“Our breath is a gift from God. It is what gives us life. It is how we commune with the created world. With each breath we breathe in a little bit of the world around us and it becomes part of our physical body. With every breath we breathe out a little piece of our physical body returns to the great circle of life. When our breath ceases so does our life on this earth. In the biblical tradition, the breath of God is what gives life to the universe. Breath, Spirit, and Wind are all synonymous. To breathe is to be filled with the Spirit and to be given the gift of life. It renews us and sustains us. God breathes in us.
We are made of dust and to dust we shall return, but until that time comes it is the breath which God breathes in us that gives us life. What more tangible presence of God is there to be found than that which animates us and surges up the vital life force within us?
In the contemplative life the breath is also a great tool. We allow our breath to guide our prayer. By following our breath, we simultaneously follow the wisdom of the ephemeral Spirit and our material body. We join our animal nature to our angelic nature and out of that unity springs forth a great well of possibility which flows freely into our lives and the lives of those around us. To follow our breath is to follow the Holy Spirit.
We are intertwined with all of creation and our breath is one and the same breath that every other person in the past present and future has breathed, is breathing, or will breathe. It is also the same breath that the trees and animals breathe. There is no greater form of communion than that which God has created us to partake in without ceasing and without choice. We need only recognise it, bless it, and use it to praise our God.”
Justin Coutts
King Edward Street Chapel 