PICTURE, if you will, a large ship with many sailors on board in heavy storm conditions heading for the rocks off the Southwest coast of Ireland (not too difficult to picture with the weather we have been experiencing recently!).
The sailors are terrified as disaster seems imminent, when suddenly a heavy anchor is dropped and the ship begins to stabilise.
All is well, even though the seas are still quite violent; nevertheless the inevitable destruction has been avoided. The still-terrified sailors celebrate but know that eventually that terror too will fade.
The above scene is like a metaphor for the Monkey mind. The sailors are like our thoughts – frightened and scattered all over the place, thus being out of control and heading for disaster.
Instability is rife! (To get the full picture I would suggest you read last week’s article …Here about the Monkey Mind).
When we focus our mind on our breath our thoughts (the sailors) begin to calm down which in turn brings stability and clarity to any given situation – can you see the connection?
Thus our breath is again like a metaphor for the anchor. The more we use it and connect with it stability and calm will never be far away.
The stormy seas can represent the times in our lives when there is turmoil and constant trouble, but there is great comfort in knowing that calmness and tranquillity can be accessed at any given moment as the one thing that we all have access to at any given moment is our breath.
What is the first thing you did when you were born? Breathe. What is the last thing you will do before you die? Take your last Breath.
It is always there waiting to be accessed and when we focus on our breath, concentrate and breathe slowly then the ‘rocks’ will be avoided and safety ensured. What a gift The Breath is, but like many the gifts we receive in this life a) do we value it? And b) do we use it? If not it is such a pity as it is always there ready and waiting.
To keep on the sailing analogy I suppose we could say that the breath is a ‘porthole’ into the present. There are many other portholes available also like our senses – connecting with what we see, hear, taste touch and smell. Remember the old adage “come to your senses”.
This has many names like mindfulness, meditation, being present etc… It was what Jesus meant and asked us to do when He said “Be still and know that I am God”.
It was also what He meant when He said “I Am the Way The Truth and The Life” Note : He didn’t say ‘I was’ or ‘I Will Be’! – He was directing us into to the stability and calm of the present moment by using the present tense “I Am”. It is very helpful to note also that the ancient Hebrew name for God is Yahweh meaning ‘I Am Who I Am’.
Every person Christian or otherwise, believer or nonbeliever has access to the breath and thus the present moment. Our breath does not belong to anyone but ourselves and it doesn’t matter what our beliefs are, but if used properly will bring calm and peace to everyone.
Just like the words of John Lennon in his wonderful and deep meaning song ‘Imagine’, what a wonderful world that would be to live in if there was peace all around.
To come to realise that ultimately we all share the same thing in common – ‘Our Breath’.
To quote the late and great Jimi Hendrix – “When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power – The World will be at Peace”.
• Next week I am going to write about – Mindfulness
