Breathing Deeply

Dear Friends,

One of the recommended practices for leading a long and healthy life is to breathe deeply. Many of us don’t do so. Our breathing is shallow. If we were presented with a spirometer (a breath-measuring device – see picture above), shallow breathers might not be able to move the ball very high.

Teachers of yoga and contemplative forms of prayer instruct beginners to breathe deeply. Breathe in. Hold it. Breathe out slowly. Pause. Do it over and over again. ”Sometimes the best thing you can do is not think, not wonder, not imagine, not obsess. Just breathe.” (Love Wish Open.com)

If we are true to our God, we create prayer anew all of our life. If you haven’t tried it, create a pattern of praying with your breath. Breathe in slowly. Breathe out slowly. Pause. Do it over and over again. God is in the breathing. God is in the silence. Don’t be afraid to try it or try it again.

Prayer doesn’t change God. Prayer changes us. We know we have mastered a soul lesson when the circumstance has not changed but the way we respond to life has changed.”

Here are some ways that we can carry in our being as we try to pray in fresh ways.

Believe that “the more” is imminent.

Resist trying to end the endless.

Evoke softness where harshness rules.

Adapt our thinking to adopt the unexpected.

Thirst for the Spirit’s sweetness.

Hold fast to connectedness with the Holy.

Eliminate yesterday’s failures from our heart.

Be Open to God, who never disappoints our yearnings and our needs. Breathe deeply.

~Sister Joan Sobala