Five relationships that are always present
Dear Soul,
Dear Soul,
Thank you for this recognition, for these five portals to presence, for this mantra:
Breath. Ground. Space. Sound. Light.
In the midst of my hurry, I breathe in, then forget to exhale.
At first, I don’t notice, believing that I’m focused.
But slowly the pressure builds in my throat. My eyes harden. My lips press together tightly.
I’m holding my breath.
This is no way to live. This is a formula for the walking dead.
Breath.
When I breathe in again, I notice how the air seems to flow more readily down one side of my throat, how my chest on that side expands with more ease.
My curiosity continues downwards. I check below my sit bones to see if this pattern is mirrored again in my relationship to…
Ground.
Yes, my weight is more to one side.
And if stripes were painted down the length of my spine, the stripe on this side would be the longer one. So I shift my weight, redistributing the effort in my back and opening new space to receive oxygen into both of my lungs.
These moments, dear soul, are my lifeline.
In other moments, I falter. A momentary judgment (perhaps that someone else is more worthy than I am) deflates my posture so subtly that - while no one else can see it - for me it’s as if the movie soundtrack switched from a major key to a minor. My world goes grey.
The length of my spine is my dignity. This is the real reason for my morning meditation. Uprightness requires practice when the world weighs heavily on my shoulders.
Space.
Thank you, dear soul, for this reminder that my experience is not merely what happens below my skin. How I feel is also the way that I feel every single thing between here and the horizon.
When I listen with intention, I notice myself drawn towards certain directions while facing other directions make me want to retreat. Before I say (or even think) a single word, my body already knows which ways it does and doesn’t want to go.
These things were hidden to me for most of my life. I only knew that sometimes I felt locked up in psychic straightjackets while other times, miraculously, I felt permission to live and love.
Before you gave me this mantra, dear soul, I only knew of one of these portals...
Sound.
All sound is potentially music.
On my best days, I can hear the world this way, and my body dances. Each in-breath is accompanied by several beats of the heart drum, and so is each out-breath.
In the city, a perpetual hum underlies all the other single sounds. When I listen directly inside my ears, another buzzing can usually be found.
In the country, the hum in my head goes silent. The resonant space inside me opens wider.
I’ve learned to rely on the constant presence of these sonic anchors which form the subtle rhythm section underneath the melodies, harmonies and dissonances of my life.
You taught me, dear soul, that my thinking makes a sound, that if I’m not careful, a looping anxiety can drown out birdsong - until I notice and return to presence.
Light.
When I close my eyes, what I see isn’t pitch dark, especially if I’ve been communing with screens for hours on end. Sometimes the field behind my eyelids pops and flashes, live current still sparking down the corridors of my optic nerve despite my desire to rest.
If I cover my eyes with my hands it gets darker. If I rest them there a while it gets darker still.
When my eyes relax, every muscle in my body adjusts to the new visual frequency. The world shows itself more clearly when I stop chasing the light and allow it to come to me.
Breath. Ground. Space. Sound. Light.
Thank you, dear soul, for bringing me here,
where these portals are always open.
Thank you for whispering these words in my ear,
again and again
and again and again.
This is one certainty I have learned I can trust.
Whatever else is happening, I can always…
Breathe in life,
Anchor to the center of the earth,
Acknowledge infinite space,
Hear the music of the here and now, and
Accept what’s in front of my eyes
Thank you, dear soul, for showing me how to fall in love with life.
Breath. Ground. Space. Sound. Light.
These five words could change your life.
Repeat them often enough and you can embed them into your psyche.
What transforms your experience is not the words themselves,
but the wordless wisdom they reveal:
Greater intimacy with five essential relationships
that are present in every single moment of your life.