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Reflection

The Gift of Breath

 Los Angeles Province

The Los Angeles Province Fall DESIGNS magazine will be in the mail soon! The theme this season is “The Power of the Present Moment.”

Many of our sisters and associates sent in beautiful reflections of their experience with how to get into the present moment. We were not able to fit all these pearls of wisdom in the magazine, so we are highlighting them here.

Joann Heinritz, CSJ

This one is from Sister Joann Heinritz, CSJ:

The Gift of breath: Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk, had a sign over the entrance to his doorway:  “You have arrived.  Enjoy breathing!”

             +Conscious breathing, also known as breath awareness is practiced in all the world’s great spiritual traditions.

                  +The key is simply to be present to our breathing, using our inner attention to follow our inhalations and exhalations as they take place by themselves. 

            +My favorite practice:  Breathe in through your nose. When you’ve comfortably filled your lungs, take a second, deeper sip of air to expand your lungs as much as possible. Then, very slowly, exhale through your mouth until all the air is gone.

            +Reflect: I am a breathing being, alive right now and right here.  Let me feel the mystery and the miracle of my breath and my life!

~Sister Joann Heinritz, CSJ

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Category: Reflections

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The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet are a congregation of Catholic sisters. We, and those who share our charism and mission, are motivated in all things by our profound love of God and our dear neighbors. We seek to build communities and bridge divides between people. Since our first sisters gathered in 1650, our members have been called to “do all things of which women are capable.” The first sisters of our congregation arrived in St. Louis, Missouri in 1836, and we now have additional locations in St. Paul, Albany, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Japan and Peru. Today, we commit to respond boldly to injustice and dare to be prophetic.

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