005 – The Breath of Love with Dan Brulé

Visit https://ivonnedelaflor.com/futuring to learn more about how to design your desired futures and receive a futuring journey audio meditation in either English or Spanish.

Recently, I’ve spoken with a mentor figure, an incredible soul-friend, and truly one of the most impeccable teachers of the heart I’ve ever met, Dan Brule.

Dan insists that the heart and breath are connected–literally. The lungs wrap around the heart, and he believes this isn’t an accident.

As we breathe, we’re awakening our hearts, opening them unconsciously. Just think of what we could do if we had mastery over this process.

Our ears are what people think of as the listening organ, but there is an art to listening with your heart. Dan explains this idea is good because we focus on our heart while we breathe, consciously living alongside a natural connection.

He also notes that this divine connectedness (a mother figure) doesn’t always communicate through our mind. She whispers through our heart, through our emotions. For Dan, the divine “mother” is an intelligence reaching towards us beyond matter.

 

The art he speaks about is a practice. When you consider an object, don’t just look at it—breathe it in. As you listen, don’t just listen. Breathe. And the same goes for touch.

This is the stuff of magic and miracles. When the outer breath (air) merges with the inner (spirit) that is when something awakens inside us.

How can one approach this themselves? Unlocking this potential in their own lives?

The answer, Dan says, is to approach breathing with a specific attitude. We must bring a specific quality to our breath that will unlock this power, a secret that the breath itself holds.

He tells me this secret: the breath is a thread. If we follow this thread, it will lead us to the well of life within us.

Dan further explains that everyone already embodies this philosophy of connectedness. We’re all one. It’s the shared experience of breath that literally connects us. Everyone, from the moment we’re born until we die, are living together in this bubble of air wrapped around Earth.

He believes every great spiritual teacher spoke about the breath at some point. Now, it’s time to embody those principles the learned masters understood.

When we breathe, we take those spiritual principles in hand. Whether we know it or not, it’s a simple practice that is done by shifting your mindset.

Dan asks, “What would you like to create in yourself? He continues by asking us to focus on this question as we breathe. In our minds, we are now taking part in a spiritual creation process.

A bit more on this teacher of mine, Dan Brule lives in Baja Mexico. If you know this area, you’re familiar with its arid, tropical climate. The desert soil is hard and packed down. When it rains here, the water just washes along the surface.

However, if you turn the soil, when it rains, the earth readily drinks up the water. This soil “turning and loosening” is relaxation.

Hence, Dan says that by combining breathing with relaxation, we can absorb the “water” or spirit. Without relaxation, our minds are like the desert soil, closed to the life-giving waters.

Dan also notes that we cannot afford hard or feelings. Harboring these unyielding notions will cut us off from the connection to our source.

Furthermore, he explains that this awareness is achieved through meditation and breathwork. The more meditative awareness we bring to the breath, the more we see our minds loosen to accept the waters of the spirit.

This practice doesn’t exclude a secular view either. If the more profound parts of spiritual practice don’t suit you, you can simply imagine your favorite fragrance. As you inhale, put yourself into the pleasure of that moment.

If this appeals to you, then expand further using your memories as tools. Reawaken old moments when someone expressed love to you and breathe in the warm feelings they bring. Feelings of love are never lost to us.
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Moreover, Dan says to reawaken moments of criticism. In their own way, people try to show love through critiques. If we can find the goodness, even in these tougher moments, then your life can drastically improve.

In addition, one of Dan’s early teachers pointed out that even violence is only an illusion. It’s an immature, or even disgusting, manner of expressing love. Warped and twisted though they are, violent acts are usually driven by love.

If we choose love as our lens for the world, then that is what we’ll see. With practice, the choice to turn towards love gets easier and easier. Use the tools of focus and intention setting. Remember, everything is based on perspective.

Dan concludes with breath’s simplicity. Like Occam’s Razor, the simplest explanation is usually the most powerful. Keep in mind to breathe, play with your breath, and pray with your breath.

To learn more about how to design your desired futures and receive a futuring journey audio meditation in either English or Spanish, visit https://ivonnedelaflor.com/futuring

Sofia Montero
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