Contemplative Practice: Breath Prayer Intro

Gregg’s Reflection

Rob Bell first introduced me to the idea that the Old Testament name for God, Yahweh, was really the sound we make when we breathe. So, when Moses at the burning bush asks God’s name, YHWH is the response. God seems to say, “I am the very breath you breathe.”

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We come to life with our first breath, and when we breathe our last breath, we return to God. As God said to Mechtilde of Magdeburg, “I will draw in my breath and you will come to me as a needle to a magnet.”

I often use Yahweh breath prayer when I cannot do my still sit. I do it while driving, while hiking through the woods. I’ve even used this practice while in an MRI machine, or in a dentist’s chair. It is a great practice for bringing me to the present moment, and letting go of thoughts. Breathe in the wisdom of the mystics.

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Scripture

Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Genesis 2:7

The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Job 33:4

This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.

Ezekiel 37:5

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.

John 20:21-23

Ancient Writings

God spoke to Saint Mechtilde, “Do not fear your own death, for when that moment comes, I will draw in my breath and you will come to me as a needle to a magnet.”

Mechthilde of Magdeburg 1212-1282

Modern Writings

Close your eyes and practice the awareness of body sensations for a while . . .Then come to the awareness of your breathing . . and stay with this awareness for a few minutes… I want you to reflect now that this air that you are breathing in is charged with the power and the presence of God . . .  Think of the air as an immense ocean that surrounds you . . . an ocean heavily colored with God’s presence and God’s being . . . While you draw the air into your lungs you are drawing God in . . .Be aware that you are drawing in the power and presence of God each time you breathe in . . . Stay in this awareness as long as you can . . .Notice what you feel when you become conscious that you are drawing God in with each breath you take . .

There is a variation to this exercise. Another reflection, this one borrowed from the mentality of the Hebrews as we find them in the Bible. For them a human’s breath was life. When people died God took their breath away; that is what made them die. If someone lived it was because God kept putting [God’s] breath, God’s “spirit” into this person. It was the presence of this Spirit of God that kept the person alive.

While you breathe in, be conscious of God’s Spirit coming into you . . . Fill your lungs with the divine energy God brings . . .While you breathe out, imagine you are breathing out all your impurities . . . your fears . . . your negative feelings . . Imagine you see your whole body becoming radiant and alive through this process of breathing in God’s life-giving Spirit and breathing out all your impurities . . Stay with this awareness as long as you can without distractions . . .

Anthony De Mello, Walking on Water, vii, CAC Morning Devotion, 9/26/20

Breathing: The Way to Pray Without Ceasing. Our breath is a gift from God. It is what gives us life. It is how we commune with the created world. With each breath we breathe in a little bit of the world around us and it becomes part of our physical body. With every breath we breathe out a little piece of our physical body returns to the great circle of life. When our breath ceases so does our life on this earth.

In the biblical tradition, the breath of God is what gives life to the universe. Breath, Spirit, and Wind are all synonymous. To breathe is to be filled with the Spirit and to be given the gift of life. It renews us and sustains us. God breathes in us. It means so very much. What more tangible presence of God is there to be found than that which animates us and surges up the vital life force within us? To follow our breath is to follow the Holy Spirit. You may do it while walking in the forest – breathing in what the trees breathe out and breathing out what the trees breathe in.

Another form of this prayer comes from John Cassian. Cassian recorded the wisdom of Abba Isaac who explains how we can follow the words of the Apostle Paul who taught us to pray without ceasing. The answer Abba Isaac gives is that we are to unite our prayer to our breath, since as long as we live we breathe without ceasing. If we can make our breath a prayer then we will always pray without ceasing and our life itself will become a divine liturgy and a continuous act of praise. We are acknowledging our place within creation and allowing our being to mingle freely with the rest of God’s creatures. We are intertwined with all of creation and our breath is one and the same breath that every other person in the past, present and future has breathed, is breathing, or will breathe. It is also the same breath that the trees and animals breathe. There is no greater form of communion than that which God has created us to partake in without ceasing and without choice. We need only recognize it, bless it, and use it to praise our God. 

Justin Coutts, In Search of a New Eden: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Seekers, 4/11/21