Crisis of Breath

This is not just a pandemic and a reign of fear; it is a crisis of breath. Many are dying for one precious jewel of breath. The diamond that we do not value fully as our birthright on this earth, nature brings us to appreciate, and she can be a ruthless teacher.

It is time for humanity to remember that in every wisdom tradition the word for Spirit is also the word for Breath. Adam was only a biological organism, but not a living soul, until Elohim breathed into the dust. The Hebrew for dust is 'adamah'. Only with this divine breath did the dust become 'nephesh chayya,' a living person. The Hebrew for person or soul is 'nephesh,' rooted in the Hebrew verb, to breathe.

So in Genesis 2:7, 'The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils a breath of life, and the man became a living person,' that is, a living breath of the divine.

Honor your breath this morning. Your breath is healing. Your breath is grace. Your breath is the love of God made active, as You. It is the Shakti, the creative power of consciousness, Lord Shiva. Thus, in Biblical tradition, your breath is the Shekinah, the Spirit whom God sends to dwell in the tent of your flesh, so that you can sing, dance, and play the divine in human form. She who whirls the galaxies, and holds a trillion stars in the palm of her hand, has come to dwell in your body as this breath.

Painting by Elena Kotliarker