Connected (May 2020 Newsletter)
No matter where we are physically, we cannot help but be connected. We are connected through our BREATH with everything there ever was; that is now, and ever will be.
Knots symbolizing interconnectedness at the Lad Khan Temple at Aihole in Karnataka, India. Built 5th Century.
Image credit: Sanyam Bahga and Ms Sarah Welch, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-By-SA).
Being forced into this abnormal situation of social distancing, almost the entire world is suddenly forced to confront extended isolation. What a unique event. Experience it, it is the opportunity of a lifetime. Hopefully it will not happen again, but as we go into another month of retreat there is still a chance to stop, really stop, and take stock. Those things in life that have been so important are suddenly forced to be less so. What can we take from that? Firstly that we are not going to allow ourselves to jump back into life as it was before, full of busy-ness and often mindlessness.
It should make us realize that the material things in life are not so important after all. We should have found novel ways to ground us and make us feel stable. Whether we spend more time organizing, cleaning, cooking/baking, walking/running/gardening or reading/watching TV, while everything has shifted, our breath remains true and steady. It is the very first breath that gives us life, and with the last breath one is said to expire (expiration as in breathing out). Prana in Sanskrit means life and also breath. It truly is the same thing. It is the breath that connects us to the Universal Energy that is eternal and divine; it is the same air that all sentient beings draw from and so connect to the entire physical world and to each other, and it is the breath that can and should connect each one of us to our own Being.
Try this simple quiet meditation to connect with your breath. On waking, take a few minutes to stay in bed. close your eyes and pay attention to your body, slowly scanning top to toe. Next focus on the breath and allow it to flow through slowly, starting again from head to drawing it slowly towards your feet. Visualize it as light and iridescence. There is nothing to think about, nothing to do, just be present and breathe. As you continue to breathe, feel your physical body just drop away and notice that you are the breath, shiny and energetic! Can you practice this every day? Five minutes to 15 minutes. This should be a lifetime's practice, but it's the perfect time to start now, when the silence around us supports this practice.
Namaste,
sipra