Remember to Breathe

Yesterday morning I was participating in the final Mass of the retreat I was a director for at the Jesuit Retreat House in OshKosh. Within an hour after that, I was outside of the house in which Elena lived at college this year packing the car with her belongings. (Considering how much she left in storage there for the summer, I was astounded at the number of boxes and bags we had to fit in the car.)  After an almost five hour drive, we were back in the Twin Cities where I spent several hours doing laundry, dealing with accumulated mail and running other errands as I get ready to leave again for another almost ten days.  This morning I packed and will soon head to the airport for a flight to New York for the opening of my cousin’s sculpture show, followed by a week of my own silent retreat at San Alphonso Retreat House on the New Jersey shore.

I’m exhausted all over again just reading what I’ve written!  It is easy to get overwhelmed when in the midst of crazy scheduling. (And, as though to underscore the scheduling frenzy, when Dave picks me up from the aiport a week from Saturday, we will head straight to the graduation party of the son of some friends.)

In times like this, I return to the beautiful breathing meditation suggested by Thich Nhat Hanh in Living Buddha, Living Christ. He suggests watching the breath come in and out, reciting with each breath these lines:

Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment,
I know this is a wonderful moment.

Sometimes I just need the reminder.  Breathe in…breathe out…smile…stay in the present moment.

I’m not taking my computer with me to New York.  My own silent retreat is the one time I ignore e-mails and other internet distractions.  So while I may post an occasional reflection here based on my retreat via my iPhone, you may not hear much from me until after my return on the 20th.  Please keep me in your prayers during the retreat.

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Breathing In, Breathing Out

We’re about to start a new law school semester. The week before classes start is always a stressful one for me, as I turn to making sure I’m ready for the first week of classes even as I continue to work on other ongoing projects. Since I’m ending a year-long research leave, this week seems particularly harried for me, as I get ready to return the class for first time since a year ago December. I was back from five days at St. Benedict’s Monastery no longer than an hour the other day before I started feeling overwhelmed at everything that has to be done – continued work on the books I’ve been writing this past year, preparation for a number of upcoming retreats and other programs I’m giving (including our law school vocation retreat this weekend), class preparation, financial aid applications for college for Elena, etc., etc. and so forth.

Focusing on my breath helps in those moments when I start to feel things spinning out of control. Inhale. Pause. Exhale. Pause. As I close my eyes and feel the breath coming in and the breath going out, I feel the calm seeping through my being, gently releasing the stress and anxiety. Breathe in. Breathe out.

In Living Buddha, Living Christ, Thich Nhat Hanh suggests watching the breath come in and out, reciting with each breath these lines, which he suggests repeating over and over:

Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment,
I know this is a wonderful moment.

Very simple exercise, but a very effective one. Try it now and try to remember it when you are feeling stressed.