If you don't feel lonely...

I know a man with a long, long beard and white turban who looks like a wizard. Every now and then I take his yoga class and he says something profound that I have known all along. He just says it in a way I can hear it.

"If you don't feel lonely, you are not paying attention. All human beings are lonely because we are separated from God."

Oh my. Can I ever see it now. Loneliness is part of the human existence. No matter how many people and how much love surrounds you, there is still loneliness. Sometimes people can stay busy and distracted, but eventually, if you pay attention, you'll feel lonely. If you don't realize that is a longing to be at one with God... Well, when that happens, most of us reach out for something outside of ourselves to fill it, when what we really need to do is reach in.

In the past, I have been that person who looks for the keys that are in my hand. But the last few years I have been on a mission to use the tools that I have, and the most precious and powerful of them is the breath. Our breath is the thing that connects our spirit and body. It is what makes a living soul. It has been said that God "lends" us our breath. So even though I want to reach out for my cell phone or for physical affection when I feel a sense of loneliness, I have started to reach in and breathe deep. As I do, I open the connection with God and, not surprising, I no longer feel lonely.

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As today is Mother's Day I am thinking about the other side of this too, like how our Heavenly Mother feels, being separated from us. It must be difficult to say goodbye to your children knowing you might never live with them again. And I think of my daughter--when she was in my womb we were one. Even after she was born, we shared an aura for 3 years. But now she is older and separating more, but whenever she wants to, she can always come back and lay her head on my chest and hear my heart beat. She especially likes to do this when we are in the pool, which is like a giant watery womb. She pops her thumb in her mouth and her breath slows down. This is her conscious connection with a mother who is flesh and blood and close by. I am glad I am physically alive and near for her to do this.

So I suppose if there is any loving logic in the universe, Heavenly Mother is just as close by, waiting for me to deepen my breath and tune in to the strong and steady heartbeat of the universe.