Inspiration--Take a Moment to Reflect
inspiration
Inspiration means "to breath in." We inhale air into our body over 5000 times a day. Breathing connects us to the planet in a very fundamental way. It fans the fire of our existence. Our exhalations interact with the vegetable world, releasing the the building blocks necessary for their own growth and survival. Breathing is an essential part of the circle of life and yet breathing remains below our level of awareness unless it is interrupted through exertion, mishap, disease or the focus of our mind.
No other aspect of our life is as important as breathing. If inspiration fails for just a few minutes our body begins to decompose.
Breathing is hard-wired into our brain. We may consciously hold our breath for only a couple of minutes and then our reflexes take over and we gasp. If we hold our breath until we pass out, once the higher brain centers shut down and we lose consciousness, basic regions of the brain remain active and our breathing reflex takes over. Breathing resumes. We continue to live.
Inspiration also relates to ideation. We breath in an idea and that idea triggers an emotional reaction. We suddenly realize something that we didn't realize before. This inspiration may motivate us to change our behavior or our way of thinking, elevating us to a new level of consciousness or achievement while ramping up our joy and feeling of self worth. Breathing makes our life possible. Inspiration makes it worthwhile.
When we link our breathing to our ideation powerful things begin to happen. When we stop ignoring our breath and instead focus our attentions upon it we release our mind to inspire upon itself. We unleash realization.
Take a few moments to watch your breath. Ignore your mind and touch your senses. Feel the air enter your lungs, the coolness of the air on your nostrils. Feel the rising of your chest and the protruding of your stomach. When your lungs are full, let the air flow out. Follow the sensations associated with it, the sounds, the feelings, the smells and perhaps the tastes. When your mind wants to pull away, as it will, and a thought drags your attention away from breathing, simply examine the thought briefly then let it go. Don't analyze. Return your attention to your breath.
worry not
Doing this lets your mind rest. It recharges your brain and allows your body to relax. At first you may be dismayed that you cannot remain focused on your breath, that your mind constantly pulls you into thought. Don't be. You are witnessing the normal working of your brain. Ideas continuously form. You may choose to follow them or you may let them go. You have no control over their formation, just as you have no real control over choosing to breathe or not to breathe. All you may do is choose your focus, and that ability grows stronger the more you use it.
Focusing on the inspiration and expiration of breathing opens a window upon the hidden wellspring of ideation, freeing your mind to inspire. It also reveals that you are something more than your thoughts, emotions and sensations. You are something far greater. You are the witness to it all, consciousness itself.
Give this a try every day, even if for only a minute. Over time your discernment will grow and your stress levels will fall.
How does it make you feel? Is it a waste of your precious time or possibly, like breathing itself, the most important thing for your growth and wellbeing? Let me know.
Beautiful pictue! I saw two herds of Elk today.
It's time to go hunt sheds, as none of the bulls I saw had antlers, so they've dropped.
In physical therapy today, I did have to focus on my breath, as during some of the manipulations it allows the maximal expansion of my vertebrae that are damaged. Inspiration is a great thing!
thanks!
As a chiropractor I've found that "letting go" of their spinal subluxations is the key to success for my patients. Breathing out is the relaxation phase of the inspirational cycle and is the perfect time for the doctor to strike. Neck and shoulders refer to stress, low back relates to emotional issues and the thoracic spine only goes out when both the low back and neck have problems and the spine has lost its ability to compensate.
Emotions are a manifestation of thought and the body, not recognizing the "idea" of fiction, always reacts to emotion. If we don't recognize this we internalize it. Beyond actual damage, physical problems usually have mental roots.
I watched a coastal Mule Deer couple, a two-point buck and a doe, leisurely wander around the hillside yesterday. He kept chasing off her teenage fawn. This went on for about 45 minutes. The fawn disappeared and the couple walked away in a different direction. About an hour later I saw the doe again by herself. I think she was looking for her fawn. Wilderness soap opera! I was surprised the buck still had his horns.
PS: Thanks for the upvote. Almost 24 hours after posting this you are the only vote and comment and only 5 views. Hay Carrumba!
PS: Thanks for the upvote. Almost 24 hours after posting this you are the only vote and comment and only 5 views. Hay Carrumba!
I know it is terribly frustrating to get so little response =/
I am overwhelmed by my feed, all too often. I find it difficult to see posts from folks I do want to encourage, and you top the list. In my own Steemit career, I find that most of my rewards don't come from my posts (this last week is highly anomalous, due to OCD/Curie), and do spend 99% of my time commenting other's posts, rather than making my own.
Waaaaay too much time LOL
Edit: my back is fux0red not because of how I carry myself. Rather I have repeatedly injured it (and again in the last week =/) by refusing to treat it gently. When I was roofing I would typically pack 3 bundles of roofing shingles at a time up ladders. That's 270 lbs. My vertebrae just grind together in my lumbar region.
I hope that by strengthening my core, I can reduce strain on my discs, and reduce the pain. The massage is HEAVEN, and I'd undergo almost any PT in order to attain the massage afterwards =p
Damn. I din't recall you are a chiropractor. Wish you were hereabouts, and took Steem as payment...
Thanks for caring. Most of the Steem I've made I made in my first month here. It's been downhill ever since. I tend to alienate my followers because I'm so opinionated (and glib). People want their beliefs reinforced, not challenged. I realize that, but I can't help myself. I have to write about the stuff I think is important. Otherwise I have no motivation to clack away for hours at a time. I'd rather watch the grass grow (or wilt as the case may be).
I've tried to keep my feed limited for that very reason. Also, many of the people that I followed in the beginning have dropped out through attrition and low return on their investment time. If some I follow resteem too much I'll drop them. Many times I'll find people via comments and I'll check out their blogs. If a majority of their posts are interesting to me I'll follow them. If not I won't. I suppose I should play the game of following the high-end players here, but quite frankly, their posts usually bore the crap out of me. You're eclectic enough that I'll sometimes go directly to your blog to find your stuff if I don't find it in my feed. You quite the social butterfly ;)
I know what you mean about an abused body. I've wrecked 5 cars and crashed 3 hang gliders, fell out of a tree and broke my leg in 5 places in my klutzy life, even rolled a skidder once: Evel Knievel without a cause. Not quite sure why I'm still here. It's made me realize that you can't die in your own lifetime. Body wise though, I'm about ready for a trade-in.