BreathDay
A Personal Message from Camille
Maurine
May 30th,
2009
Everybody has a BreathDay. The day we
celebrate our very first breath, and the trillions ever since. The
day we give thanks for the sheer fact of breathing, for our
existence, for the movement of life itself. Today is my day, the
30th of May.
Each year a ripening of awareness and presence. Each inhalation
more precious, each exhalation more poignant and powerful. Every
breath a gift of wonder and awe. A blessing, a teaching, a
transmission to receive and to give.
We are breathing the breath of this Earth, weaving ourselves into
the larger body of Nature, sharing elements forged in the birth and
death of stars. Each breath is a miracle of creation, a ritual
enactment and evidence of the sacredness of all life.
Our language makes of breath a thing, an object, as if it exists in
and of itself. Yet breath is a relationship. It is an active flow
and communion between ourselves and the forces of life and love. We
participate. Breathing in, I receive the world; breathing out, I
give back.
I live in a Galactic Body. I am at home in this universe, an
eternal citizen of the Cosmos. In this moment, I inhabit the
mystery of individuality, of matter - the vastness of inner space,
velvet darkness and infinite shimmering particles of light - this
very body of atoms, molecules, substances yet to be discovered and
named. Energy pulsing in blood and nerve, in bone and skin, in eyes
and lips and breasts. The mind-blowing fact of consciousness, of
awareness permeating experience, of love.
This is my body, and yours. Our essential Nature. The marriage of
spirit and flesh.
In my quest I encountered teachings that imply you're to transcend
the body, evolve away from the earth plane, get off the wheel of
incarnation. Early on I woke up to the realization that for me,
here is where the action is. After all, the universe went to all
this trouble to create us, billions of years of evolution, for
what? If I can choose, said I, then let me play my part in this
evolving experiment, be in the dance of consciousness in matter.
Let me explore, love, play with these magnificent undulating
energies we call the body!
Here we are, together. How can there be such love for our little
blue-green Planet? Love, in fact, for the larger body of humanity?
We are inescapably interconnected with one another, as any breath
will attest. Goodness knows, there is suffering. It's a mixed bag,
this human condition: the agony of conflict; the ecstasy of
communion. Each moment offers us a choice.
Our BreathDay is a reminder, an awakening, a challenge. Breathing
is an act of power and creation. It is also vulnerable, ever so
fragile and fleeting. Each breath is a song of the soul, a vehicle
for the voice of the heart. Can I listen deeply and hear your song?
Can I hear and express my own? Can we commune and communicate in a
way that transforms us both?
This very breath is a prayer:
May all beings know love and peace.
May all be filled with joy and inspiration.
May all claim their home in the universe,
And breathe in their true body.
May all beings feel valued and empowered,
Recognizing themselves as divine expression -
Creating
In autonomy and community,
In compassion for others and self,
In abundance and freedom,
Now and forevermore.
Camille
Maurine
30 May 2009
Marina del Rey,
California