Here is how the story begins:
Chapter 1. SPIRITUAL ENCOUNTERS.
Silence. In your breath, I will find you.
As darkness fell, Lily sat in bowed silence in the medieval chapel at La Verna in Italy.
She didn’t smell the sweet scent of the calla lilies and white roses decorating the nave or see the beauty in the sacred icons in the stained-glass windows. Her mind was firmly imprisoned in the past.
The fingers of her hands were white with cold when the nun materialised in the stone doorway as if from thin air.
Dressed in a white tunic that swept the ground, she moved soundlessly toward her. From a distance, it appeared as if she was floating a few inches above the floor.
Her hands were hidden beneath the long flowing sleeves of her habit, pressed against her slender waist decorated with a simple belt of black woven wool. Her face was masked by a long black veil.
Lily stumbled to her feet. She didn’t know how long she’d sat there; she’d lost track of time. Perhaps she was coming to tell her the chapel was closing …?
Two wet trails ran down her cheeks, evidence of her grief, and embarrassed, she roughly rubbed away her tears.
I’m sorry. What…?
The nun raised a finger, urging her not to speak.
At first, she thought she heard the sound of the wind outside before realising the nun was saying her name.
Lily… Li…ly…Lil…ly…’
She knew her name! It meant fertility despite her childless life since the loss of her newborn child, Ruby, a beautiful baby girl with emerald eyes and golden hair, ten years ago.
I need to tell you…Change cannot happen without upset and disturbance. It’s vital you go inside, to a deep place of peace that rests within us.
Her words were like gentle caresses.
But Lily flinched as if she’d been struck. How did she know about her upset and disturbance? What could this stranger know about the sadness she carried? The sorrow she’d lived with for so long…
A familiar wave of suffocating black grief rolled across her chest, making her gasp. The day she gave birth to her child may have been a decade ago, but the grief was as fresh as the day she’d held her for the first and only time in her arms. Her heartache keeping her separated from the joys of the world. Her barren life was a sorrow to bear. How she ached to hold that tiny girl…willed her still heart to beat…
The nun was metres away now. Her face shielded behind her habit. A sense of urgency in her voice.
I can give you the knowledge to
access a place of peace. A gift you can then share with others.
But who are you? Lily’s voice trembled. No one knew she returned each year to this place to remember her child whose life on Earth had been snatched away far too young.
‘Sister Miriam.’
‘How do you know my name?’
The nun laughed, sitting down next to her on the wooden pew.
I know you well; I’m here to guide you.
Lily frowned, puzzled.
The woman was so close she could make out her face, a grey shadow behind the lightweight cloth.
I’m your spirit guide. Here to reveal to you the secrets of life on Earth.
Are you ready?’
Lily nodded slowly.
Then I’ll begin.
Our breath holds the secret of birth, life, and death on this earth plane. We take our first in-breath when we’re born and the last out-breath when we leave.
In between our first and last breaths lie the deepest secrets of life. Sit in meditation, be aware of the breath through your nostrils, going in and out. In the breath, you’ll find the secrets of what you need, not what you want.
Lily focused on her nostrils, the air tickling the end of her nose.
After what seemed like an eternity, Sister Miriam spoke again.
‘Become aware of the pause between inhaling and exhaling. In that pause, allow yourself to enter the stillness where there’s peace.
‘Lose yourself in your inner world. Focus on your inner peace. In just a few moments, a shift in perception will take place.
The peace between your breaths is where we connect. It can offer you so many gifts.
Lily looked away for a second. When she looked up, the woman had vanished, leaving behind a musky scent of sweet roses, like an invisible trail of petals, as the only proof she’d been there.
For the briefest, sweetest of moments, the iron hand of grief clamped around Lily’s heart had gone, and she felt calm, uplifted.
In the emptiness, she could have sworn she felt Sister Miriam’s warm breath against her ear.
In your breath, I will find you. In your prayer, I will answer you. In your devotion, I will accompany you.
The wisdom imparted to Lily reveals that compassion, kindness, and positivity are essential for achieving tranquillity. It illustrates how meditation fosters inner peace and heightened awareness while revealing the interconnectedness of our souls across time and space. We learn that we can overcome fear and alleviate suffering by embracing and celebrating our capacity for love, generosity, compassion, and humility.
Lily’s story serves as a metaphor for our own struggles and experiences in life—reflecting both sadness and joy, suffering and awakening, and the myriad mysteries and wonders of being human.
Ultimately, this narrative encourages us to channel our energies toward hope and promise, guiding us on the path of awakening. We learn to live life more fully and awaken to radiance.
In this book, the Author shares his practice of Peace between Breaths meditation to awaken our minds and our hearts to the infinite intelligence of the Universe:
How to connect with your spirit guide.
Before you go into meditation, recite this message from Sister Miriam:
‘In your breath, I will find you.
In your prayer, I will answer you.
In your devotion, I will accompany you.’
Take a deep breath. Hold for a few seconds.
Let your breath out and release all negative emotions.
Bring your focus to the tip of your nose, and be aware of your breath coming in and out. Feel the subtle sensation of your breath as it moves in and out of your nostrils. Simply observe the nature of your breath.
Connect with your breath and maintain that connection. If you lose your connection and become distracted, gently bring your focus back to your breath and re-connect. Be patient with yourself.
If your mind distracts you with a thought, don’t engage. Once you accept that your mind’s function is to create thoughts, you will find that your distractions fade away.
Continue to be aware of your breath coming in and out.
Observe the gap between your in-breath and out-breath. Stay in this gap slightly longer. There is no tension as you continue to breathe normally. You will notice that your out-breath is just a little longer than your in-breath.
As you enter this gap, it becomes more pronounced, and you are now experiencing nothingness. A place where there is neither life nor death, a place of complete bliss.
As your awareness becomes more nuanced, you can observe even the moment within the moment in the peace between your breath.
Keep breathing with awareness for a few minutes.
Bring your breath awareness to your heart. Breathing in and out of your heart. Feel the heart expand as you breathe in and contract as you breathe out.
You have travelled to your heart from your mind. There lies peace and love. There, you will find answers to anything you need to know. Wisdom. Clarity. Divinity. It all comes from that place.
Observe the gap between your in-breath and out-breath. Stay in this gap slightly longer.
Keep breathing with awareness for a few minutes.
Ask with a sincere heart, and it is in this gap between your breath where you will connect with your spirit guide.
Have no expectations. The spirit connection will take a form and a way that is unique to you and within your capacity. You will be given what you need and not necessarily what you desire. Have faith and trust, and you will know. You will feel a deep peace and joy in your heart as you connect.
Listen to your heart, and you will hear your inner voice speak, which will guide you on your journey.
By Feroze Dada
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