The Reality of Being: The Fourth Way of Gurdjieff by Jeanne de Salzmann

The Reality of Being: The Fourth Way of Gurdjieff by Jeanne de Salzmann

Author:Jeanne de Salzmann [Salzmann, Jeanne de]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Spirituality, Philosophy, Esoteric, Mysticism
ISBN: 9781590308158
Publisher: Shambhala
Published: 2010-07-26T23:00:00+00:00


69. Stages of breathing

In becoming conscious of the act of breathing, we will understand better the laws governing life and how serving them brings meaning to our existence. Real understanding of respiration comes through the experience of different stages.

The first stage is to become conscious of the physical breathing and to let it be. The respiration goes on by itself. If it is tight and originates in the chest rather than the diaphragm, this shows that I am tense and confined in my ordinary “I.” I do not allow the breathing to come and go freely. I take in the air but do not allow complete exhalation, as though I were afraid of not receiving enough air. The first thing to learn is to let the breathing be without the intervention of my ordinary “I.” I have to let the breathing move lower in the body, and let the air go out entirely.

The second stage in breathing is to exercise not only the body but oneself. I no longer place emphasis on exhaling completely, but instead let myself go with the exhalation. I relax not only my shoulders and chest, I relax the whole of myself. I see that my usual respiration reflects a false attitude of my “I.” It is not my body but “I” who is not breathing in a right way. In working, I discover that all my manifestations and mental attitudes block the flow of the breath. It is like a resistance to the fundamental rhythm of life, a fear of losing myself, a lack of trust in life.

The third stage will be to experience that it is not I but “It,” the universal Being, which is breathing, and to see that breathing is a fundamental movement of a living whole. We learn to become conscious of life and of the Being incarnate in us, conscious of a rhythmic order in which we are included. This is not to observe from outside, holding ourselves apart, but to be one with the experience and be transformed by it. Usually it cannot transform us because we cut ourselves off from reality, lost in our ordinary “I.” True consciousness is buried and plays only a secondary role. We must let all our images and preconceived ideas dissolve in order to become aware of its source. We have to let consciousness emerge and play the principal role. Then one can live according to one’s Being. This active recognition of the life within brings a sense of obligation to listen to “consciousness,” to change and live according to what we understand.

Finally, a man comes to submission and trust in life and the Self. He gives himself up to the cosmic movement of ebb and flow, understanding with his whole being that all forms are created in the void, in silence, and are reabsorbed once they have fulfilled their role. He understands that he finds himself in losing himself. He becomes free from certain subjective limits, but realizes that his Self is a responsible participant in the great life of the universe.



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