Hello my friends.
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.
Welcome to another audio in our breath prayer series.
As we begin today,
Just take a moment to arrive in your mind,
In your heart and in your body in this moment.
Just feel your feet where they are.
Notice the weight of your body being held.
Just begin to notice your breathing.
Now there's a familiar line in scripture,
The Lord is my shepherd.
It's a phrase that many of us have heard quite often.
But it speaks to something very real.
Because much of our lives are shaped by the feeling that we have to manage everything ourselves.
Decisions,
Responsibilities,
Uncertainty about what comes next.
We carry it and sometimes even without realising it,
It becomes really heavy.
And this prayer offers a quiet shift.
Not because it removes responsibility,
But it reminds us that we are not the ones who have to hold everything together.
To say the Lord is my shepherd is to allow yourself to be led and to admit even gently,
I don't have to do this alone.
And so now we'll pray this together as our breath prayer.
As you breathe in,
The Lord,
And as you breathe out,
He's my shepherd.
Let the words be simple.
You don't have to make them feel true.
Just let them be present and let them speak to you deeply.
Let's begin.
Breathing in,
The Lord,
And breathing out,
He's my shepherd.
Again,
In,
The Lord,
And out,
He's my shepherd.
Remembering if you prefer to say the words as whispers under your breath or in your mind,
Or out loud,
It doesn't matter.
It's whatever you're most comfortable with where you are.
On that in breath,
The Lord,
And on the breath out,
He's my shepherd.
As you continue to pray,
Just notice if you're holding tension anywhere.
And just let the breath soften it if it can in your shoulders,
Your chest,
Your jaw.
Breathing in,
The Lord,
And breathing out,
He's my shepherd.
If you get thoughts start coming in,
Plans,
Worries,
Things that you feel like you have to solve,
That's okay.
Don't push them away.
Just choose not to follow them now and gently return.
Breathing in,
The Lord,
Breathing out,
He's my shepherd.
You might imagine if it helps,
What it feels like to not be the one in front,
But to be guided.
And by guided,
You're not being rushed along or driven,
But you're simply being led.
As we breathe in,
The Lord,
And breathe out,
He's my shepherd.
Recognizing that there's a quiet commission in this prayer,
That you don't have to carry everything right now.
Just breathe this one breath in this one moment.
He's my shepherd.
Now just gently let the words fade away,
But remain in that awareness of being held and being guided.
As we close with a prayer.
Good shepherd,
You who lead with patience and care,
Teach me to trust your guidance.
Where I grasp for control,
Help me to release.
Where I feel alone in responsibility,
Remind me that you're near.
Lead me in ways I may not always understand,
But can learn to trust.
And as I breathe this prayer,
Form in me a quieter heart,
One that listens,
One that follows,
And one that can trust enough to rest in you.
Amen.
And when you're ready,
Just bring yourself back into this moment with your surroundings and carry this sense of being led and this prayer into the rest of your day.
And may grace,
Peace and love go with you and remain with you today and always.
Amen.
Until next time,
God's peace lead you.
Amen.
Amen.
