O Great Spirit, whose breath gives light to the world, and whose voice is heard in the soft breeze: We need Your strength and wisdom. Cause us to walk in beauty. Give us eyes ever to behold the red and purple sunset. Make us wise so that we may understand what you have taught us. Help us to learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock. Make us always ready to come to you with clean hands and steady eyes, so when life fades, like the fading sunset, our spirits may come to you without shame. Amen.
~ traditional Native American Prayer with thanks to Liz Simons
Everyone has a soul . . . a gift from God. We are born with it, and we cannot destroy it. We can, however, create barriers that limit contact with our own souls. Some people are more in touch with their soul because they take time to nourish it. Those who nourish the soul, who experience themselves as pure soul, often have a spiritual radiance . . . and they are happy: a good reason to meditate in the silence.
By meditating on the breath and the power within and behind the breath, we realize in the deepest levels of our being that our life is sustained by God. We do not breathe by our own will; God is sustaining our life and everything else in creation... We are born into this world and we will die and live this world. Our first breath and our last breath, the two most important events in our life, are not in our conscious control. Because our breathing is automatic and involuntary, it is easy to forget about the gift of breath — gift of God.
