SEASON TWO - EPISODE FOUR: BREATH PRAYER
Back in the day, a group of monks decided to decipher what an ancient scripture meant when it said “pray without ceasing.” How could one pray without ceasing when there was work to get done? Eventually, this group of monks realized that if one connected their prayer to one’s breath, they could pray without ceasing.
As you would inhale and exhale you would pray a short prayer. What they first came up with became known as the Jesus Prayer, sometimes known as breath prayer.
In it earliest form, which was written down around 470 AD was, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of David, have mercy on me a sinner.” During an inhale, one would pray “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of David” and on the exhale one would finish, “have mercy on me a sinner.” Since then, Christians, especially in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, have been using this prayer as a way to be in constant prayer and union with the Divine.
Breathing and praying have a mystical and mysterious way of connecting us with and becoming aware of the Divine.
The breath prayer has allowed me to acknowledge that I can be aware of God’s presence at any time.
Just as you can be talking to a friend but thinking about your grocery list, your mind is able to work at different levels, so too can we be doing something but also engaging in prayer. It also enables me to become aware of the mystery that the Divine isn’t in some distant heaven, but is as close to me as my very breath. It has a way of centering me, and bringing me back to the present moment.
In this episode, I share about the power of prayer through breathing, the way it can center ourselves upon God at any moment of our day, and how it has a 100% success rate at calming my anxiety and stress.
A list of breath prayers that I recommend:Yah, Weh; God I can’t, but God you can; God of love and peace, cast out my fear and anxiety; Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief; I will love you God, You are my strength; Lord make me according to your heart; For God alone my soul in silence waits; God of peace, calm my nerves; Spirit of Love, have your way; Speak, Oh God, Your servant is listening;And of course there’s the classic: Calm the F down, you’ll be ok.
A few resources mentioned include: Centering Prayer, by Basil Pennington; Leo Babauta’s blog, Zen Habits; Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, by Cynthia Bourgeault; The Way of a Pilgrim; The Jesus Prayer: The Ancient Desert Prayer that Tunes the Heart to God; On the Prayer of Jesus: The Classic Guide to the Practice of Unceasing Prayer Found in The Way of a Pilgrim.
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