Breathing with the Universe

Lately, while practicing joshin kokyu ho, a Japanese meditation, with a group of friends, breathing in deeply into the hara, and breathing out through our body and our entire being, we gradually realized that, as we were breathing in and out, we were breathing in and out with the entire world, our families, our friends, our communities and beyond … The whole universe was taking those nice deep breaths, in and out, in harmony, and that included everyone, human beings, animals, plants, the earth, and even the stars…. everything. We felt entering in sync with the rhythm of the universe. It was amazing!

Resting in that space, we moved on to reciting the Reiki precepts, one by one, breathing in and out deeply after each one of them, filling ourselves with the universal life force energy ki, releasing the tension, relaxing into our being, taking our time. We then moved on to hands-on healing, placing our hands on our body wherever we were guided to.

At that moment, I realized that there is no difference between self-practice and practice for others: as we practice with ourselves, we also practice with the whole. As we sit on our cushion, we sit with the entire universe. This points to the direct experience that can be touched in so many different ways through practice.

One of my friends had reached out to me as she was feeling extremely anxious and powerless about the state of the world. By joining in self-practice, we felt a sense of inter-connectedness with the whole world. We came to recognize that we all play a part in it, and realized that whatever we do or think, big or small, does affect the whole, in positive or negatives ways. I guess we knew this already intellectually, but feeling this in our bodies, through the breath, was quite empowering and illuminating.

This made us also wonder: what is actually the self in self-practice? That self is our true self, the light of the big bright light. As we practice, our light grows and expands with the big bright light of the universe. So, we can support the whole from our homes through personal practice. Personal practice is fundamental to enter in harmony for the well-being of the whole.

As we feel more centered, clear, stable, and connected, our energy moves around more freely and we can perceive more clearly what we are meant to do, then find the strength and courage to act on it. There is no selfishness, luxury, or self-indulgence there.

Written by Veronique, www.moonstonesanctuary.com