Every Breath Is An Opportunity To Be

Breathing is the foundation of life. In this track, join me for a reflection on how breath impacts every aspect of our lives, from the transformation of energy in your mitochondria, to deeply meaningful experiences of laughter, grief, courage, and love. Taking a moment to feel each breath as an opportunity to reconnect with your energetic self.

Transcript

Every breath is an opportunity to be. That's not a metaphor, It's not woo, It's just true. We know it's true through science, And we know it's true from experience. That's the kind of truth this platform is about. Truths we intuitively know to be the real deal which rigorous science deepens by showing us the elegant structure and immense beauty that underlies them. For example, Science has uncovered in quite some details how every breath is the foundation of our very existence. Every breath you take dissolves oxygen into your blood, Which courses through every cell and their thousands of microscopic mitochondria. There, The food you eat is transformed into a life-giving charge under oxygen's electromagnetic pull. That's right, As we'll see later, It's breathed oxygen's pull deep within your mitochondria that lets your metabolism flow. That process energizes your whole being, Your every gene, Cell, Synapse, Every thought that makes up your mind, And every bit of your personality and behavior. Without the breath, Your mitochondria would stall, And you would cease to be. The science from my lab and others has let us see why every breath flowing through your mitochondria is your ultimate opportunity to be in the world. In parallel, The same truth is revealed rather unmistakably by lived human experiences. The more we move, Whether we go for a run, Play with our children, Or have passionate sex, The more intensely we have to breathe. Whether we feel happy or sad, Laugh hysterically or cry our heart out, Our emotions move through the breath. The words we utter, Too, Come from the breath. The full spectrum of our experiences, Ranging from deep gratitude to wanting to end one's life, Is expressed with the out-breath. Think of Whitney Houston singing I Will Always Love You, Or your father gently whispering I'm So Proud of You, Or your partner finally uttering the Will You Marry Me proposal. Breathed words manifest our deepest experiences. Humanity's greatest feats and atrocities were sparked by speeches weaved of human breaths. From Hitler's attempted annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe to Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream call to human emancipation. We all know from experience the power that each breath brings, Shaping our individual and collective future. Every breath truly is, Then, Scientifically and empirically, The ultimate opportunity to be. To be alive and to be who we really are. That's why every newborn begins her or his life with a first breath, And why every life ends with a last breath. Not because solid science said so, Or because some fleeting subjective experience, But because of a deeper truth that transcends both domains. And that deeper truth is that we are energy. Thank you for joining me on that adventure. And remember, Every breath is an opportunity to be.