Back in my Wall Street days I would read the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal and the London Financial Times cover to cover. It’s been decades since I left that livelihood but its traces follow me wherever I go.

Recently, an article printed in the Wall Street Journal (5/23/20) appeared about the significance of breath!!! https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-healing-power-of-proper-breathing-11590098696

Wow, how encouraging that the importance of something (breathing) that comes so naturally but whose function is vastly atrophied though lack of attention is reaching the main stream masses. Hallelujah!

Perhaps one of the benefits of this pandemic is there may be a more deliberate blending of all worthy components to sustain life forms in all the ways. Maybe our new paradigm expands taking the form of a pentagon which mirrors a house instead of the previous triangle of Mind, Body, & Spirit.

Interestingly, a pentagon looks like a house. So maybe this is a sign we are coming home to ourselves.

–Abundantly sound which includes a focus on financial freedom for all. Personal research for decisiveness investments as well as steadfast boycotts based on what we aim to create for ourselves.

–Physically grounded  Respecting and honoring our bodies and the bodies of all living beings by being deliberate in our healthcare choices individually and collectively

–Mentally clear  Discerning our role in every communication & exchange with pristine vision.

–Emotionally fluid Granting more permission for the EMOTIONS that want to flow through us while owning them along the way.

–Spiritually/Energetically  integrated   Remembering, realizing, recognizing & celebrating the truth of who we all are and declaring it unapologetically.

 

Until we become more complimentary rather than competitive in our world, financial matters will continue to drive the vast majority of decisions, so it is best to include it until our higher vibratory frequencies are influencing the shift more magnanimously.

For now, boycotting what we don’t want and placing our dollars behind what is important to us will turn what “matters” individually and collectively into physical “matter”. Get it? It’s literal and metaphoric! It sets a vision into motion so it can materialize!

It is a breath of fresh air that newsworthy items addressing our well-being are making it into a financial paper. We are all investors by where we place our value and what we choose to support. How we spend our dollars will shift the focus. This article informs investors and opens up the door for money to be infused into enterprises that will lift the consciousness, joy and trajectory of the human race.

 

MORE ABOUT HOW THE BREATH IS METAPHORIC FOR OUR HUMAN CONDITION

 

Think about it.

Oxygen is abundant and always has been. We can consume as much as we like yet we cut ourselves off from receiving all that is potentially possible even before this pandemic.

What does that say about the natural laws? Nothing!

What does that say about humanity? We have not yet reconciled within ourselves individually and collectively that we are entirely and completely worthy of all there is to be had.

It is us who cuts ourselves off from our life force and natural joy. How does that happen?

Maybe it is by design but we do have a hand in it.

We emphatically perpetuate a collective belief that accentuates our short comings. What if we considered embracing our current life predicament, complete with all associated EMOTIONS, as a crucial and necessary component towards our innate capacity to fully cherish how blessed we are to be alive, to take a breath freely, and to acknowledge how fully equipped we are with the ability to empathize with ourselves and others.

When we insist on our own limitations that has an effect on everything with which we come in contact. Have a group of people thinking and doing the same thing, it becomes the norm. The more people, the more dominant that norm is even if it is killing us.

So what happens, we are given a circumstance to shake it all up.  A situation to show us our belief/energetic patterns and really FEEL into ourselves.  Not because we are bad or guilty of anything…just because we are not aware nor FEELING what we are co-creating and the circumstance illuminates our creation so clearly and with such dramatic contrast that we cannot deny to ourselves that something needs to be looked at. Once the light gets turned on, we are in a better position to consciously exercise the power of choice!!!

 

THIS IS WHAT THE UNIVERSE CONJURED UP FOR US…

-A situation which is causing people to transition out of their physical experience (what most people call death) with great respiratory difficulty, alone and possibly disconnected.

-A situation where a human being’s literal breath is forcibly crushed and thwarted by another human being.

-A situation where people join together in protest of injustices all the while having to wear a mask which also diminishes the breath and frustrates open expression.

The irony of it all!

As we get clear on what we don’t want, it puts us in a better position to select what we DO want!

 

Why?

Maybe so we take radical personal responsibility for our responses whatever they might be and inch ourselves towards a heartfelt directed life experience of ourselves, others and all things while FEELING ALL THE WAY!

Maybe to get our attention we needed something that would cause us to obsess about our breath? Drama definitely gets our attention!

Maybe if all of this draws people into a more intimate relationship with their breath, they will feel safe enough to FEEL and that will prompt a FELT PERCEPTION and different choices that reflect more of their heart.

GETTING BETTER AT FEELING IS THE CALLING!

 

DID YOU KNOW…

We inhale and exhale at least 30lbs of air molecules daily. That is a lot of air considering how light air is!!!!

We breathe daily more than we eat, sleep, or do anything else but how conscious are we?

Breathing habits are directly related to physical and mental health.

Poor breathing habits can affect our skeletal structure, weaken bones and deplete essential minerals.

How many medical practitioners ask you about your breath when you go for a routine checkup? Probably only if you are presenting with asthma, emphysema, or some other respiratory challenge.  They ask about our sleep, vitamins, and check our ears, nose, mouth, blood pressure, temperature, EKG, take blood and urine samples etc

 

We forfeit a substantial amount of our lung capacity (metaphoric for expansive power) through diaphragmatic inactivity. The diaphragm is the largest muscle in the respiratory system and is designed to support a well expanded breath with the least exertion of extraneous muscles.  Many people breathe with their shoulder or intercostal muscles and flinch their midsection which is a sign of undue stress on the body. It can be subtle but takes its toll.

 

It’s all about integrating, blending and transforming.  Interestingly enough, that is exactly how the human body is designed: flexible, resilient, strong and adaptive.  Our breath flows in and leaves us effortlessly if we allow it. The breath is something we all have in common. Our breath can serve the gift of grace that has been bestowed upon all of us if we choose to slow down enough to notice it. It will always be by our side to accompany us on our path of global interconnectedness and abundance.

 

FINALLY….

It takes baby steps for us each to embrace a practice.

That’s what life is: A PRACTICE.  Our breath is metaphoric for how we live.

Are we aware how often we hold our breath? Holding our breath implies a fear response.

How deeply and fluidly are we breathing?

What habits are you practicing and what experience of yourself are you having as a result of those habits?

Start by watching your breath in everyday situations.

How are those habits informing you about yourself?

How do you feel in your body with your current habit of breathing?

 

MINDFULNESS PRACTICE:

Select a person in your life. It could be a friend, partner, child, etc.

Start with a brief encounter

When you know you are going to be in their company, notice your breath a few moments before you are with them.

Then on approach, notice how you breathe. Anything change?

Monitor it throughout your time together.

Notice your breath when you exit.