DOP

Meeting Avishai in the Sacred Valley of the Incas had a lasting effect on me. At first appearance I could tell that this man leads a happy life. A life of integrity, in tune with his needs and beliefs. I spent ten days with him and his wife Viviana on their beautiful land.

Together they direct Niños del Sol, a children’s home where 18 children — all survivors of trauma, abuse and neglect — are being raised as a family. NdS is dedicated to nurturing the children with life skills, open hearts, yoga/wellness practices, organic food from local farms and their own garden, and lots of love.

Avishai teaches Breema Bodywork and other techniques that bring us back to the present moment. I asked him to share his One Breath Meditation with us.

How would I want to breathe my one last breath?

Slowly…
Deeply…
Fully…

≈

Paying attention to each detail
Being present
Being conscious
With gratitude and blessing.
Totally awake!

≈

Tell me — how would you?

≈

Each breath can and might be the last one.
When to start preparing?

≈

Our future is unknown
Our past is gone
We know we were born, we know we will die.
We will return to where we came from
Back to the One

≈

Where there is no birth
And there is no death.

≈

How do I want to be when I return to that One?
Peaceful
Complete
Available.

≈

When to start preparing and how?
By practicing the One Breath Meditation
NOW

≈

Sitting comfortably, prepare for the last breath
(Most likely there will be more breaths following… this is a simulation!)
Gently close the eyes
Take a few full breaths

≈

Experience the body has weight
Experience the body is breathing.

≈

No past, no future, only This moment!

≈

After a few conscious breaths
Prepare for the One Last Breath
With one breath of preparation

≈

As if in a corridor before entering The Sanctuary
As if in a waiting room before entering The Temple

≈

Time to say goodbye, for the last time
Time to make peace and complete all
Time to be fully alive and present.

≈

How do I wish to be?
I wish to
BE
NOW
HERE.

≈

In gratitude for All and Everything
Blessing All and Everything

≈

Still holding on to dear life
And possibly for the first time
In touch with how dear this life is
Not taking this breath for granted

≈

Drinking every aspect:
The endless light within
The experience of Being a Human
The Love, the Joy, the mystery

≈

Now All is well.
Time to let go
For real
Of all that is dear, and all the suffering

≈

This Is It!
Taking the One Last Breath.
I Am.
Fully Awake
Fully Present

≈

The corners of the mouth gently stretching up towards the ears
Joy, naturally, is inside and outside

≈

Everything is clear
The light is here
At long last I hear
My own breath

≈

How sweet this sound
Inhale
Exhale

≈

Blissful passage
Crossing the threshold
Returning home

≈

Ending? Beginning?
Retuning to the one who breathed the first Adam
From dust to dust

≈

Darkness? Light?
Now all is YES

≈

After the last exhale
Free at last
To choose:
No more breaths, and
Pass over and go to the darkness,
Filled with light?

≈

Or allow another breath
Of re-birth
And return to the light
Filled with dark?

≈

This inevitable next breath will (most likely) breathe itself…
A rush of fresh, life giving, precious air
How sweet to breathe!
How ecstatic to be alive!

≈

Now
Free to choose:
Remain sitting, to keep breathing the gifted breaths
Of the New Born

≈

Or get up to do the laundry, or dishes, or any other cleaning,

≈

Or lie down for a rest
Or resume our work
Transformed.

≈

If the corners of the mouth are not curling up —
Keep going
Repeating the cycle of three breaths:

≈

(1.) Preparing for the
(2.) One Last Breath
Then being breathed the
(3.) One First Breath.

≈

Amazingly, we wake up to life
When facing death.

≈

Paradox
In the bliss.

≈

What is left to do?
Same same-
Give thanks and bless
All and Everything.

≈

Prayer becomes a meditation
Meditation a prayer.

≈

Please, One,
Help me to help you to help us to help you!

≈

The lifeline of Breath
Is always available for us to
Return home
And hop back in.

≈

Welcome Home,
Beloved!

Avishai Pearlson