Sacred Breathing may be the most powerful mindfulness meditation tool available to you if you know about it and learn to use it properly. Let’s explore mindfulness Sacred Breathing: what it it is, how it works, why do it.

What is Sacred Breathing?

Mindfulness meditation techniques have been used for centuries by Buddhists and scientifically studied as well as popularized by Jon Kabat-Zinn founder of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine at the University of Massachusetts.  His mindfulness meditation research has proven that such techniques can impact your health and  healing in a number of ways, including positively impacting the effects of stress and a variety of diseases. 

My new book The Many Benefits of Meditation book explores the broad range of benefits, and offers some new techniques that are particularly useful.  It just takes a brief moment for us to pause and take a Breath that has a particular purpose determined by our intent:  Sacred Breaths, Christ Breaths, Transcendent Breaths, Healing Breaths, Love Breaths, Forgiveness Breaths, to name a few.

Sacred Breaths are certainly a way to raise our consciousness, the vibration of our Being.  In summary, a Sacred Breath works by expanding the Spirit that lies within all of us into on the in-breath, pausing for a second to let Spirit pool up, and then radiating Spirit out into your world on the out-breath.  Doing so illumines ourselves and the world around us.

Value of Sacred Breathing

Part of the value of Sacred Breathing is that it is a tool to be used repeatedly to soothe our body/mind/personality and help us develop a “new normal” of Spirit/Mind being in charge, and our systems operating at a higher vibration.  I remember when this experience of higher vibration was new to me, intriguing, and a bit scary to my mind as I observed my mind’s reaction to the new experience.

I liken this to our 8-year-old cat’s reaction to the new kitten that recently appeared in our lives.  Annie Cat acted intimidated and intimidating with 5-week-old Cleo.   She did not like the change and acted very territorial with the little one; hissing and growling and puffing up.

There was no justification for this except that it was Annie’s natural reaction to change, much like our human mind when something new is introduced into its system.  Slowly Annie learned that there was no threat; that this new creature was harmless.  Perhaps, as my wife Lynne speculated, on some level she knew that this was a baby feline, worthy of mothering.  Annie got used to the baby kitty and, before long, when we went on a 3-day trip she had company and didn’t miss us as much.

Sacred Breathing’s Many Uses

These are just a few uses of Sacred Breathing, as outlined in more detail in Six Second Mindfulness Meditations, the third book in this series :

• As a quick trigger to raise our vibration any time we use it. Simply say the following phrase, “Peace, be still” and take a long, slow breath.  This immediately put us into a different state of mind.  It can be used anytime, anywhere.    Nobody else needs to know.  I have used this exercise in many different situations.  For example, I will take a Sacred Breath just before just about any task: starting a meeting, beginning a difficult conversation, serving a tennis ball.  It enriches the moment and puts me into a better frame of mind to accomplish the task.

• As a consciousness shifter while doing a repetitious, frightening, or physical task–digging a ditch, having teeth drilled, or cooking some food. I think my fish always tastes better and has more love cooked into it when I practice Sacred Breathing.

• Subconscious mind breathing.  We each have a subconscious or unconscious mind–a concept popularized by Sigmund Freud. Since its introduction, empirical evidence suggests that subconscious mind phenomena include repressed feelings, automatic skills, subliminal perceptions, thoughts, habits, automatic reactions, and, possibly, complexes, hidden phobias and desires, and repressed memories of painful incidents. Take a moment when “stuff comes up” to breathe a Sacred Breath into it.

A few personal stories.

Story 1.  I  have found it helpful to breathe into that part of myself that has been agitated by something in my interior or exterior environment.  Recently, for example, I woke up with a feeling in the pit of my stomach.    I didn’t recognize it at first, thinking it might be indigestion (which I never get).  I spent 15 minutes in bed working on dissolving the fear, reaching for some good feelings, using my meditation techniques.  Nothing much worked.

I got up, did my usual yoga routine, and spent about twenty minutes in an intense meditation–really Breathing into the pit of my stomach.  The fear began to subside and the “aha” moment came.   I had gone to bed without meditating the night before, and after listening to a webinar that ended with the usual “scarcity” scenario; “If you don’t buy this product before midnight you will lose out”.  I wasn’t even that interested in the product, a software solution to a problem I didn’t have.   My subconscious mind, however, had been hooked by the message.

A few more Sacred Breaths and my consciousness began to move in the direction of Awareness.  My vibratory rate rose.  The fear subsided and was replaced by an eagerness for the day, by a sense of feeling good, by a feeling of lightness.  It was with this that I was able to begin the day.  Lynne and I went shopping and found some great plants for the yard.  I worked in my office for a while and some pieces of a project fell into place.  All in all, it was a good day.

I learned long ago to avoid watching scary movies, or anything else that is fear-based, before I go to bed—such input lodges in my subconscious mind and my dreams are often troubled when I do.

Story 2.  Lynne recently pointed out to me that I was speaking to another person in our Tai Chi class in the same overbearing way my father used to use. It never worked for him very well, but I think I learned it from him, and it sometimes comes out in inappropriate ways.  That evening I spent a while breathing in a sacred way into that part of me where the behavior was lodged.  Since then I have been able to catch myself before launching into such undesirable behavior.

Story 3.  Last week, during a longer sit-down meditation, I was inspired. “Breathe me”, I said to my Higher Consciousness.  “Breathe me and through me.  Breathe me and be me.  Fill my very lungs with Spirit.”  I felt the intake of Spirit and the exhale of Spirit, into my world and into Eternity.  I thought, “All I have to do is do this and I am filled with Light.”  It was this incident that led me to include Sacred Breathing as a key part of the Higher Consciousness Meditation process I developed that you will love.

Other Quick Exercises to Try

• Take a Sacred Breath anytime you happen to think about it. This intentional act is one of the best ways to increase your vibratory rate and to “charge” the atmosphere around you.

• Pause as you go through a door and take a Sacred Breath as you make that transition. We all go in and out of doors frequently.  The idea is to make an association between one activity (going through a door) and another (taking a Sacred Breath).

Observant Jews take this one step further.  Inside a little rectangular case, mounted on the inside front door frame, they hang a Mezuzah– two chapters from the Torah written on a rolled-up scroll.  The first verse is “Hear oh Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One.” When leaving the house, they touch the Mezuzah and remember that God is One.  We can borrow from this tradition and put whatever we want on the door frame to touch as a reminder to elevate our consciousness as we leave to go out into the world.

• Prime yourself for good dreams before you go to sleep. Take a series of Sacred Breaths as you snuggle down until you fall asleep.  Not only will it be easier to go to sleep, but your dreams will be better.  Write them down when you wake up.  If you have a bad dream take the opportunity to breathe Sacred Breaths into your subconscious mind to discover what might be learned.  Rejoice in the higher vibration dreams you experience.

Conclusion

The mindfulness meditation methods mentioned above are ways to breathe your way to Illumination.  They will elevate your vibratory rate, heighten your awareness, and so easy to use.  Adopt one of them and use it regularly and you will see what I mean.  It will cause you to light up and Breathe Your Way to Illumination.

Have you used or even developed such practices yourself and what did you find?  I’d love to hear your comments below.

For a more complete discussion of the many benefits of mindfulness meditation pick up a free e-copy of my first book, The Many Amazing Benefits of Meditation: Living the Life You’ve Always Wanted to Live,  and purchase an e-copy of Book 2 Higher Consciousness Meditation: Living a Life of Inner Richness and Mastery.

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