“Prosperity Is” — Today continues our multi-part series on the true meaning of the word, “Prosperity.”
When your Daemon is in charge, do not try to think consciously.
Drift, wait, and obey"
— Rudyard Kipling
Take a breath in. Now hold it. Forever…..
Impossible!
You have to let it out! Of course….. this silly little exercise proves a metaphysical point. Nobody thinks they can hoard one breath and live off of it indefinitely.
Take a deeper look.
Don’t we take breath for granted? Breathing thousands a time a day without thought?
Of course we do. Our bodies are designed that way. Breathing is a function of the autonomic nervous system, something you may have learned about in a high school biology: it is the part of the nervous system responsible for regulating involuntary body functions: heartbeat, blood flow, breathing, and digestion.
Thanks to this sublime system, we can breathe without conscious effort.
But…. What if we had to breathe consciously? What if every breath had to be thought about? done on purpose? Might we be afraid to let the last breath out, in fear that it might be our last?
Would we try to hoard each breath? Would we think, If I let go of this breath, will there be another breath available?
Uncertainty could flood our mind.
Yet how silly that sounds. Air is free! Air is freely available — at all times and in all places — morning, noon and night.
We never think we might have to hoard a breath.
In fact, the replenishment of air, of oxygen, depends on the inspiration and expiration of air by all living beings.
Spiritual energy works exactly like this.
Inspiration means breathing, but it also means to be inspired, or to get inspiration from something or someone.
The Oxford English dictionary defines inspiration literally as "the action, or an act, of breathing in or inhaling". But the figurative meaning is:
A breathing in or infusion of some idea, purpose, etc. in to the mind: the suggestion, awakening, or creation of some feeling or impulse, especially of an exalted kind
Exhalation or expiration means to breathe out. It is also synonymous with release or letting go. Complete exhalation is vital for the flow of life giving air into and out of our lungs!
The word Yoga, means “to yoke.” We link together breath and movement together to create harmony and mindfulness. It is an integration of mind, body and spirit, all working in synch.
In the article, “Breath in Motion: Why Exhaling Matters Most,” Betsy Polatin, Movement and Breathing Specialist writes:
Because most people are busy taking an in-breath, they do not pay much attention to the exhale process. Without exhaling completely, excess carbon dioxide -- a known stressor in your nervous system -- may remain in your lungs….
However, when you exhale completely, your body is designed to take a "reflex" inhale. By releasing your ribs and expelling all air in the lungs, you engage the spring-like action of your ribs…. This is what I call an optimal breath.
Optimal breath means you do not suck air in to "take" a breath or "push" air out to expel a breath. You allow air to flow in and out…. As your whole system slightly expands and contracts, your nervous system has the potential to settle and reduce stress.
The ease of inhalation and exhalation in the body, yoking it to mindfulness and connecting it to our spiritual essences, is not just about breathing. It is about all of Life!
The flow of everything, water, energy, money, health, love, happiness, joy, serenity — all these things must be in circulation for them to be active, to grow, to expand, to infuse every mind, every heart, with life, love, peace and power!
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Law of Circulation
You probably learned about the water cycle in school. It is helpful to think of our lives and our prosperity as using a similar model.
Water evaporates into the atmosphere where it concentrates as clouds. Then it falls back down as rain or snow, feeding the ground, nourishing plants, animals, people, and all life.
A river flows to the sea where the water evaporates. It rains at the headwaters of the river; the process starts all over again. There is an abundance of water on the planet; fresh water is consistently and reliably replenished.
But suppose the water cycle breaks down. Suppose a river gets silted up, so clogged with mud and debris it slows until it is finally choked off altogether. Or suppose a region’s weather patterns change so no rain falls there anymore. It would eventually become a desert, and life would be challenging.
The outflow of water is a crucial part of the water cycle. Water must leave the ocean and evaporate up. Water must leave the river to replenish the ocean. For the cycle to work, water must...well…it has to cycle, in and out.
If the supply is cut off, the result is a desert, a drought, a muddy, lifeless river.
If there is no consistent, reliable outflow, the result is similar. A buildup of water without release results in a stagnant and lifeless situation. A dead sea.
This same phenomenon holds true for everything in life and consciousness.
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The Law of Circulation is here for you to use! We have a decided part in the process. As we mindfully take in our good, we must also mindfully release our good — so it flows to others, and so our capacity to receive more increases.
Then, of course, we can exhale even more good to once again receive. More and more good of all kinds, from all channels, comes to us and we pass it on.
Next, we will explore the Law of Circulation by another name: the Law of Giving and Receiving.
Love and Blessings,
John
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