Breathing. An act essential to our survival. From the moment we are born into this world, and smacked on the butt by the doctor, to our last moments in this lifetime, breathing is one of the few constants in our lives. Yet because it is such a constant, the very act of breathing is paid very little attention.

Breathing is however, more than just a necessity for survival. Its function weaves an intricate web through our lives. Among its numerous functions, it becomes a form of communication. The sudden gasp of shock while watching a horror flick, the heavy breathing of an angry person, the sigh of contentment while curled up next to a significant other. Sometimes, the way that a breath is formed can say far more than words could at a given moment in time.

The act of breathing is a necessity, in order to use our senses of smell. In a simple breath, by what we smell, one can among many things, inhale the aromas of sweetness, cleanliness, danger. By these aromas, we may in turn feel calm, peaceful, afraid.

Our sense of feeling also comes into play by the act of breathing. On a cold winters day, one can take a deep breath, and feel the cold crisp air as it travels through the nasal passage, down the throat, and into the lungs. Or the warmth one inhales on a hot summers day, as the suns warmth radiates across our face.

A breath is not simply a breath, but is so much more in our lives.

Several weeks ago, I came across a forum thread where the poster mentioned that they had a friend who did energy work, and after working on a client, felt drained by the experience. The tiredness post-session can be caused by one of several things. In doing energy work, proper breathing is a vital function, not only for the client, but for the person who is transferring that energy. Richard Gordon’s book, “Quantum-Touch- The Power To Heal”, provides excellent information on the importance of proper breathing, and valuable techniques. By not breathing properly, the giver can take on the negative energies of the client.

During an energy session, the giver should not be using their own energy, but the energy of the Universe. Energy that goes by many different names, such as ch’i, and prana. I find that it works well that on the inhalation breath, one draws energy from the inner core of the earth, up through the givers body, and into the heavens. On the exhale, draw all of that energy back down to the giver, through the hands, and to the client. This ensures that one is using the Universes’ energy, which is far greater than our own individual energy, and not their own.

In the above case, it may not be a breathing issue at all for the giver. It may very well be a case of the giver having an energy blockage within their own system. Once they work through their own personal blockage, they will no longer feel drained after a session, but energized by the experience.

If you’ve read this far, I’m guessing that by now, you don’t look at the act of breathing in quite the same way. And that’s a good thing. The more aware we are of the subtle happenings in our lives, the greater life becomes, and the more grateful we become for all of the blessings both great and small that happen in our lives.

So make a few moments for yourself. Find a moment to inhale the warmth of the sun, or the cold, crisp air of a winters day. As homo sapiens, we have the ability to do what other species can’t. To fully appreciate the full range of our senses and experiences, and not just live by instincts alone.

May all that is yours by Divine Right find its way into your life under Grace, in miraculous ways.

Until next time.

..even when one isn’t having fun. Ack! Where have the last two weeks gone? In fact, where have the first two and a half months of 2006 gone? For me, it seems more of a blur, than anything else. But, perhaps that’s a good thing.

If you were looking for a thought-provoking, inner awareness entry this week, you won’t find it here. I have one in mind for next time, but after the activities of the past two weeks, my mind is cooked.

The last couple of weeks have been spent dealing with various computer issues. Not only my own, but others. Right now, I feel fortunate if I know exactly what day it is! *chuckle*

The first issue had to deal with the computer of one of the operators at the hospital where I work. She couldn’t even open a web browser to go on the Internet with. In time, it became very clear just why she couldn’t. After working on the computer for a number of hours over several days, I finally cleaned it up enough that I could actually work on it. Her computer was infected, big time. Not counting the spyware, malware, and trojans, there were 37 distinct viruses that had infected her system. It also didn’t help that she had very little system memory to work with. I had to temporarily cannibalize one of my older computers for memory, just so I could make some progress. I was finally able to deliver it back to her last Wednesday. One issue down.

The next issue was with my own computer. Several years ago, I had done some stock and commodities trading, but having eaten the wrong foods for many years, my physical energy had turned to molasses, and my mind to mush. Not a good combination to try and make money with. So I stopped for awhile.

Now that the mind mush is gone, it felt like a good time to get back into the game. So I opened up my trading software, went to download current data for both, and.....nothing. I could only download information prior to October 2004 in stocks, and March 2005 in commodities. I wrote to both the trading software company, and my data provider. My trading software at one point did have problems importing the data from my data provider, so they suggested that I upgrade my trading software. Received the upgrade last week, installed it, and ended up with the same issue.

Talk about a little frustration. So I started to do some internet searching. Because I had upgraded to the 2006 software, I now had access to the 2006 forums for my trading software. And it was there that I found my answer, buried several pages deep within the forum. For whatever reason, SpyBot sees certain program files as spyware. Once I uninstalled SpyBot, Ad-Aware, and my trading software, I then did a clean install of my trading software. Lo and behold, I now have current data! Phew! Second issue down.

But like they say, save the best for last. Well, my niece has been having problems with her ‘antiquated’ computer, and I have the good fortune (or misfortune) of being her tech support. I had a computer here that a friend had given me, because it had died on her. So I figured what the heck? I’ll replace a few parts, and my niece will have a more up to date computer to use. Right off the bat, I found that the hard drive had died. No problem, order a new one. So I did, along with more memory, and a cd/dvd drive. Parts came last week, and I installed them on Thursday. Fired the computer up, nothing. The new hard drive was working, but nothing was coming up on the screen. Then I realized that I hadn’t heard the usual start up beep one hears when you turn the computer on. Not a good sign. For those not overly familiar with computers, hearing that beep is a good thing. And when there are certain issues, a series of beeps may be heard, helping to diagnose what is wrong. I’ve swapped out memory, removed the motherboard from the case to make sure that there isn’t a short of some sort, checked the power supply, replaced the battery, nothing. It’s now starting to look like my friend had a power surge hit her computer, and it took out the hard drive and the motherboard. Sooo.....it looks like I’ll be ordering even more parts. By the time I get done, the only thing that won’t be new is the case! *sigh*

But! As frustrating as all of these issues were at times, they have all been a good learning experience. In analyzing, troubleshooting, patience. And satisfaction, once things have been figured out.

Speaking of satisfaction, I need to go solve another issue. My computer’s cd/dvd player won’t format new discs, so I have to track that trouble down. I’m thinking that it just didn’t like the brand media that I used before, but time will tell. If you happen to hear a scream, it’s o.k., it’s probably just me. LOL

Until next time.