XII--The Hanged man

The yogis and the Buddhists and the Taoists and the martial artists spend a lot of time talking about the breath. We call it pranayama in my tradition, and it is a powerful science that alters the brain chemistry and the hormones, creating a euphoric body/ mind feeling which allows you to escape the physical confines and travel.

Where we go, nobody knows. And I am sure if you asked 1000 yogis you would come up with a 1000 answers. But there is a universal consensus that using these techniques gives you time and space to let go of daily humanness and hang out with your more universal self. It is a suspension of doing and a place of being.

Some techniques focus on altering the depth of the spaces in between inhale and exhale. If you take a moment to notice, you will find that at the top and bottom of your breath there is a micro-moment where you are neither inhaling or exhaling. You are in “the space of immortality”. There is a bated stillness. If you allow yourself to slip into these still spaces, you will find that there is a great peace to be had. In my opinion, this is one reason why so many breath techniques focus on manipulating these exact spaces—they become the gateway to experiencing your spiritual self on a very tangible level.

The Hanged Man is a representation of this phenomenon on a macro level. If you look, you will see a man hanging upside down, roped to a suspension log, with one foot behind his knee. This could be an extremely stressful place, but this individual does not look disturbed at all. He has chosen to be here. He has moved into the center place between all opposites and is in delighted suspension.

Time means nothing here; only presence. Purpose means nothing here; only presence. Challenge means nothing; only presence. Presence in the experience of the bated stillness inside the moments between moments.

I had a teacher once who often taught what is known as the “minute breath”. Inhale 20 seconds, hold 20 seconds, exhale 20 seconds. Its hard. But once you find the rhythm and your body adapts, you can make it through that long retention with a fair amount of grace. But then he switched it up and moved into Inhale 20 seconds, exhale 20 seconds, hold the breath out 20 seconds. And let me tell you, that external retention is something you just never forget.

It is not only hard, it is confrontational. You find all of the places where you want to cheat and you try and game the system. You do almost anything to make it through those 20 seconds, mentally kicking and screaming like a spiritual toddler. And then he says, “We do this so that we understand that we can, and to know that right now, you are not going to die.” And like that, the space opened up. I’m not going to say that it became easy, but I can say that I moved into it with a willingness, a presence, and a grace.

Because the fact of the matter is that we are all going to die. At some point, it is going to happen. So you can spend your life chasing round, trying to pretend like you never have to dance with death and that your body and your life will never ever change. Or. You can take your moments and enjoy the present moment and the opportunity to look at this moment for the gift and grace that it is. Odds are, right now, you aren’t going to die. But you never know, so how about we make peace with the possibility and relax into what is right here, right now.

As simplistic as it might seem, this simple understanding raises your consciousness, and your ability to be one with spirit. It is a banishment of common, root fear, and an acceptance of the eternal mystery—and beauty—of a mortal life. You only have this one moment.

Are you going to be stressed out about it? Or are you going to be in it?