Touched by the Breath of Life

William Garner Sutherland, founder of Cranial Osteopathy, spoke of the Breath of Life, a mysterious presence still at the center of Biodynamic Craniosacral therapy today. “The “Breath of Life” is the spark, primarily, and not the breath of air.” Sutherland declared in his book, Contributions of Thought.

The Breath of Life as described by Sutherland usually presents in a transmuted form, transmutation referring to a change in state. We sense expressions of the Breath of Life as primary respiration, perceived as subtle rhythms of mid-tide (or fluid tide) or a deeper, slower, very stable rhythm we call long tide. Once in awhile, the Breath of Life touches us more directly. These are very special, perhaps sacred, moments.

I have been blessed by a few such moments. One occurred while I was demonstrating a session working with heart ignition during a post-graduate seminar. The attention of the class during a demonstration tends to augment the sensed power and clarity of the energetic field holding us. In this case, the whole room felt the magic of the moment. Both I and the demonstration client smiled with gentle tears as we felt our hearts cast open. Many in the class resonated with this beautiful experience.

These profound moments of the direct touch of the Breath of Life remind me of meeting a newborn baby. There is such a strong field of love. It is difficult to deny or defend against. Even the most hardened people often soften before an infant’s smile.

I am also reminded of the final days of my mother. Her unfortunate dementia seemed to gradually remove traces of her personality, particularly the bits that annoyed me, until she seemed to just exude love. The last time I spoke with her, she seemed lost in an unseen inner world. She didn’t seem to recognize me, or even hear me… until I told her, “Mom, I love you!” Suddenly, she came to life. “Oh I love you too, darling!” she told me with complete clarity. My heart burst and then she was gone again. A week later she was dead. I have always felt grateful for that moment, when love touched me so directly via my mother.

Similarly, stories of people emerging from near death experiences describe life-altering meetings with powerful forces or beings of love. Have they returned to our most essential source?

Be Still and Know

What mysterious force enters us when the Breath of Life breathes upon us in such direct ways?  How can we access it more intentionally? Sutherland advised his followers to “Be still and know.”

In Biodynamics, our practice is to settle under all the activations of everyday life, to orient to deeper formative forces, and amidst it all, an alive and dynamic stillness. Within the stillness, the Breath of Life awaits in its unadulterated form.

I feel so blessed to be able to participate in this powerful practice that not only facilitates healing for our clients, but also for us as practitioners. Practicing being still, we can know. We can visit the field of love.