When we come together with another life form we share the breath in the air that surrounds us. We take of the same breath so to speak. Down through the millennium this has continued. In fact we are breathing and sharing the recycled air of the dinosaurs, the very first humans, the dolphins, and the trees.
In many of the classes, workshops and retreats I have facilitated in the past I often had people sit back to back and feel their own breath first, then connect with the breath rhythm of the other without changing theirs. Almost everyone noticed, in a short period of time, that the breath would synchronize and become one.
Perhaps it was one to begin with… Through this interconnected basic biological process we can feel each other, and with acute knowing understand what is within the other – even if we do not consciously acknowledge it. What if each of us joined another – or others – in sharing a peaceful breath rhythm with each other? Would the world change?
Remember these wise words from Thich Nhat Hahn as we breathe in each others presence:
You are me, and I am you.
Isn’t it obvious that we “inter-are”?
You cultivate the flower in yourself, so that I
will be beautiful.
I transform the garbage in myself, so that you will not
have to suffer.
I support you;
you support me.
I am in this world to offer you peace;
you are in this world to bring me joy.
–Thich Nhat Hanh
…and catch yourself before you make that next complaint. Instead, breathe in union with another for a moment…or two….and become the lake…..
The Feeling Underneath
www.dailyom.com
Be A Lake
An aging master grew tired of his apprentice complaining, and so, one morning, sent him for some salt.
When the apprentice returned, the master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a
glass of water and then to drink it. “How does it taste?” the master asked. “Bitter,” spit the apprentice. The
master chuckled and then asked the young man to take the same handful of salt and put it in the lake. The
two walked in silence to the nearby lake, and once the apprentice swirled his handful of salt in the water,
the old man said, “Now drink from the lake.” As the water dripped down the young man’s chin, the master
asked, “How does it taste?” “Fresh,” remarked the apprentice. “Do you taste the salt?” asked the master.
“No,” said the young man. At this, the master sat beside the young man and said, “The pain of life is pure
salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the amount of
bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain in. So when you are in pain, the only thing
you can do is to enlarge your sense of things…stop being a glass. Become a lake.
-a Hindu story
ANNOUNCING! Global Breathing Events:
On Wednesday, March 9th from 12PM – 3PM (PST) and 8PM – 11PM (GMT) Do As One is collaborating with Tree of Life Celebration to come together in the breath celebrating unity consciousness. As we enter into the Ninth Wave of the Mayan calender we invite you to join us in the Universal Breathing Room on DoAsOne.com!
and…
On Sunday, March 20th from 12PM – 3PM (PST) and 8PM – 11PM (GMT) Do As One invites you to breathe together and usher in the Spring and Fall Equinox. People around the world will be celebrating the change of seasons by uniting in one breath.
OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:
www.WildlyFreeWoman.com Most Recent Post: Am I Pretty?…or Am I Pretty Amazing?
www.DivineWealthJournal.com Most Recent Post: Wealth Is All There Is
BREATHING SPACES 