The breath of life.

Animal = Latin - anima (“a current of air, wind, air, breath, the vital principle, life, soul”), sometimes equivalent to animus (“mind”)

Spirit/Inspiration = Latin - spiritus ("spirit" or "breathing"),

Yoga = Sanskrit - (The Upanisads, Epics, Puranas and Yoga Sutra used the word ‘yoga’ with a meaning of ‘controlling the body, senses, mind and intellect’.)

Breathing, like sleep, is one of the most misunderstood aspects of existence (by everyone, I’m not putting my own limited understanding above others, just sharing what I’ve come to think). Simultaneously obvious yet mystifying. What seem to be prerequisite conditions of existence, taken utterly for granted by almost all of us.

I think they are entwined aspects of each entity’s innate “technology of existence”. Stars inhale Hydrogen and exhale Helium. Plants inhale CO2 and exhale O2. Man (formed from clay) inhales a mixture of O2 and N2 and exhales CO2 and N2. Our body, through literally NO conscious effort, inhales the breath of life, promulgates this motive spirit to every cell in your body, and exhales the byproducts. It also, through likewise NO conscious effort, utilizes the mysterious state of sleep to repair itself, refresh itself, inspire itself through dreams, and revitalize itself for the next day. All of these miracles occurs through NO conscious effort, so what could be accomplished with conscious effort?

As an example, let’s imagine holding our breath as one small aspect of this hidden science/technology. Most people can’t hold their breath for more than a minute or so, but did you know that with a brief amount of practice you can hold your breath for 3,4, even 5 minutes? Did you know that for thousands of years this was common practice among humans living on the coast?. Did you know that some people, like David Blaine, have pushed this to absurd limits beyond 17 minutes?.

Research even indicates that how you breathe can radically affect your health. A disturbing trend of rampant mouth breathing (lol, no not an insult) due to the increased consumption of processed foods has led to a rise in snoring, sleep apnea, asthma, autoimmune disease, and allergies.

What does this return to? The breath, the spirit of life, which is the core of Chang’s Mo Pai, the core of the Tummo Yoga, and the core of Wim Hof’s practice. All three of these are relatively well studied by western science, extremely well documented in terms of tangible effects in respondents, and utterly mind blowing when understanding about them begins to coalesce. These are among the few remaining strands of “user documentation” on the “technology of existence” I referenced above.

As mentioned by another user, hypnagogia, or the thin line that separates sleep from wake, is fundamentally tied to the breath and this hidden science. This is the state wherein you can tap into the same energy source that shapes a fetus from undifferentiated stem cells to a fully formed creature. This state shows up in all manner of weird places when you attempt to understand human existence. In addition to this “source connection” it can be used to induce astral projection, it can be tied to the well documented “flow-state” of certain highly skilled professionals like musicians and athletes. And one may be able to “bootstrap” themselves to versions of this state through certain entheogenic compounds that have coexisted with man since man first woke.

I’d love to say I have things figured out, but the reality is far from that. However I have looked into these practices for a while, and through trial and error have come to some limited conclusions. Among these are:

1. grounding to the earth, either through direct contact (no insulating materials between the perineum and the ground) , or some method of grounding, such as a buried wire run to your root chakra
2. A deep, deep state of meditation is the only productive kind. You could sit “meditating” for one hundred hours over the course of a month, but only spend seconds in the relavent state of meditation
3. Sexual energy, generated by/in/with your root chakra (perineum) and its interaction with your sexual organs, is the fundamental understanding. Like blood, it is not to be spilled lightly.

Unfortunately, due to the miraculous nature of this technology of existence, and its currently unexplained nature, matters are rife with charlatans and lies and deceivers. One must use their own God given gift of free will to discern reality for themselves. I’ve attempted to share some of what I’ve come to understand so far, but I know the only thing I know for sure is how much I don’t know, so please, share anything this inspires you to!