always with me–deep within, and out to the fathomless reaches.

Awesome God.