Hello friends,
This is Mark Gludman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighborhood monk in docks.
Welcome to another of our special breath prayer episodes.
As we begin,
Just take a moment to pause right where you are.
Did you change anything about the moment,
But just begin by noticing your breath.
If it feels comfortable,
Just let your exhale be just a little longer than your inhale.
No need to force it,
Just slightly extend it as if your body is remembering how to soften.
Jesus once said to his disciples,
Peace I leave with you,
My peace I give to you,
Not as the world gives.
And those last words suggest something really important.
They say to us that there's a kind of peace that we can often try to create,
But then there's a peace that is given.
Now the peace that we create depends on things going well.
It depends on plans working out and on life staying manageable.
But the peace that Jesus speaks of doesn't depend on any of that.
It's something deeper,
Something steadier,
Something that can be presented even when life feels unsettled.
And so this prayer opens up to us that kind of peace.
Not a peace where we try to feel calm,
But we allow ourselves to receive peace.
So the breath prayer that we'll share today is simply as you breathe in,
Let your peace.
And then as you breathe out,
Be with me.
Let the inhale be a quiet receiving of that peace and the exhale be a gentle release.
So let's begin.
Breathing in,
Let your peace.
Breathing out,
Be with me.
Again,
Breathing in,
Let your peace.
And breathing out,
Be with me.
As you continue,
Just notice if there's anything you're holding on to.
Maybe tension in your body.
One of those looping thoughts going through your mind,
A feeling where you don't quite settle.
Don't try and hold those feelings back,
Just let the exhale soften around them.
As we continue breathing in,
Let your peace.
And breathing out,
Be with me.
If it helps,
You might imagine the breath creating a space within you.
Not forcing peace in,
But making space and room for it to be received.
As you breathe in,
Let your peace.
And breathing out,
Be with me.
Just notice that even if your mind's busy and even if your body's still feeling unsettled,
That our prayer is what's doing the work,
Not us.
Grace is simply the ability to receive what God has for us to receive.
And so we simply breathe in,
Let your peace.
And breathe out,
Be with me.
And as you exhale,
Just let that be a small letting go.
Not everything at once,
Just a little bit,
One breath at a time.
As we continue to gently breathe in,
Let your peace.
And breathe out,
Be with me.
And now just allow the words to fade,
But remain with the rhythm of your breathing.
As we close our time together,
We pray.
Jesus,
Giver of a deeper peace,
Teach me to receive what you offer.
Where I strive to control,
Help me to open.
Where I feel restless or unsettled,
Let your presence steady me.
In the midst of all that moves and changes,
Form in me a quiet centre,
A place where your peace remains.
And as I breathe this prayer,
Teach me to trust that your peace is already near,
Already here.
Amen.
And as you rise from our time together today,
Just carry this openness with you into the rest of your day,
Knowing that whenever you need peace,
That presence of peace is always with you.
And along with that peace,
May grace and love be with you and remain with you today and always.
Amen.
Until next time,
God bless you.
