This Advent season, here is a gift from my personal prayer practice.
The Jesus Breath Prayer
Light a candle, play some soft music, say a meaningful prayer, maybe a Psalm like the 23rd, or whatever stills your heart to enter into devotion.
Monastics call this entering the cave of our hearts. The Franciscans sometimes pray with their head lower than their hearts to remind themselves that we enter in with our intuitive heart first, as we approach the Eternal.
A breath prayer is simply a way to drop our linear minds, and our body’s memory and trauma, to enter our spirit through our breath.
Take three deep breaths and slowly center yourself in your heart.
As breath is spirit, Breathe into this moment… Letting the stillness soak into your being. Breathe in forgiveness for anything you are holding, and breathe out releasing and letting everything go.
Breathe in faith, and breathe out gratitude. Breathe in silently saying ‘Jes’, and breathe out silently saying ‘us’.
Enter into your rest prepared for you, In Christ’s finished work.
Close your eyes or let them rest gently focused a few feet in front of you, as you breathe naturally through your nose… Allowing the warmth of a soft smile to lighten your face.
Breathe… Inhale…embracing Belonging, Exhale…releasing gratitude, Focusing on the transcendence presence of Jesus. Letting go and letting God, Like a 'trust fall' into the arms of Love, Allowing yourself to be well, and whole in these eternal arms.
Letting go of all expectations
Being and receiving...
Beloved… Feeling the energy of joy in pure Presence…
Even ecstatic joy Free and spacious, in this liminal space…
Between our body’s trauma and pain on the one hand, Anchoring us in the past, We release, Letting go…
And our mind’s constant chatter on the other hand, Anchoring us in the future, We release, Letting go…
Entering into the liminal space between the two
We breathe in receiving and out releasing Jes…us In this liminal space between our past and our future, In this eternal, living present, we breathe…
We let go of our past and future, to be present in this life-giving liminal space,
We welcome the presence of Jesus, Angels, or other spiritual saints in this luminous liminal space, and Be, just Be, Soaking in the Eternal.
Take your time, Take your time with eternity, Savor, and soak in the presence of God.
*Post Note:
This is not to be confused with any Orthodox version. This developed out of my personal prayer practice before I knew there was a tradition of breath prayer.
Also, rather than a prayer to God, this is a breath prayer breathing together with the Holy, Spirit to spirit.
The action is receiving, spiritual embodiment, Christ in us, as our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit.
I hope you find this prayer to be an inner revelation, and a blessing to you into this Advent season and beyond.