“God has given to the earth the breath which feeds it. It is his breath that gives life to all things. And if he were to withhold his breath, everything would be annihilated. His breath vibrates in yours, in your voice. It is the breath of God that you breathe—and you are unaware of it.” (Theophilus of Antioch)
“The soul that is united and transformed in God breathes God in God with the same divine breathing with which God, while in her, breathes her in himself.” (St. John of the Cross)
“Example after example bears witness to this tradition that uses breath as a metaphor of divine-human intimacy. But there is also a very practical aspect of this tradition: the use of one’s own breath as a way to experience this divine-human intimacy, as an aid to dispel the illusion of separation from God.” (Martin Laird)
“The simple exercise of paying attention to your breath brings all of your attention and focus into the present moment. It’s an effective way of shutting off your racing mind and descending into the stillness of your heart…Let the remembrance of Jesus be with your every breath. Then indeed you will appreciate the value of stillness.” (Kevin Scherer, St. John Climacus)
"At one point, God took dirt from the earth and fashioned it into a man, into Adam. But Adam did not have life until God did something more than just shaping him. Adam became a living soul when God breathed into him the breath of life (Gen. 2:7). And what is the “breath of life”? It is nothing less than the very presence of God Himself. From the beginning, we were made to breathe God.” (Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick)
"The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being". The very Breath of God brings us into existence as living beings…one who lives a life "in the Spirit", is one who has been breathed upon.” (Father James C. Moulketis)
“The act of breathing is a gift from God. The Scriptures record that He “breathed into [our] nostrils the breath of life” (Gen. 2:7). Every time we pay attention to this breath entering and leaving our bodies, we witness the breath of God coursing through us. By being mindful of this, we are reminded that there is no life apart from Him.” (Kevin Scherer)
“The heart cannot become tranquil and be without imaginings as long as the senses are active…So, of course, it is necessary for each and every one of us to find…a few moments in solitude to collect oneself and breathe spiritually. Spiritual breath is prayer; and the Prayer of Jesus, the invocation of His holy Name is the very heart of spiritual breathing. ‘Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.’ ”(His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph)
“Through the grace of God and our disciplined efforts prayer lifts us up from our isolation to a conscious, loving communion with God in which everything is experienced in a new light. Prayer becomes a personal dialogue with God, a spiritual breathing of the soul, a foretaste of the bliss of God's kingdom.” (GOArch Department of Religious Education)
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