Riding the Breath into the Wind

Let your mind drop down into your breath. Feel the breath move gently in to fill the lungs, and gently out, moving at its own deep natural rhythm. This rhythm connects with the rhythm of the ocean’s waves, of the Earth’s orbit, of the season coming and going. Our breath is a single movement in the breath of all living things on Earth, and is a gateway to awakening.

It is also a gateway to experiencing the lives of other beings. By experiencing something of their lives, we gain an insight into their rhythms, and this leads us to a moment beyond ourselves, the sort of moment that accumulates into awakening.

Let your mind, once again, drop down into your breath. Feel the relaxation that comes from letting the mind become aware of the breath. No need to hold onto anything; no need to be constricted in any way. The breath inspires our body no matter what our state of mind, and when we taste the relaxation of the breath in the body, we experience a premonition of bliss. So dropping down into the breath, let your eyes close, and prepare for a gentle exercise in which we enter into the life-experience of a bird for a little while.

Feeling your breath, imagine yourself high on a mountain, the sounds of the city far away. You hear soft natural sounds that would be masked by the noises of civilization, and it’s a joy to hear them. As you listen, you hear the sound of a raven’s wing cutting through the liquid medium of air, the raven passing nearby. The sound is like a soft tearing, as flight feathers cut through the air to smooth the raven’s passage. Let yourself follow your breath into the raven, and imagine yourself to be the raven. Broad strong wings open, gracefully powerful, iridescent inky-black. Using the air as you will, fly around the mountain and experience the freedom of flight.

Let yourself feel the wind under your wings as it bears you up. See through your raven eyes the landscape moving swiftly below. Find a place on the mountain you wish to fly above, and take yourself there. The freedom and power of flight take you to the very top of the mountain. Let yourself perch on it, at one with all you survey.

What knowledge is yours? What is this landscape to you? Where are you safe? What are your concerns? Let yourself be the raven. Know that this is no simple fantasy–you are in contact with raven mind, letting it expand your consciousness.

When it is time to return, fly up from the mountain peak, turning into the wind, to fly down to where you see a human being, the one you recognize as yourself. As you approach the human being, let your raven breath take you into the human body. Feel your human breath in your body. Know that all of experience is open to you, only a breath away. When you are ready, open your eyes and return to the room, refreshed.