“Gurdjieff said air is our second being-food—and most of us are starving. What monks once knew through chant, we’ve forgotten. Rediscover the breath as sacred nourishment, where spiritual practice truly begins.
You remind me of a younger part of my life when I used to spend a week at at Trappist Monastery after every college semester (the experience helped me to get off the mouse wheel that college was for me). These were silent retreats & helped to calm me down. Seven times a day the monks would enter their chapel and chant psalms & other music. We were allowed to be there in our own section. The Abbot held a shepherd’s crook and if one of the guests sang too loud or with verbrato he would bang the crook on the floor because we were chanting for God (who has really good hearing I guess) and not for the admiration of the people there. The chants were some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard.
Thanks for this! Now I understand why I left three hour choir practice energized and calm at the same time. I just thought it was more oxygen, but I love understanding it was also regulating the vagus nerve. Breathe on!!
We studied the gregorian chant thing in sound healing school. Google Alfred Tomatis and Gregorian Chant. Breath and chant are absolutely ensouled body food!
What a wonderful lesson for me today! It is one I’ve really been needing.
They say that everyone has a stress path within their bodies. It is the path through which people process the stress in their lives. This path is through the heart for some people, nervous system for others and stomach for yet others, etc. Mine is through my lungs. Stress me and I subconsciously stop breathing or breathe very shallowly. And, I am normally a shallow breather. I didn’t notice this phenomenon until I developed asthma. My allergies cause asthma, however I also believe I have stress induced asthma. With my mind on Budda’s big belly, which resulted from deep breathing, I often consciously try to teach myself to breathe deeply. Alas, I soon forget and am right back to depriving my lungs again. 🥹 So, today’s message means a lot to me. It literally speaks to me.
Another “thank you” comes for bring up that old childrens’ Sunday School song, “Jesus Loves Me.” My dad taught me that song when I was a child. It came from his Sunday School attendance days when he was a child in the Lutheran faith practice. When he passed, I asked if we could have a rendition of it at his funeral. I then was incredulous to learn that no one there had ever heard the song, much less of the song. So, it became one of my sorrows that it was never sung or played for him and me at that time.
Mary, I love how you put this. Stress always finds its path, and for you it goes straight through the lungs. Just noticing that is already a kind of healing. Every time you remember to breathe deep, you’ve broken the cycle for that moment.
And your story about “Jesus Loves Me” is beautiful. That song is still alive in you. Even if the church did not sing it, you carry it forward every time you remember your dad with it. That is the truest kind of hymn.
Wonderful post, and, despite being very amusing, has some fabulous advice. I know when I get freaked out, if do a set of breaths with briefer (but deep) inhales and slower (but profound) exhales, I calm down in a matter of minutes. I have actually measured a 30 point drop in my systolic blood pressure in 2 minutes doing that.
Your advice to chant is really great. I am going to try to get into that.
Near the end you mention the Gospel of Thomas. I might have already suggested this to you in a private message (bad memory here!) but maybe someone else who reads this comment might benefit from it. I recently purchased a couple of books by Keith Giles (whose other books that I've read are wonderful) on the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, and the Lost Gospel of Truth. I haven't read them yet, but they look very promising: "The Quantum Gospel of Mary and the Lost Gospel of Truth" is one and the other is "The Quantum Sayings of Jesus: Decoding the Lost Gospel of Thomas". They include translations of he sources themselves and then Giles' commentary on them.
Here are 2 paragraphs from your post that particularly amused me:
"Imagine this: you’re at a five-course dinner. Filet mignon, wine, dessert. But while chewing, you’re also holding your breath, and while holding your breath, you’re doomscrolling celebrity divorces. That’s us. Full bellies, starved lungs, poisoned souls. Spiritual malnutrition with free refills."
"Hold your breath and suddenly you’re flooded with thoughts: “What if they don’t like me?” “What if I die alone?” “What if Costco runs out of free samples?"
This explains why I close my eyes and exhale when I taste food that is beautifully done. I taste it three ways by that moment.
I always seem to catch your entries when I need a moment, a laugh, and a little something to think about for the rest of the day. Thoughty, funny, memorable=perfect. Till next time, Empress
Amazing post, and extraordinarily similar to my post topic today- though I look at chant in the pre-Buddhist Vedic religion. Do the early monks you describe believe that they are impacting the external world with chant? (In other words: is it their “duty” to chant in some world generative or world protective way?) or is chanting in this lineage history an internal technology?
Amazing connection. I love that you are exploring chant from the Vedic perspective.
In the Benedictine tradition I wrote about, they were chanting the Psalms on a set rotation, covering all 150 every week. Chant was both an inner technology that shaped the breath, steadied the mind, and tuned the heart toward God, and it was also seen as their sacred duty. Benedict even called it the Opus Dei, the Work of God, as if the very act of chanting kept the world in tune.
And because they were chanting the Psalms, they were working with a text that is kabbalistically balanced. The Psalms touch every aspect of the soul and have been used for centuries in Judaism to align both the inner and outer world. The monks were stepping into that stream and continuing the work of creation through praise.
I love your thoughts on the importance of deep breathing.
I was a choral singer for most of my life. One year I sang in a Gregorian Chant Choir. It was a great experience! But for me it was hard to sing these long phrases without breathing because of my asthma. (I should have studied voice years earlier.)
Great article. This reminds me also of the monks who prayed The Jesus Prayer and used their breath to constantly pray this prayer "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."
It also reminds me of the work I did recently with a mind-body therapist who taught me how important the breath was. It is true and it really works. We forget in this fast-paced society how important it is to SLOW DOWN, our breath, and our schedules.
Breathing heals. Many years ago I became reacquainted with horses. There was one horse in particular who literally, in my mind, gave me my life back. I had collapsed in a heap of no life energy, spectacularly burning out after three years with a supervisor who slowly picked away at my heart work and soul, dismissing my very being, until I could no longer get off the couch. My husband who tended me that next year showed me a small 1/4 page ad in a Spiritual Education magazine he read: an invitation to attend a weeklong women’s Dream workshop in Montana on an 8,000 acre ranch. Led by a woman Jungian analyst, the kicker was each participant would be assigned one horse (out of a herd of 43) to be our mirror and mentor for the week. My husband knew of my love affair with horses since I could walk/talk. I also had always sought out Jungian therapists throughout my adult life.
The magic worked! Horses are healers. One connection I have always held with horses is the honor I feel when a horse approaches me, and gently offers to breathe life into me. We can stand quietly and simply exchange breath. Those who have experienced this know the horse’s breath is soft and sweet and moist. I have always experienced these moments not only as special, but as sacred. The story has a happy ending…at the end of the week I gained insight into the profound denial of the reality of the situation I was in, that my ego had blinded me to the fight for my life I never saw coming. I spent the next seven years regaining my full life energy…ready to jump back into my life work of coaching others. Only now I got certified to partner with horses as we worked with clients who had lost sight of their hearts’ desires. Horses are wise, sentient beings, and live in both worlds at once. They are connected to the Divine: Celts 7000 years ago used them as Oracles. I am blessed to have learned so much from them. The horse ancestors still speak to me when I ask their help.
More recently, I have experienced a full-blown miracle and, yes, breathing has again literally given me my life back. I guess you can think of EMT’s who practice resuscitation on people in emergencies. Since my burn-out debacle in 2006, I have complained of sporadic episodes of extreme fatigue. I would ask my Primary Doctor: “does fatigue cause depression, or does depression cause fatigue?” The answer was always “yes,” and then we’d proceed to treat the depression. Only a few months ago, encouraged by a friend’s miracle rejuvenation, I asked for a sleep study (the real one, overnight in a lab). Listening to my history the sleep doctor said I was waaaay past due for a study. The data came back, I was fitted for a CPAC machine which I used for 30 straight nights. I noticed even in a month how my life energy was being renewed. In the follow-up I learned I was having 82 events a night before CPAP. In just 30 days, my obstructive sleep apnea was reduced to TWO EVENTS. I am convinced that this miracle is directly responsible for creating the environment of me once again enjoying full energy, with almost no bouts of sudden fatigue. My Guardian angels helped make it possible for me to be open to my spiritual journey in ways I never knew were possible. The revelations I have grasped in my walking with you…with Mary Magdalene, with other mystics l’m listening to…are possible because of breathing. I have known for a long time from yoga the benefits of breathing patterns (6 4 6 4 is one…). From all my physical therapy for back, walking, lifting, colo-rectal issues: the out breath is way more important than the In breath. Who knew? I’m 78 and only now understanding and knowing with certitude of what you speak. Gregorian chants were always my Soul Mates go-to music. You have just turned one more piece of my Rubics Cube!!!
Thank you for sharing your wisdom which, for me, keeps inviting me through doors I’ve known a little about…but now, I keep finding myself jumping into the deep end of the pool…and, wow! The miracles are flowing! Amen, and good night’s rest (breathing) to all. ❤️🙏❤️😎🐶
You remind me of a younger part of my life when I used to spend a week at at Trappist Monastery after every college semester (the experience helped me to get off the mouse wheel that college was for me). These were silent retreats & helped to calm me down. Seven times a day the monks would enter their chapel and chant psalms & other music. We were allowed to be there in our own section. The Abbot held a shepherd’s crook and if one of the guests sang too loud or with verbrato he would bang the crook on the floor because we were chanting for God (who has really good hearing I guess) and not for the admiration of the people there. The chants were some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard.
Thanks for this! Now I understand why I left three hour choir practice energized and calm at the same time. I just thought it was more oxygen, but I love understanding it was also regulating the vagus nerve. Breathe on!!
As a director of & singer in choirs, I have experienced this!
We studied the gregorian chant thing in sound healing school. Google Alfred Tomatis and Gregorian Chant. Breath and chant are absolutely ensouled body food!
What a wonderful lesson for me today! It is one I’ve really been needing.
They say that everyone has a stress path within their bodies. It is the path through which people process the stress in their lives. This path is through the heart for some people, nervous system for others and stomach for yet others, etc. Mine is through my lungs. Stress me and I subconsciously stop breathing or breathe very shallowly. And, I am normally a shallow breather. I didn’t notice this phenomenon until I developed asthma. My allergies cause asthma, however I also believe I have stress induced asthma. With my mind on Budda’s big belly, which resulted from deep breathing, I often consciously try to teach myself to breathe deeply. Alas, I soon forget and am right back to depriving my lungs again. 🥹 So, today’s message means a lot to me. It literally speaks to me.
Another “thank you” comes for bring up that old childrens’ Sunday School song, “Jesus Loves Me.” My dad taught me that song when I was a child. It came from his Sunday School attendance days when he was a child in the Lutheran faith practice. When he passed, I asked if we could have a rendition of it at his funeral. I then was incredulous to learn that no one there had ever heard the song, much less of the song. So, it became one of my sorrows that it was never sung or played for him and me at that time.
Mary, I love how you put this. Stress always finds its path, and for you it goes straight through the lungs. Just noticing that is already a kind of healing. Every time you remember to breathe deep, you’ve broken the cycle for that moment.
And your story about “Jesus Loves Me” is beautiful. That song is still alive in you. Even if the church did not sing it, you carry it forward every time you remember your dad with it. That is the truest kind of hymn.
Thank you for that perspective. Now, I’m crying.
The way you explain this makes so much sense! I will remember the phrase, "shallow breath shallow life." 😊
Wonderful post, and, despite being very amusing, has some fabulous advice. I know when I get freaked out, if do a set of breaths with briefer (but deep) inhales and slower (but profound) exhales, I calm down in a matter of minutes. I have actually measured a 30 point drop in my systolic blood pressure in 2 minutes doing that.
Your advice to chant is really great. I am going to try to get into that.
Near the end you mention the Gospel of Thomas. I might have already suggested this to you in a private message (bad memory here!) but maybe someone else who reads this comment might benefit from it. I recently purchased a couple of books by Keith Giles (whose other books that I've read are wonderful) on the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, and the Lost Gospel of Truth. I haven't read them yet, but they look very promising: "The Quantum Gospel of Mary and the Lost Gospel of Truth" is one and the other is "The Quantum Sayings of Jesus: Decoding the Lost Gospel of Thomas". They include translations of he sources themselves and then Giles' commentary on them.
Here are 2 paragraphs from your post that particularly amused me:
"Imagine this: you’re at a five-course dinner. Filet mignon, wine, dessert. But while chewing, you’re also holding your breath, and while holding your breath, you’re doomscrolling celebrity divorces. That’s us. Full bellies, starved lungs, poisoned souls. Spiritual malnutrition with free refills."
"Hold your breath and suddenly you’re flooded with thoughts: “What if they don’t like me?” “What if I die alone?” “What if Costco runs out of free samples?"
This explains why I close my eyes and exhale when I taste food that is beautifully done. I taste it three ways by that moment.
I always seem to catch your entries when I need a moment, a laugh, and a little something to think about for the rest of the day. Thoughty, funny, memorable=perfect. Till next time, Empress
My 3rd eye just blinked, then opened to dinner plate size. This makes so much sense. Thank you.
That’s why the •Chant• albums were best sellers 30-odd years ago…also: chant is common to all spiritual practices…
Namaste
Thank you. This is just what I needed for a new course O'm developing for my Unity Church!!!
Amazing post, and extraordinarily similar to my post topic today- though I look at chant in the pre-Buddhist Vedic religion. Do the early monks you describe believe that they are impacting the external world with chant? (In other words: is it their “duty” to chant in some world generative or world protective way?) or is chanting in this lineage history an internal technology?
Amazing connection. I love that you are exploring chant from the Vedic perspective.
In the Benedictine tradition I wrote about, they were chanting the Psalms on a set rotation, covering all 150 every week. Chant was both an inner technology that shaped the breath, steadied the mind, and tuned the heart toward God, and it was also seen as their sacred duty. Benedict even called it the Opus Dei, the Work of God, as if the very act of chanting kept the world in tune.
And because they were chanting the Psalms, they were working with a text that is kabbalistically balanced. The Psalms touch every aspect of the soul and have been used for centuries in Judaism to align both the inner and outer world. The monks were stepping into that stream and continuing the work of creation through praise.
I love your thoughts on the importance of deep breathing.
I was a choral singer for most of my life. One year I sang in a Gregorian Chant Choir. It was a great experience! But for me it was hard to sing these long phrases without breathing because of my asthma. (I should have studied voice years earlier.)
Great article. This reminds me also of the monks who prayed The Jesus Prayer and used their breath to constantly pray this prayer "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."
It also reminds me of the work I did recently with a mind-body therapist who taught me how important the breath was. It is true and it really works. We forget in this fast-paced society how important it is to SLOW DOWN, our breath, and our schedules.
Thank you! 🙏🏻
Breathing heals. Many years ago I became reacquainted with horses. There was one horse in particular who literally, in my mind, gave me my life back. I had collapsed in a heap of no life energy, spectacularly burning out after three years with a supervisor who slowly picked away at my heart work and soul, dismissing my very being, until I could no longer get off the couch. My husband who tended me that next year showed me a small 1/4 page ad in a Spiritual Education magazine he read: an invitation to attend a weeklong women’s Dream workshop in Montana on an 8,000 acre ranch. Led by a woman Jungian analyst, the kicker was each participant would be assigned one horse (out of a herd of 43) to be our mirror and mentor for the week. My husband knew of my love affair with horses since I could walk/talk. I also had always sought out Jungian therapists throughout my adult life.
The magic worked! Horses are healers. One connection I have always held with horses is the honor I feel when a horse approaches me, and gently offers to breathe life into me. We can stand quietly and simply exchange breath. Those who have experienced this know the horse’s breath is soft and sweet and moist. I have always experienced these moments not only as special, but as sacred. The story has a happy ending…at the end of the week I gained insight into the profound denial of the reality of the situation I was in, that my ego had blinded me to the fight for my life I never saw coming. I spent the next seven years regaining my full life energy…ready to jump back into my life work of coaching others. Only now I got certified to partner with horses as we worked with clients who had lost sight of their hearts’ desires. Horses are wise, sentient beings, and live in both worlds at once. They are connected to the Divine: Celts 7000 years ago used them as Oracles. I am blessed to have learned so much from them. The horse ancestors still speak to me when I ask their help.
More recently, I have experienced a full-blown miracle and, yes, breathing has again literally given me my life back. I guess you can think of EMT’s who practice resuscitation on people in emergencies. Since my burn-out debacle in 2006, I have complained of sporadic episodes of extreme fatigue. I would ask my Primary Doctor: “does fatigue cause depression, or does depression cause fatigue?” The answer was always “yes,” and then we’d proceed to treat the depression. Only a few months ago, encouraged by a friend’s miracle rejuvenation, I asked for a sleep study (the real one, overnight in a lab). Listening to my history the sleep doctor said I was waaaay past due for a study. The data came back, I was fitted for a CPAC machine which I used for 30 straight nights. I noticed even in a month how my life energy was being renewed. In the follow-up I learned I was having 82 events a night before CPAP. In just 30 days, my obstructive sleep apnea was reduced to TWO EVENTS. I am convinced that this miracle is directly responsible for creating the environment of me once again enjoying full energy, with almost no bouts of sudden fatigue. My Guardian angels helped make it possible for me to be open to my spiritual journey in ways I never knew were possible. The revelations I have grasped in my walking with you…with Mary Magdalene, with other mystics l’m listening to…are possible because of breathing. I have known for a long time from yoga the benefits of breathing patterns (6 4 6 4 is one…). From all my physical therapy for back, walking, lifting, colo-rectal issues: the out breath is way more important than the In breath. Who knew? I’m 78 and only now understanding and knowing with certitude of what you speak. Gregorian chants were always my Soul Mates go-to music. You have just turned one more piece of my Rubics Cube!!!
Thank you for sharing your wisdom which, for me, keeps inviting me through doors I’ve known a little about…but now, I keep finding myself jumping into the deep end of the pool…and, wow! The miracles are flowing! Amen, and good night’s rest (breathing) to all. ❤️🙏❤️😎🐶
I love Gregorian chant! I've never looked at it this way, though. Thank you!