Breath of Heaven

 One of my favorite Christmas songs is Breath of Heaven sung by Amy Grant. This melodic tune reminds me of the one thing we all need...breath. Do you know what God's name, what he wanted us to call him, is, according to the Bible? It's Yahweh. Do you know the sound you make when you part your lips and take in a breath then let it out? Go ahead and try it. Yahweh is the sound of breath. Why would God tell us this? Is he telling us that breath is life, that he is life, and that the two are inseparable? Perhaps this is too much to think about. I'm sure this can be argued and debated, because, truly, no one really knows the mind of God. 

If God=breath and breath=life, how can we NOT pay more attention to our breathing? Some say it's automatic, that our body, when alive, just does it without us trying. This is partly true. Good technique and intention, though, will improve the quality of our breathing, as well as make us not only physically healthy, but also mentally healthy. This has been proven. I am not a scientist, nor do I play one on TV. It has been proven by others and you can find their works by doing just a little research. 

Do you want to test it out for yourself? Try taking a shallow breath, a quick one that doesn't allow much air in. Now repeat that for maybe a minute. Open your mouth now and try it that way. Don't let the air puff out your chest. You could say you're just sipping it in. How do you feel? Does it maybe make you feel lightheaded? Is it a pleasant feeling? Now try this-Take a deep breath in through your nose, filling your belly so much that you see it expand. Now make sure air fills your chest until you don't think you can take anymore air. Hold it there for a bit. Now, when you exhale, only let it seep out. Can you feel your heart beating? Let the air drain out of your chest, then your belly, squeezing it out till your stomach is sucked all the way in. How did that make you feel? Compare that with the shallow breathing. Which felt better? You might say, "Obviously breathing deeply would feel better," but if it's so obvious, why don't we do it more often? It seems like it would be an obvious thing, but our reaction, or our response, to stress and life is to breathe quickly. We ramp up our stress by not slowing down. 

Life is simple- Breathe in, breathe out. We have made things too complicated. We no longer do the obvious. Why would we, some say, since we are "modern" and more "advanced". That is just mumbo jumbo to get our minds to accept this insane speed of life we are expected to lead. Humans also have become mouth breathers, which has brought us many ailments. We have forgotten that low and slow is the way to go. We do it with our food sometimes, by using our crockpots, or slow cookers. It is easy, right? Breathing deeply is like using a slow cooker, low and slow. What do I mean by breathing low? Well we breathe all the way down to our feet! That's as low as we can go. No, we may not always be able to do this, not with every breath, but we can practice this when we want to relax and have more time to focus. It's yet another way of spending our time wisely. It's for our health, for our happiness, for our livelihood, for our joy, and for our faith. Yes, faith. Remember, God is breath. We need him as we need our breath. Taking a breath is letting him in. Don't let go of him too quickly. Let him seep out slowly, through our pores. Let the breath of God fill us again and again. Slow down and experience the joy of breathing. It isn't just an involuntary action. It should be intentional and lively. Peace be with you. Where your breath goes, so goes God. It is, after all, the breath of Heaven.