Article One

Breathe in peace by Bronwyn Barter,

Rebirther/Rebirther Trainer, January 2007

The breath, the life force, the wonder of such a simple thing as breathing.

Over the years just about everything that could be said and written about the importance of the breathing in our lives has been done.

Having stated that fact I am still amazed that the breath and its healing potential continues to be largely unrecognised to our general community.

Everyone teaches us about breathing from yoga swamis to midwives training mums for childbirth and still we don’t relate the deep importance of using our breath to give us a better quality of life.

Take a little time to consider the value of the breath in our daily lives and you will be astounded to become aware of the following facts. A normal, and healthy adult will breathe about 12 to 14 times a minute. That will equate to being over 7 million breaths in one year.

If we live for 80 years we will have breathed some 600 million times. I have learned respect for this much ignored and, mostly unconscious process.

Breathing has many parts to play in our lives. The obvious role of the breath for us is the oxygenation and renewal of the blood and deletion of toxins in the blood stream by the process of respiration. The beauty of it is that all this happens automatically.

The breath is so vital to our survival that if we hold our breath for a prolonged period of time we will go unconscious, at which time the autonomic nervous system will take over and breathing will resume.

The oxygen that we breathe also supports the mysterious workings of our brains. Our brains require particular levels of oxygen and sugar to function well, and we will again automatically reach for the extra breath and oxygen that we need for brain function, especially when we are getting tired, and starting to relax and unwind. This is the act of yawning.

Yawning occurs mainly when our bodies are asking for more oxygen, need more energy and we really drag in a big load of oxygen to revive us. Yawning is often a spontaneous act and has been seen as “socially unacceptable’ as it can also indicate that a person is bored! How funny!

Spiritually Swamis, Shamans, Sufis, Greek monks, and mystics, to mention but a few, have used the breath for centuries to raise their consciousness and spiritual awareness. There is nothing like the miracle of breath to raise the vibration and awareness of a soul. I personally have had and witnessed many times the most amazing mystical experiences that were all predicated and sustained by the precious gift of breathing.

For the emotional body, the breath is the gateway for release. Have you ever observed the way that a child will heave into the breath and begin to cry? Children cry naturally and release their emotions expertly, breathing strongly and effortlessly as they express their upsets and dilemmas.

Adults who have not fully realised the healing power of emotion and tears are uncomfortable with “too much” display of emotion and teach children to ‘stop crying’ which unfortunately gives the child the idea that expression of their feelings is wrong. The most commonly used way to control emotion is to hold the breath until the feelings are ‘under control’. The reason for this is that breathing will enhance all our awareness regardless of what they are; happy, mad, sad, or glad.

For many years I have practised as a Rebirther, using the conscious connected breathing technique to assist clients to raise their awareness and to erase the pain and affects of held emotions.

The breath is the catalyst that is used to open the door to the feelings and memories in the body that may have been held for many years. Eventually a person can feel that the time is right or safe to heal past hurts and to finally let them go. Freedom from negative emotion is the pathway to peace and happiness.

I am often asked why Rebirthing sessions work so well. It is the use of the breath after the client has time to download verbally, which makes the difference between a normal counselling session and a Rebirthing session. The breathing allows a client to totally relax and release the emotion at a deeper level than they would be able to by just talking about it. The breath has the ability to access and release the long held energies of the past.

The breath is a gentle flow, not yelling or screaming, as such actions are tensing and forcing of the vocal cords, and the throat and the breath. Rebirthers teach their clients to gently breathe away the emotions that are creating disharmony in their lives.

Breathing “in” peace is a way of creating peace in our lives. Breathing in love, peace and harmony is to honour and respect the power and miracle of the breath.

Article Two

Living in the moment by Bronwyn Barter

We are all living in the moment; the question is which one and is it NOW?

“Living in the moment,” this is one of those strange terms that you encounter when you begin the journey of spiritual awareness. Teachers, authors, ascended masters all talk at great length about “living in the moment” but what does it really mean and why is it so important?

When I first heard this expression I listened to it but I didn’t really hear what was being said. The reason for this was because at that time in my life I was so immersed in my past, and terrified of my future that all my “moments” were pretty foggy. About that time I met a girl who had a wrist watch with no hour hands, no numbers, just the word “NOW”. I was intrigued. She explained to me that she was teaching herself the value of “living in the moment”, staying present, being in present time. I decided give it a go. She told me not to be distracted by the past or future moments, but to be 100% where I am in each and every minute. I found that I could only achieve staying present for a very short while, which really surprised me. I thought I had pretty good concentration skills, but this is not about focus. This is an ability to trust, surrender, honour, love and enjoy every moment. I needed to become immersed in the present, NOW.

The negative consequences of not living in the moment are many. Living in another moment other than the one that is present affects your relationships, your work, your health, just about everything. When we are not in present time we are making decisions based on what has happened to us in the past, or predicting outcomes for our future.

These decisions are often reactive and impulsive. Reactive responses are the ones that feel like they are not in proportion to the current situation. They are more like conditioned reflexes. These are usually accompanied by strong emotions and body sensations.

Conscious decisions are responsive, they are not knee jerk reactions! They are decisions made clearly, based on the current status of your life. The emotions that accompany these rational responsive decisions are feelings of calm and centeredness. The choices made with consciousness are in the “NOW”.

What to do.

• Meditate; it’s a great way to quieten your mind.
• Spend time outdoors, really notice everything from the clouds to the pebbles, and start seeing the world.
• Lighten up, life is not meant to be so serious, learn to laugh.
• Start telling yourself the truth about each moment.
• Read Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now” and Deepak Chopra’s “7 Spiritual Laws of Success”
• Get some help to learn more about the effect of past conditioning on your current outlook and your decision-making process. If you’re noticing that you are reactive rather than responsive, stop making it wrong, simply explore why you are (re)acting this way.
• Do some Rebirthing, start living again, start living in the moment.