So I started writing an e-book. The title of it is not the same title of this blogpost, but I have started saying this "Master your Breath, Master your Life" lately in conjunction with the beginning of this new project (the e-book... which is on, coincidentally, Breathwork). I wanted to write about the process of writing about it (that is, breathwork), because the deeper secrets of breathwork are intrinsically tied to the process of manifestation, which is exactly what is happening when creating an e-book. Is your mind bending yet?
I am feeling very inspired. I am birthing something! A new thing! Wow. I am literally in the process of creating a thing out of no-thing. This, to me, is the definition of magick - "to create something out of nothing" (which you may hear me say a lot also). I find it very cool and fascinating that we has the capability to literally create. It is just SO cool! And should not be underestimated nor disregarded as mundane. No, human, your thoughts MATTER because to the degree that you can inject shakti into your thoughts is the extent of your manifestation ability. To pull from the formless substratum of our quantum reality and produce something that has actual manifested form. This is what we can all do - and the bigger the thought (as in - the more change it produces) the more energy is required to bring it into form.
After all, what is energy? Energy = work from the standpoint of physics. When we have more energy we can do more work. Makes sense, right? Well, what if that energy was bound up in other operations? We would be less effective, right? The idea is that, through breathwork, we can train ourselves to unleash vast amounts of energy when it is needed. The energy that is required to get a job done. When we have a big dream or a big mission, to manifest the outcomes needed for the completion of the dream, we will need to tap into vast storehouses of energy. Well, good thing the Universe is in no short supply! What we ARE in a short supply of, however... is ready and willing practitioners who are determined to reclaim their power and magical abilities. Human beings just like you and I who want to overcome the inertia of habit and pattern. Normal, ordinary people who want to break free of the only system that we could ever be liberated from - ourselves.
If want something in life, we are told we have to go after it. But what if that "thing" we want feels unreachable, or unattainable? Imagine, right now in this moment, what is the thing that feels just beyond your reach? It could be a dream vacation, a relationship ideal, whatever. Just sit with the thought that there is something you might desire, right now in this moment, that feels unattainable. Why? Why does it feel unattainable? What would need to happen to make the thing come true? provided its not something that is physically impossible, of course, the only thing that is stopping you from having the thing you are dreaming of is a finite number of actions done with precision, carried by the intention to manifest said dream. To put this another way - the only thing between you and what you want is this: actions aligned with intention. That's it. The gap is metaphysical. It is metaphysical in the sense that, you can think about what you need to do, come up with GREAT solutions and ideas, you might even know with precision what exactly is needed.. but there is ONE missing ingredient.
What ingredient is that?
Shakti. Shakti baby! What is shakti? pronounced SHUCK-TEE, this Sanksrit word means energy. Or, as we say in physics, "the ability to do work."
As long as we apply the correct amount of shakti to our endeavors, we will be able to fuel our adventures in life. The idea is that we have to first harness this shakti, which we are all already doing, in accordance with the awareness that we ARE actually doing this.
Think about it for a sec - in order for you to say YES to one action or behavior, you have to say NO to many many (infinite, in fact) other actions or behaviors. This is happening all the time on many levels.
To expand on this further - in order to say YES to the Dream - the heart's deepest desire, the thing we want the most - we have to say NO with consistency to the things that are not aligned with this mission. Why? Because every time we budge a little on our path, we have just give our precious shakti to an outcome that is not supportive of the goal. And even though there is no shortage of shakti in the Universe, we can only wield it in a finite number of ways.
Which brings me to the very important point, that we must learn how to manage our shakti and thereby direct it down the lane that we choose. If we do not direct it consciously, this infinite energy pouring through us from the Universe will feed the habits and patterns that keep us behaving a certain way, and thereby locked in a certain reality. It is just the nature of consciousness. The shakti upholds the reality we see, giving birth to it in much the same way that the water gives birth to the grass (as in, not exactly but in a metaphorical way), wherein "something" else directs where that shakti is going.
Now, since I am alluding to new concept here (shiva) but I don't intend to dive into it until a further blog post, I will stay in the lane of energy and shakti, and circle back to "breathwork".
Breathwork. Breathing exercises. Simple, right? Not exactly. Breathing exercises, yes, but with awareness.
What does bringing our awareness to our breathing exercises give us?
Exactly. Direction of energy. Not only do we accumulate more shakti and build a system that has the capacity to handle more shakti, but we also develop the skill in our awareness, through the mind, to .... sort of point that energy in a particular direction. And, just because we are, think of the concept of shiva.... pointing.... direct.... linear....
To many people, this will not make much sense. But to the tuned into practitioner, this may be the secret they need to progress on their path with breathwork. We are entering yogic territory, where the real magick is revealed. Tantric Hatha Yoga is not merely breathwork. It is mastery over energy.
If you want to learn more, I suggest you sign up for my Thursday morning Breath Camp. We start at 9 AM Central time, via Zoom.
I'll see you there.
Grant