Living Behind Your Breath Obooko

LIVING BEHIND YOUR BREATH
The Art of Being Alive
by
Hugh D Perry
69 Helferty Road, Palmer Rapids

Ontario, Canada K0J 2E0
hugh@livingbehindyourbreath.com
www.livingbehindyourbreath.com
author of
SILENT PARTNERS
an eco-spiritual adventure
Copyright 2021
All rights reserved.
Accredited excerpts accepted with notification to
Hugh D Perry
with author, medium and date
•
Living Behind Your Breath
The Art of Being Alive
•
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
ISBN: 978-0-965953-3-6
•
Edited and formatting by Susan Pearce
Cover image by Reid Zura
Cover concept design by Marcel Lafleur of Fifth Wave
Cover design layout by Iryna Molodecky
Cover critiquing by Andre Gendron
Illustrations by Hugh Perry
Printed by Willow Publishing, Brighton Ont.
Self published by
Dedicated
in gratitude
to
Robert F. Kennedy senior
for showing me,
as a 10-year-old,
the value of
good will
(the full story is shared in acknowledgement)
and
to
my friends for
their lovingly supporting my vision;
Mike, Elise, Marcel and Helen
and a special thanks to Manon
for polishing the content.
Thank you all.
This is an authorized free edition from www.obooko.com
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However, you are welcome to share this free e-Book with others in its present form.
Table of Contents
Dedication ..................................................................................................................................................... 4
PREFACE ........................................................................................................................................................ 7
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 9
PART 1 ........................................................................................................................................................... 1
We Live Outside Our Self .......................................................................................................................... 1
Losing Soul Connection ......................................................................................................................... 3
Best Version of Self ............................................................................................................................... 6
Intrusive Thoughts and Aura Accounting .............................................................................................. 8
Absence of Love .................................................................................................................................. 13
Losing Yourself to Your Story ............................................................................................................... 14
Awareness of Breath ........................................................................................................................... 16
Self Imaging ......................................................................................................................................... 20
PART 2 ......................................................................................................................................................... 22
Becoming the Observer .......................................................................................................................... 22
No Thought ......................................................................................................................................... 23
Antidotes for Anxieties ........................................................................................................................ 26
Nature of Harmony ............................................................................................................................. 28
The Human Playground ....................................................................................................................... 30
Sliding Scale of identity ....................................................................................................................... 33
PART 3 ......................................................................................................................................................... 38
Grounded Soulfulness ............................................................................................................................. 38
Flavour of Soul .................................................................................................................................... 39
Eye of the Storm.................................................................................................................................. 44
By Grace .............................................................................................................................................. 46
PART 4 ......................................................................................................................................................... 50
THE BREATH............................................................................................................................................. 50
Healing Breath..................................................................................................................................... 51
Holding Presence ................................................................................................................................ 59
The Pause ............................................................................................................................................ 64
Sensing your Place in Space ................................................................................................................ 66
Visual Presence ................................................................................................................................... 70
Presence in Motion ............................................................................................................................. 74
PART 5 ......................................................................................................................................................... 77
Soul Signature ......................................................................................................................................... 77
Higher Self ........................................................................................................................................... 78
Soul Archetypes .................................................................................................................................. 80
New Living Economy ........................................................................................................................... 83
Affirmative Action ............................................................................................................................... 84
The Power Triangle.............................................................................................................................. 85
Human Harmonic Orchestra ............................................................................................................... 87
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................... 88
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................................................. 90
ABOUT THE AUTHOR................................................................................................................................... 91
PREFACE
In early August of 2006, I was leading a small group of eight family members on a three-
day canoe trip down the Madawaska River through 35 km of Canadian wilderness. Mid-
way into the trip we reached a narrow portion of the river where the recent August rains
had turned the river wild. I felt the invitation to challenge it. What followed next directly
led to the creation of Living Behind Your Breath.
The first wave flipped the canoe and the force of the water on my back drove me into a
rock eight feet below. At the point of impact, my Soul leaped out of my body and watched
from behind as my chest gave way to the force of the impact. Then it quickly returned
and I was able to make it to the surface before my heart stopped.
As I floated through the remaining rough water to the foot of the rapids, my friend swam
out to rescue me. But I had already left for another world. I had returned home to a
comfortable, loving place that I knew was my home and I wanted desperately to remain.
But it wasn’t my time, I was being returned to my body. I fought with every ounce of
willpower to remain in this spiritual realm, but after three hard fought attempts, the
physical reality began reforming around me. The energies holding this natural world
together were quickly forming into trees, clouds, rocks and water. In seconds the familiar
fabric that I knew so well, reconstructed itself and I was back in my damaged body.
There was no way of getting me medical help for we were a day and a half from our
vehicles with no cell service to call in an emergency helicopter. We were on our own with
approximately 15km of canoeing remaining and many rapids to navigate. I had many
broken and cracked ribs, my sternum was caved in, my blood pressure very low and my
heart had shifted. My task was to stay conscious and keep moving.
Fortunately, ten years previously in 1996, I had learned the art of breathing to control
thoughts, which meant I had control over fear and other anxieties. That allowed all my
energy to be acutely focused on each breath. That night, the Breath became my best
friend. In through my nose, out through my mouth over and over. I still had two more
days before getting help. Each breath delivering clean healthy energy and oxygen and
each breath taking the edge off the pain.
I pushed the group to keep paddling late into the day, so I could spend the night in a
trapper’s small abandoned log cabin at the edge of the river. My night was spent sitting
inside on a picnic table, in the company of mice running back and forth along the logs.
I concentrated on pushing my distorted chest back into place and eventually my sternum
lost its concave shape. For the first time, I was talking to my ribs like a parent would
lovingly ask a child if it needed help. Each breath was an effort, yet each one allowed me
to take another, then another. Two days later, in the hospital, I was told that my left lung
had collapsed and my chest was filling with fluid.
It was there on that picnic table, with the mice all around me, that I realized there was
one thing in my life I had not fulfilled. Throughout my life I have been psychic. I
approached everything with curiosity, was actively engaged in activism and had fully
immersed myself in metaphysical studies for nine years. I had so much to offer, but did
not feel complete. I had not spoken my truth to the extent I knew I could.
I sat teary eyed, thanking the universe for this opportunity of a new life, to complete that
one all important part of myself. I would finally speak my truth fully. I just had to survive.
In the months following, I began a workshop called Feeling the Silence, but struggled
with confidence speaking in public, so it didn’t reach many. I had written an eco-spiritual
novel entitled Silent Partners and still I felt I was holding back from being my best.
Something inside was sabotaging my efforts.
Then two years ago, in Todos Santos, Mexico, during a discussion group called, Heart 2
Heart1, a major blockage was released. The topic was Shame; I thought I had none. It
turned out I was mistaken. There was a lifetime of shame locked up inside due to having
dyslexia. My solar plexus erupted and waves of emotion were released and 1I was finally
free. As of that day my fear of speaking and giving voice to my truth disappeared and I’ve
been able to get on with my work ever since.
So, I offer here the distilled version of a lifetime of metaphysical learning, along with a
series of themes that I use in my webinars and live presentations on the subject of this
book. The night before each talk, I ask the universe for insight in how to best present the
concepts for the group that will attend. Each morning, as I lay in bed, a new theme plays
out. I turn on the light, grab a pen, journal and begin writing. Each one has been a perfect
fit for that group. These insights eventually became the chapters in this book. I do hope
there is a jewel in these pages that is perfect for you.
1
Rhoda Jacobs leads the discussion group Heart 2 Heart in Todos Santos Mexico
INTRODUCTION
Living Behind Your Breath brings us back to an awareness of being in our body, in control
of all that we do. There is no thought involved. Instead, we become aware of the glorious
feeling of being alive, able to look out at the world from our heart core. It is all about
knowing who is doing the looking and having the experience.
To arrive in this beautiful place, we take control of intrusive thoughts that no longer serve
us and transform them into freedom to create the life we know we want and deserve.
Controlling thoughts brings us back in the driving seat for moving forward with the
confidence of knowing that our actions are contributing to the betterment of all.
We can achieve this by acknowledging that certain forms of anxiety suck the vital life
energies out of us and because of deep rooted causes they continue to occur over and
over again. But we can change that. We are about to become confidently empowered to
transform non-serving thoughts into moments of presence in the calm of our Now.
These moments of presence can return the body to its natural design, which allows
consciousness to rediscover the flavour of its Soul. The joy of being in harmony offers a
future where consciousness and Soul are aligned as one identity. As we experience the
gift of soulfulness, all our emotions, thoughts and actions become creative expressions
of a balanced heart, a centered Self. Each are a gift to the world and contribute to the
collective efforts to turn human focus from separateness to oneness.
Most of the inner work toward this goal has already been achieved by generations of wise
elders who pioneered paths into conscious awareness.
You are being invited to adopt the simple act of using the breath for dealing with any and
all challenges moving forward. It is like putting your whole pay-cheque in the bank and
letting it constantly grow in value. There is no wasted energy when Living Behind Your
Breath, for it all becomes part of a new Love based economy.
The Living Behind Your Breath guidebook is your copy, do chart your progress, make
comments and carry it with you. It doesn’t have to be read in sequential order, just let
your intuitive Self lead you through the pages. We have lots of copies for your friends who
you believe may have excessive brain chatter, unwanted thoughts and generally do too
much thinking. The world is engrossed in an illusionary world of thought without
feelings from the heart, the Soul. This is holding the wellness paradigm from
downloading solutions to important problems. So, let’s continue freeing up the global
unconscious so new ideas will present themselves for the good of all.
LIVING BEHIND YOUR BREATH THE ART OF BEING ALIVE 1
PART 1
We Live Outside Our Self
You are not
your thoughts
your emotions
your consciousness
your story
your mind
your body
your ego
Instead
you are Soul
here
for a rich
human
experience
Every idea put forward, and every object created, originated as a thought. The formation
of those thoughts involves energy being drawn together, similar to how vapour in the air
gathers to form water droplets. When we combine thoughts, we give them structure that
eventually manifest as a physical object that can be walked around, used, driven, lived
in, taken apart and converted into different forms of energy like heat or light. All of this
from a series of thoughts. It shows the beautiful power that thoughts possess.
As we gain a sense of how much energy supports a single thought, we are motivated into
gaining full control of them. Our physical world is a construct made up of centuries’
worth of thoughtful visions on how to survive, individually and as a collective. All the
influences of culture, social, genetic patterns and personal beliefs are a culmination of
multiple thoughts.
Even though each of us live within our own thought construct, it takes only a single
thought of a past event to shift our consciousness completely out of awareness of where
we are and what we are doing. Thought has the power to not only create current realities
like the one we are living today, but also the power to remove us from that reality and
into a previous construct. Thus, the saying, “we go where our thoughts go” or “we live
outside ourselves”. Taking control of where we go with our thoughts can lead us out of
the past and into an unexplored presence.1
Humanity needs to end the cycle of uncontrolled thinking and reclaim its rightful
harmony with Soul. Every member in our family awaits the arrival of our authentic self.
So does our neighbour. Each of us awaits to be greeted by another with full attention, full
presence of being and with love. We have the tools to shift from intrusive thoughts and
other forms of unproductive thinking and into a soulful awakening. The process is easier
than you think and it is all spelled out in these pages.
1
In Jim Carrey’s first interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, he said, “Being in hell is time travel ...” “Pain is your
body calling you back into your body - come back, be happy" 02/14/20 interview:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVopJsv_cU
Chapter 1
Losing Soul Connection
A baby knows only soulfulness and a parent recognizes this in how their own emotions
come alive, as the love energy flows freely between themselves and their child. Family
and friends marvel at how great it feels to be in the presence of a baby; as it smiles, kicks
its feet or touches their skin. This is the baby’s Soul, radiating its essence, providing the
observers a glimpse of how Love feels and looks.
The child quickly learns how their expressions draws attention from the family. Soon
that excitement becomes emotional food for the child. It recognizes that its physical
actions draw more attention and affection than does its silent Soul. Thus, reacting to
external stimulus takes over and the child gradually forgets its soul’s presence. It is in
this way that Soul participation in the child’s life begins to become shielded.
In the following months and years, Soul’s explorations into the objective reality will be
shadowed by the need for the child to dedicate itself fully to the challenges of survival.
Soul will find itself taking a back seat in the human experience and eventually
consciousness will have forgotten the feeling of a Soul-full existence.
Many of us recall mystical events in our youth that later were filed as imaginings. Some
of us played with invisible children, or befriended plants, animals and even rocks in ways
we wish we could do now.
I recall merging with a pet rabbit at the age of 3 1/2 year’s old. Dad bought me a rabbit
and in those days all pets remained outside. He built a wire cage for it, lined it with straw
and placed wooden boards on the top. During the day I would crawl over the top, fall into the
cage and sit with my rabbit. In evening at dusk, I would be put to bed and quickly fall asleep.
Soon I would find myself in my rabbit’s cage, not in my body, but in my rabbit’s body. I looked
through its eyes, felt the warmth of the straw beneath me, the movement of its fine hairs in the
cool evening air. It happened so frequently that when I woke in the morning I no longer knew if
I was dreaming I was a rabbit, or I was the rabbit dreaming it was Hugh.
One morning, I went to my dad as he sat reading the paper and crawled up onto his lap
and asked, very seriously, “Am I a rabbit?” I learnt then that there are some things a child
just does not share with an adult. I believe that many children have such experiences and
learn quickly that it’s better not to tell.
Eventually, the Soulful child gets buried amongst the many events of life. The child grows
and deals with the challenges the best way it can, despite the absence of the parental
guidance they so desperately need. The global world echoes an even more depressing
reflection of the absence of internal Love. When you look back on your youth, are you
aware of times when you were being unknowingly guided?
For those of us lucky to have had a good share of loving support, the feeling of Soulfulness
is close to the surface, and with a little tweaking it keeps regaining strength. You may
have been re-born into Soul through what is referred to as a “wow” experience, an “ah-
ha” moment, a re-awakening, a re-birth, or a near death experience. Often such
breakthroughs in Soul reconnection are related to a life-threatening experience, like
mine, where survival skills were about to fail. At those moments consciousness dips back
into its memory files to that powerful moment of birth, before the light of Love became
a mere glimmer.
That was the old paradigm. A new global narrative is shifting from aggression to
sensitivity, from sensation to creativity, from narcissism to empathy, and from
judgement to acceptance. This is setting the stage for less external identification, more
internal soulfulness and birth of creative change. Good parenting comes in many ways
including knowing the differences between sympathy and loving discipline, being able
to minimize sibling envy, encouraging living close to the heart and self-expression.
This graphic display is intended to exhibit how the lack of Soul participation crusts over
Soul, caused by common human challenges. However, each challenge offers opportunity
for deeper growth.
HOW SURVIVAL NEEDS SHIELD THE SOUL

Our mindful community is gaining understanding of how fear, conscious or

unconscious, along with unhealthy customs and beliefs, are over shadowing Soul
expression. Global survival dictates the need for soul identification in all decision-
making and communications.
Chapter 2
Best Version of Self
All living things

strive
to be the best version
of themselves.
It is an
evolutionary principle
that Nature
has perfected.
Even a dying flower

strives to show its beauty.
Despite our failures

we never cease striving
to shine as best we can.
Nature’s design exemplifies perfection and all life is subject to the principle of becoming
the best version of itself. We witness this in the colours of bird feathers, the disguising
shapes of fish, scents of flowers, diversity of plants, movements in flocks of birds and
schools of fish, microorganisms and formations of galaxies.
The human race is subject to this principle of evolution as much as any other form of life.
Despite the lack of global awareness, it is comforting to know that we cannot avoid
improving. From the universe’s perspective, the amount of time it takes to achieve
change is irrelevant, because evolution is a process not a goal. Whatever stage of
awareness humanity is at, it has no option other than to improve, even if no progress is
evident.
Some people passionately hunger for new growth and new understanding. They hunger
for the richness of new experiences, for being of service, for shining their light and
sharing joy. In those moments, they are living Soul-consciousness and they know it.
A flowering plant that encounters an obstruction to sunlight will stretch and bend until
it achieves its goal of being in the light. Even if it dies in this effort, it never ceases being
the best version it can be. We are the same. No matter how down we are, how hopeless
our efforts, how much bad luck, one thing remains constant; we are unable to avoid
striving to be better. Even those who choose to escape this life, do so as a means to avoid
what is not working. They act in hope of an unknown solution.
You may not be the best you you know you could be, but you are making the attempt,
therefore that is your best. Your Soul is showing your potential. Knowing you are striving
to be the best version of yourself is an inescapable part of Nature. The same holds true
for humanity. Too much thinking is our primary stumbling block. Understanding this
gives us a huge source of strength as we actively seek growth and change.
Chapter 3
Intrusive Thoughts and Aura Accounting

We Go where our Thoughts Go
We live
Outside Our Self
in the
realm of
thought
as
Consciousness
shifts
from the space
you are in
to
a fabricated
reality
outside Self
Soul
is calling you back
to play
in its real
world
Thoughts are created by gathering images from our memory files that match the
constant inputs from our senses. Each are fabricated into structures that suit the mood
of the moment. We only experience the end result as we get shifted around from one
fabricated structured thought to another.
Most often the final structure is the same file that was played out yesterday and the day
before. We are told that we use only 10% of our brain capacity. What we are not told is
that the remaining 90% is found by connecting with Soul. To access any portion of that
we need to stop brain chatter. As Michael Singer2 says, brain chatter is like, “living with
a roommate that just won’t shut up”.
What a noisy brain does, is remove you from the now that your body is in, while your
conscious awareness is somewhere else, playing with past memories, or caught up in
anxiety. This is called; “living outside Self ” and it’s not a healthy state to be in. Michael
Singer also described this in an interview on Super Soul Sunday, “Hi are you in there?
Who is that who is in there being aware?” A simple example on how we live outside
ourselves, while doing other activities is to recall situations where your body is
performing one act, while you are totally oblivious to those actions.
For example, when you leave work, fully intending to stop at the grocery store on your
drive home. You pull out of the parking lot with a clear intent for where you will stop, for
you have taken this route many times. However, in what seems like the next moment,
you find yourself turning into your driveway without any recollection of having passed
by the store. You might even question how you got to your destination so quickly.
Why?
Because you were engaged in thought!
Where was awareness in those moments?
Not in the car!
The essence of you, your consciousness, vacated the vehicle, vacated your body and
shifted into the electrical circuitries involved in the thought process. You left your host,
the body, and slid into a memory; where the ‘I’ voluntarily got caught up in fantasizing,
or planning, or melodramas or some other form of thought entertainment. In this
example there is no difference whether those thoughts were enjoyable or not, but you
choose to pass the time engaged with them. I say ‘choose’, because we do have the option
to end most cycles and Living Behind Your Breath can provide that level of freedom.
Meanwhile the brain, being well trained in performing the repetitive task of driving a
vehicle along the well-known route, proves its capability for getting you home even
though you were absent. The brain is well equipped for multi-tasking and can easily
entertain you with an array of past events while auto piloting a vehicle.
2
Michael Singer author of The Untethered Soul, New Harbinger Publications/ Noetic Books (October 3, 2007) &
The Surrender Experiment, Harmony Books (June 2, 2015)
Driving is a good example of how we entrust our life to the brain as we ponder events
that are happening outside the present time frame. When such thoughts carry anxiety,
like someone having made an unkind gesture to you, your anxiety would show up in your
driving temperament and you might get angry at yourself for passing the grocery store.
As Jim Carrey puts it, “Thought is responsible for the suffering we experience.”3
Awareness:
Awareness is what we live with constantly. It pulls in all directions, motivated by
circumstances and our degree of discipline to either be in or out of control. Awareness
provides the only possible evidence that we exist. That awareness says that we are feeling
an emotion, seeing objects, hearing, feeling and tasting. Awareness says “ ‘I am doing
this or that’, ‘I am thinking this or that’, or ‘I am feeling a certain way and wanting certain
things.’ ” Awareness signals when we are hungry, in pain, uncomfortable, sad, or when
we know we are confused. Awareness highlights our preferences and allows us to know
that we like sunsets, the rain, making love and red wine. We are aware of our creativity
and of our beauty. We are aware of sensing other people’s emotions, and that we can
expand sensitivity to finer frequencies of Love.
3
This is the title of Jim Carrey's video:
www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2791836467563684
All moments of awareness make up the screen of our own movie, providing evidence of
our existence in this life, on this planet and in this reality. In essence, awareness is all
that we can lay claim to. It is being who we know ourself to be, what we are and what we
have experienced in the past, what we are experiencing now and what we are projecting.
It is the Self being aware that it is alive and what state of emotion it is in at any moment.
The location of that Awareness shifts in time and space based entirely on where we
choose to focus our energies. In our driving example, you shifted awareness out of your
body, from behind the wheel, out of the car, off the street and relocated it in a different
time and location. It can be said that the ‘I’ who is being aware, followed thought to a
place separate from where the body resides. You followed it to where your thoughts took
you. For a few minutes you lived outside yourself, absent of driving a car.
When it comes to shifting into unwanted thought, like anxiety, it can be compared to
being willfully kidnapped. We become both the victim and victimizer to our own lack of
well-being.4
However, the emotional impact of any real-life experience, no matter how insignificant,
leaves an energy imprint in the realm of time that it occurred. As we move away in time
from that event an energetic link remains, which acts similar to a rubber band stretched
between two points. The rubber band is always under tension to pull us back. That is one
way of explaining how we are unwillingly pulled back to relive previous experiences.
Those memories are also locked in our cells and nervous system, making it even more
challenging to control. The process differs in each case, yet all can be corrected with love
and discipline. More on that in later chapters.
One way of changing this polarizing effect is a process of weakening the elastic pull by
being in the present moment more frequently. When doing so, polarity is reversed and
past events are pulled into the realm of the Now where understanding, forgiveness and
Love are found. The Now becomes the stronger of the two and past events will eventually
lose their strength and possibly disappear.
Exercise # 1:
Aura Accounting - Where is your energy spent?
Consider the motivating value of having an aura read-out of where you invest the wealth
of your energy over the course of a week. If you were doing a financial review on your
investments and you discovered that one area was losing money, you would quickly put
a hold on those losses.
We are now talking about losses and gains between emotional discomfort and happiness.
A change now will pay enough dividends for you to live comfortably for the balance of
your life. So, let’s get started.
4
Dr. Joe Dispenza explains in the, Power of Thought, “THOUGHT = EMOTION = OUR REALITY”
• Do your Aura Accounting right here in your guidebook

• You need six (6) different coloured markers of any variety
• Assign a colour to each of the following headings
• The exercise shows six possible areas where we invest.
Below are examples in brackets of suggested colours.
• Colour in the area where most of your energy went in each day.
1. Anxieties, such as frustration, stress, worry, fear (black)
2. Energetics, such as dance, music, creativity (red)
3. Organizing such as planning, finance, research (yellow)
4. Spirituality, such as yoga, meditation, reading (green)
5. Homesteading, such as family, Nature, animals (blue)
6. Trauma, such as memories or current sadness, loneliness (grey)
AURA ACCOUNTING
Exercise #1
Anxiety Energetics Organizing Spirituality Home- Trauma

steading
Sun.
Mon.
Tues.
Wed.
Thur.
Fri.
Sat.
As the day progresses, or at the end of each day, record your primary investment of
energy with an associated colour for that activity. At the end of the week take a picture
and look at it often or return to this page. Take notice of where most of your energy was
invested in that given week. Keep this as a record and in three months do another Aura
Account and compare your profits and losses.
Chapter 4
Absence of Love
Emotions
are the
language
of the
Soul
When trapped in emotional dilemmas, no matter how insignificant, we have a tendency

to look for the cause in external events, for example, if someone said, “I wish you hadn’t
cut your hair”, you might take offence. A dialogue might begin in your head like this,
“why did they say that? Is my hair really too short? I thought I looked good, maybe they
are mad at me for some other reason?”
The cause of your emotional discomfort is not what they said, but rather that they said it
without Love. Had they approached you in a loving way and shared their feelings
differently, they would have commented on how good you looked with long hair and
shared why. Had they shared their thoughts in Love you would have comfortably received
their comments without hurt and remained in harmony.
Such actions are generally unintentional, but the mark of emotional hurt is real. The act
is not as dramatic as a slap on the face or stealing your car, yet the emotional pain can
persist and drag on as the confusion worsens. While we are caught up in the emotions,
we have removed ourselves from the natural stability that exists in our core Self.
The reason it hurts beyond logic is because the person acted towards you without Love.
That can take you to a place where Love does not exist and into the realm of hurtful
thoughts. Therefore, all anxieties happen in the absence of Love. Those emotions are
reminders from the Soul that you are not in a good place.
In the absence of Love there is automatic emotional pain and loss. All disturbing
emotions are a message from Soul saying, “Come back to Self and live from this place.”
The Living Behind Your Breath approach is all about getting out of your head, abandoning
focus on thought for resolving problems, and instead living from a place where problems
are less apt to occur. Learn how to utilize the Breath to bring consciousness back to living
from a place of Soul fulfillment.
Chapter 5
Losing Yourself to Your Story
We owe it to ourselves to take pride in all our accomplishments for they reflect how we
set goals, how we discipline ourselves to achieve them, how we organize and make our
dreams become a reality. Dreams, like our career, business endeavours, home,
recreation, family and friends, all play a part in building our credentials. There is lots to
celebrate and be proud of. Everything we do and think makes up our story, even what
could be perceived as failures such as: I should have, I could have, and I didn’t.
However, we lose ourselves to our story when it becomes exclusively both the foundation
of our existence and the reason for living. Excessive self-identification with external
reality leads to a total separation from our true essential nature, around which our story
is built. The Subject in our story is - You, the Self the Soul, who is having an experience.
Our story is not the Self any more than when we read a book, we are not the book.
We lose ourselves in our story when we depend on it for basic happiness. This leads to
acquisition of objects, increased workload and a restricted social life, which causes
additional anxiety and creates disharmony.
When a person over identifies with their credentials, it becomes obvious to any good
listener that their credentials are the meaning of their life. Their whole expression of self
amplifies what they have done, the courses they have taken, the people they studied
under and know. They are, however, generally a valued source of information, because
they know so much. However, their personal challenge is to look beyond credentials to
the source of their passion for knowledge.
Similarly, there is the tendency to build an identity around our failures. If we fail to see
failures as just another part of our story, no more important than our successes, we lose
the beauty in having made an effort. When we begin identifying with being our Soul, we
acknowledge the value in learning as much or more from what doesn’t work as what does.
Even in this conscious-raising community we may face a challenge called, the ‘Impostor
Syndrome’.5 It takes the form of denying our credentials, which stalls us from owning
and sharing our wisdom. When I wrote the book Silent Partners,6 I did not understand this
and fell victim to feeling like an impostor. I believe many more could have benefited had
I accepted my story for what it was.
5
A psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments and has a persistent
internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud.
6
Silent Partners, (2001 Living Space Press) www.soulhaven.ca & https://www.obooko.com/free-general-and-
literary-fiction-books/silent-partners-hugh-perry
Conscious recognition of our Soul creates Soul-full-ness or Soul Consciousness, where

peace and happiness reside. Once self-identification is harmonized with Soul, we begin
to compose a new narrative that highlights the greater well-being of Self in the world it
is part of.
The Living Behind Your Breath approach is a tool for reinforcing the feeling of being inside
the body, in harmony with all aspects of Self, including accepting our entire, incredible
story.
Chapter 6
Awareness of Breath
We have all experienced how one concentrated breath releases us from stress. How often
have we witnessed someone or ourselves totally stressed out and you or a friend saying,
“Just breathe. Take a deep breath.”? Then we witness the stress dripping from the body
as shoulders straighten, head rises to the sky and then with another deep breath we say,
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
The Breath is such a simple weapon to offset challenges and yet it remains hidden by its
familiarity, similar to how the power of being in the moment is hidden. Eckhart Tolle
often explains how the Now is not the calmness, it is the silence behind the calmness.
It’s what everything else is built upon. The breath brings us back to the Now, to where we
reside waiting for all aspects of consciousness to regather so we may be whole again, free
from the distractions of the objective reality7 of our own making.
Being Present:
It is near impossible to occupy an intrusive thought while at the same time feeling and
hearing the air entering your lungs. It is in that singular instant of freedom from a
thought that the pleasure of the moment resides. One more conscious breath builds on
the first and the second and by the third your time spent in the Now is long enough to
launch you in a new direction absent of previous intrusive thinking. Your next activity
comes with an awareness you can get nowhere else.
The ever so slight difference in perspective places you in the driver’s seat for what you
are about to choose next, not just in action, but more importantly from a place of
knowing who is about to act. As you step forward into that action you feel the difference
being present makes and you instinctively know that there is so much more awaiting you.
The Breath does not eliminate the cause of your anxiety but it temporarily empowers you
so that eventually you will unravel the underlining cause of your anxiety.
7
Rupert Spira, The Nature of Consciousness, June 2015 - Introduces the value of being aware of the Subjective
reality of the Self vs the Objective reality outside the Self
Being present, is being in the Moment. It is the Now, for it only takes a moment to
distinguish the difference between being there and not being there. It is in the present
moment that we discover Soul. Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist leader, while speaking on
Oprah said, “When the present moment has peace, joy and happiness, the future will
have the same”.8
Eckhart Tolle9 said in a presentation, “… compulsive thoughts … and auditory perception
happen against the background of stillness. Sound is nothing but the background. It is
always there, lost in a surface world while the background world is absence.”
8
Thich Nhat Hanh www.plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh
9
Eckhart Tolle www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBISYSQjpUg
Chapter 7
Self Imaging
A projected version of Self
It is in our nature to create images of ourselves, according to how we want others to

perceive us. At the same time, these images protect our vulnerabilities. Self-image exists
as an energy body that is strong enough to be felt at a distance by others. It is designed
to either invite or repel. It can project confidence, humour, caring, even anger or self-
pity. It reflects how we want to be perceived and is often referred to as our masks.
Picture a light bulb reflected on a mirror and its reflection is like the image we allow
ourselves to reflect to the world. We can either dim the reflection or colour it any way we
want, but it remains a reflection and not the source, not the source of our inner light.
Most people create a self-image designed to match the best social expectations of society.
Some even strive to be as good as those same images, which may lead them to living a
life of never being good enough.
To become authentic is a huge challenge. The goal is to reflect the truest version of
ourselves that we have access to, no matter how imperfect. To identify our own self-
image that we project, ask yourself these questions and record the result right here in
your guidebook.
Self Imaging
yes no
Exercise #3
1 Do I lose sight of who I am when in the

presence of others?
2 Is my body language revealing aspects of me

that I am less familiar with?
3 Am I the same person I show to the world?
4 Does my self-image differ from the person I

am when alone?
5 Can I differentiate between another person’s

honest expression and the image they want
me to see?
Self-imaging is the creation of an energy body that we present to the public and extends
in front of us approximately one metre or more. It may say that we are more confident
than we really are, more joyful or caring. It can also project anger or pain or conceal
both. This unspoken message might say: Trust me, or I need help, or stay away. It truly is
an energy body that can be seen by some and certainly felt by all, for it is the mask we
wear in public.
It can often be an exaggerated sense of perfection that we have of ourselves to ensure
that others experience an imaginary best version of who we are. That imaginary best
version of self is based on our instinctual knowing of what we are capable of. It shows us
how we would be, were it not for all the obstacles. It is formed by Soul, silently planting
images of our potential and supporting values. Following this guidebook can make those
images real in your everyday living.
Self imaging is another example of how we move our inner awareness away from our Self
into a fabricated reality outside our self, when we interact socially.
When two people are attempting to communicate it is often the energy of the masked
self image that bounce back and forth between them. Deep level connections are denied,
because very little is coming from their hearts.
However, when we approach someone with whom we feel safe, we drop our masks and
our vulnerable self shows itself. It extends in front of us as an invite for them to connect.
For a moment, both parties pause just long enough to take note of what is really
happening. That pause gives necessary space for each to adjust and allow an energy
dance to begin. Such connections are to be treasured, for they showcase the beauty that
Love can generate between two or more persons.
PART 2
Becoming the Observer
In the early years of my spiritual journey, I sought out as much sensational mysticism as
the universe would provide. Even though I already lived in both realms I was determined
to explore even more, like UFOs, moving energy and exploring other dimensions. Living
in an Intentional Community with approximately 200 like-minded people, surrounded
by natural beauty, free of social demands and with an abundance of Love, provided me
the ideal setting to explore consciousness to the extreme and we did.
However, after nine years, our group was getting a little too much air between our feet
and the ground. We were losing touch with the reality of the time. We had gone beyond
what was of current value to the world. It was time to come down from the mountain,
return to the reality we left and test our wisdom in a harsher environment.
Returning to a conventional way of life allowed me to realize, the hard way, that the goal
of spiritual growth is not to escape earthly challenges by exploring where our Soul came
from and where it will return to. Instead, I was here to master being my authentic self,
amidst the challenges of everyday life. The old saying, "Have eyes on the stars and feet
on the ground" and "Have eyes wide open" took on new meaning.
The wonderful experiences we are graced with along our challenging journey, provides
both encouragement and reward for our commitment. As we proceed into deeper and
deeper understanding, we eventually reach a pinnacle of knowing. Enlightenment is
when we achieve the best version, we know our self to be. Recognizing that we have
arrived is as clear as knowing we are in Love. It defies logic. It just is what it is!
After the thrill of realizing we are at our best comes a time to pause, reflect on where we
came from, absorb the richness of the moment, laugh a little at the simplicity of it all and
bathe in the glory of knowing our life is perfect. Soon we are ready to take on the next
challenge of moving through harsh energies with grace.
Chapter 8
No Thought
A local radio station in Ottawa, Canada, had a daily 1pm talk show and on one particular
day in 1967, there was a woman being interviewed about psychic phenomena. It was my
first evidence that I might not be alone in my secret world of mysticism. It was a workday
and the office activities caused me to miss the address of an Open House that evening.
The radio station did not know the address where the talk was being held, but I was told
that the speaker, ‘Mrs. Winifred Barton’ would be on the air again at some point.
I was so keen to meet like minded people that I insisted on our small office listening to
that 1 o’clock show every day. Exactly one year to the same date, she was back on the air.
I attended her presentation, gave my $25 for the ten lessons in Personality and Psychic
Development and have been observing life from a metaphysical perspective ever since.
Eventually my spiritual journey led me and my family to sell everything in 1976 and join
other families, where we converted three weekend retreat centres into Intentional Living
Communities. That was the beginning of my nine years of full immersion learning in
metaphysics under the label, I AM, Institute of Applied Metaphysics.
Eight years later, while still with I AM, I was living in one of the nine Yurt cabins we built
on a hill in the forest. Early one morning I left my Yurt, walked along the narrow forest
trail, down the hill to the central service building and into the cafeteria. I was looking
forward to sitting in the quiet space with a cup of chicory and maple syrup coffee. Seldom
was anyone awake at that hour, but on that morning, Pierre Levesque, sat alone at a table
sipping juice. Pierre was about five years younger than myself, however he was an old
soul, who understood the workings of energy better than anyone I have met since. To
speak with him privately was both a privilege and intimidating for his sensitivity to others
left no room for being anything other than one’s authentic self.
On this day, I was in top form and riding high on good emotions, so I confidently and
lovingly asked to sit with him. He recognized my good energy and I sat. We played around
with casual talk until he stood to leave. With no good-byes, he turned and gave me his
drilling gaze and casually said, “I function without thought”. My response was non-verbal
doubt. I was stunned at such a ridiculous statement, for everyone knows we can’t
function without thought. On that day, I lost respect for my spiritual mentor, and we
never spoke again.
Fourteen years later, I was motorcycling in the USA through the Catskill Mountains. I had
just left the Ithaca Eco Village1 when suddenly a vision of Pierre appeared across my
mental screen as I rode. I looked into his burning dark eyes and heard him repeat with a
grin, “I function without thought”. Then the vision disappeared, and my heart pounded
1
Ithaca Co-Housing project at www.ecovillageithaca.org
with pleasure and shock. That evening, while on the phone with my partner I shared the
story and she said, “No wonder he appeared to you, Pierre died today.”
Immediately, I interpreted his visit as a challenge between two evolved beings who
enjoyed exploring uncharted territory. Was it possible to function without thought or was
he leading me to understand something totally different? I had to find out.
I was a couple of days into what would amount to a five-week solo journey around North
America without a cell phone, no schedule, and no particular place to go. What an ideal
time to test myself. I needed a basic plan that would allow me to limit my thinking. My
plan included that every evening I would sketch a large map of the main roads and likely
routes to take the following day. I would tape this sketched map to the top of my gas tank.
All I had to do was glance down as I rode and take note of highway numbers. The only
other thinking required was to find places to eat, gas up, camp and I could ride, ride, ride.
The balance of the time I replaced my tendencies to think about anxieties, memories or
planning by simply enjoying my freedom. Enjoying the rumble of the engine, the wind
across my face and body, the odours of fields, flowers and trees, and the ever-changing
scenery. It would be a meditative experience that most riders refer to as their ‘escape’.
For the next 24,000 km I seldom dwelled on a memory, worried about the future, doubted
the next day, entertained concern for my safety, dwelt on expectations, contemplated a
need for fulfillment or questioned my life’s purpose. Each evening I journaled, every
morning I recorded dreams and meditated in mid-afternoon usually on a park bench or
along a body of water. All conditions were ideal for this challenge and all in all, life was
perfect. What followed was completely unexpected.
My sensitivity to my immediate environment became extreme. People’s unconscious lost
hope was obvious. Small villages were revealing, either emotional wealth or poverty.
Larger centres screamed out their enslavement to the illusions of consumerism. Rural
areas were draped in sadness from being raped of nature’s goodness. However, there
were also areas where Nature was allowed to breathe, untouched and its beauty radiated
in every way.
My aura began expanding in all directions. I visually saw potential dangers around
corners prior to arriving there. Eye to eye connection with animals, wild and
domesticated, was so natural, as though they knew I was about to arrive. As the miles
piled on, man and machine became one and no corner was too sharp, no wind too fierce,
no human threat unmanageable. The Zen of Motorcycle Mechanics2 was being realized.
After five weeks on the roads of the USA and Canada, I had proven Pierre’s statement to
be correct. He was not crazy. Humans can definitely be active, organized and can safely
function without thought. My next challenge was to keep it going when I returned to work
and living a relatively normal life. For the following ten years I observed how I dealt with
various challenges, documenting my reactions and developing methods and techniques
2
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig, 19
that would enable me to duplicate the experiences minute by minute, challenge by

challenge. Motorcycling around the country was no longer needed to escape thoughts.
First, I was led to identify the obstacles, then question habits and the beliefs around the
intellect. I observed the feelings resulting from not thinking and how lost energies can
be converted into positive growth. I was already spiritually aware and conscious and now
I was living the benefits of being present almost all the time. Yet there was still the
question of how heart and Soul are designed to work together with intellect. There was
so much yet to explore and so divinely pleasing to continue defining.
Eventually my eco-spiritual novel Silent Partners was written, which told the story of how
the two main characters were capable of being heart centered while taking global
environmental challenges seriously. They were examples of living in the Now and being
actively engaged in social change.
Then came the workshop, Feeling the Silence, which proved that the concept of no thought
could be taught. A student in the first workshop was graced with an experience he likely
will never forget. A female student stood in the middle of the circle with the book held
tightly to herself with the cover hidden from view. She was sharing a story contained in
the book and as she spoke her back was to him. Yet he was reading the cover. Suddenly
he clued in that he was reading right through her body as though the book was behind
her back with the cover facing him. He was stunned and immediately logic kicked in and
doubt began questioning. His heart center was wide open that day allowing him to see
through the thin veil we call reality without interference. He received what his
consciousness needed most.
Another twelve years passed before Living Behind Your Breath was born in Mexico in 2019,
with the help of friends who graciously participated. Once back in Canada, opportunities
began presenting themselves, and the need for a guidebook became evident. After a year
of live and webinars presentations, the themes of each are consolidated into this
guidebook.
Chapter 9
Antidotes for Anxieties
When our emotions are stirred up by past memories, or anxieties, they consume almost
100% of our attention. Nothing else exists except that we are out of harmony with our
normal desirable self. Most often, we attempt to figure out our way through these
emotions by asking. "Why do I feel this way", "why am I reacting" and "what caused them
to be so mean?"
But thinking our way out of anxiety is impossible, because the brain doesn’t understand
emotions. Emotions are not logical, and the left side of our brain is pure logic. Not so
with the right side. It introduces new ideas and is more apt to counsel us to breathe,
breathe, breathe… and so we do.3
All forms of anxiety have their roots in our history, both pain and joy. However deep
trauma cannot be healed by Breath alone. The hurt goes too deep and it’s best to have a
professional guide us through it.
TYPICAL ANTIDOTES FOR ANXIETY PATTERNS

The Antidote is found within the Breath
EMOTIONS CAUSE ANTITODE

Frustrations Disharmony Balance
Stress Demands Calmness
Worry Doubt Trust
Trivia Boredom Appreciation
Expectation Fear of Missing Out Acceptance
What if - Situations What if +
Disappointment Failure Growth
Anger Injustice Change
Confusion Wanting Allowing
Fear Threat Knowing
Sadness Rejection Love
3
According to The Mayo Clinic, (Breathing Technique) relaxation techniques such as breathing have both physical
and mental benefits, including reducing the activity of stress hormones.
Choose an anxiety that is inflicting you the most and bring the antidote to life by using
awareness of Breath. (See part 4 - The Breath). After you have finished the book, return to
exercise #4 below and reflect on how your new understanding of Breath has transformed
some of your anxieties into strengths.
As your identification with Soul strengthens, falling back into these emotional patterns
will be like returning to dance with the devil, when compared to the thrill of being
soulful. There is value in visually seeing a reflection of how you deal with this typical day
to day challenges.
Chapter 10
Nature of Harmony
It is a basic right for all humans

to be happy,
as it is for all living things
to be in harmony
This is the nature of

Love
and
the nature of
Harmony
Harmony is a natural state in Nature, which is part of the reason it has a stabilizing effect
on us. Humanity owes disharmony all to itself. There is a growing realization of how
engaging with Nature, in a deep and meaningful way, cures not only emotional disease,
but also physical diseases like terminal illnesses. They refer to the need to be in Nature,
as ‘Forest Bathing’.4 Just as important are the studies of Biophilia,5 which shows how even
visual pictures of Nature have a positive impact on our health and daily well-being.
Harmony is more than an emotional state, it is a physical need that our body is unable to
survive without. Illness is an indication that the cells and organs are out of harmony, thus
pain becomes the language of the body. It communicates which parts need attention.
When thought occupies our focus we are unable to hear the subtle clues that are being
provided. But when pain becomes the voice, we can’t escape the body’s message. The
Breath will diminish the anxiety associated with pain and bring harmony back to us
before serious health issues arise.
I have great success in preventing colds and flues by using the breath. When I recognize
one coming on, I will lie quietly and breath in healthy energy through my nose and
exhale the harmful conditions through my mouth. The process takes approximately an
hour and then all symptoms are gone.
When we witness our own capacity to prevent colds, headaches, or joint pain, our
appreciation for the connection between consciousness and body explodes. Suddenly we
4
Forest Bathing is the in term used to describe our need to realign with nature
5
Biologist E. O. Wilson’s, Biophilia, January 1986, the theory suggests that there are evolutionary reasons people
seek out nature experiences
want to work with the body responsibly, by asking what it wants and then finding how to
hear its response. Some people use a crystal hung on a pendulum, while others move
their hand across products, or some simply ask what their body wants.
The Harvard Medical School published a paper on the benefits of deep breathing as a
healing tool. “Proper breathing allows you to tap into one of your body’s strongest self-
healing mechanisms.” The method they suggest is, “As you inhale, try saying this phrase
to yourself. ‘Breathing in peace and calm’ and as you exhale say, ‘Breathing out tension
and anxiety.’ ”6
People are healing themselves in every part of the world by connecting with their
internal strength to coexist in harmony with their body. In every documented case, the
breath is recognized for its healing qualities. A healthy body, combined with freedom
from anxiety, makes a perfect home for a happy Soul.
6
Harvard Health Publishing, 2009 ‘Take A Deep Breath’, www.health.harvard.edu
Chapter 11
The Human Playground
Over thousands of years, Nature has devised methods for keeping all its species in
harmony and alive. When an animal’s life is threatened, it either goes into flight, fight or
freeze. Each of us has a tendency toward one of those survival responses.
In the animal world, once the threat is gone, the nervous system returns to harmony
quickly. An example is the chipmunks around my cabin in the woods. When a dog
approaches, they are threatened and will show their displeasure with nervous
excitement for five minutes. Ten minutes later, they are either sunning themselves on a
branch or socializing with the other chipmunks. Their nervous system has returned to
normal.
However, we humans are different, for we disrupt nature’s ability to bring us back into
harmony, because we like to dwell on fearful stories, just because we can. We will talk to
friends about our near mishap over and over. In fact, twenty years later, when someone
is sharing their story, we long to relive ours. Yet there exists a natural realm of harmony
for each of us. It’s a range of frequencies between the energies of thought and the
energies of Soul. Together, they make up our Human Playground. The frequency of Love
is said to be above 528Hz, referred to as the universal healer energy.7 Meanwhile fear was
tested by the MythBusters8 and found to be at 19Hz.
We have the ability to experience grounding energies that cycle in long slow waves and
the lighter energies that cycle in short faster waves. The latter is considered spiritual and
creative, because for most people, they feel more comfortable than the slower waves.
The harmony line is the ideal place for most of us to be. I call it the Okay line, where life
is going well, not fantastic, but Okay. The bills are paid, the dog doesn’t bark, the kids are
doing well in school, the neighbours don’t complain - all is well. For most people, this is
as good as it gets, but there are very few Wow moments.
The slower frequencies relate to anxiety and intrusive thoughts while the faster
frequencies relate to insight and Soul. This is the full range our consciousness explores,
but the lower frequencies do not support the frequencies of Love and, therefore are not
in the Soul’s Playground.
Love and anxiety do not exist together similar to how ice and steam do not coexist. Their
substances only merge as water, similarly anxiety and Love only are shared by
consciousness. Consciousness has the ability to cruise through all the frequencies while
emotions echo our response to being in each energy band as the illustration below
indicates.
7
Studies conducted by Harvard-trained Science Scholar, Dr. Leonard G. Horowitz
8
The Haunted Hum, 2012, by MythBusters
In the past, religions associated the lower frequencies to darkness and hell, while the
spiritual community called the lower frequencies beta energies that restricted
awakening. These views of the slower frequencies have nothing to do with the energy
itself, but rather what occurs within us when we are in them. We know sadness is a less
pleasant emotion to be in than joy.
For example: Consider a child is happily playing by herself in the living room. Her energy
frequency would be somewhere in the realm of Love. Meanwhile, the parents begin
arguing in the kitchen, which puts their energies down in the lower frequencies. Curious,
she approaches the kitchen and her energy level and vibrations slowly begin to drop due
to concern. Once in the room the parents immediately abandon their self-centered
argument and shift to loving concern for their daughter. Their vibrational frequencies
begin to rise in hopes of saving their child from taking on their own disharmony.
Were the child left to remain in those lower frequencies for hours a permanent memory
would mark the day and time, just like date stamping a parcel. Date and time could be
tracked long into the future and in the case of trauma, it is, and the emotional patterns
remain ours to unravel years later.
Exercise # 5:
Compare the slower range of frequencies in your life to the faster range. Consider which
ones you invest in the most and then check-off how you want your playground to look
like. Return to this page in a few months and compare how well the breath helped realize
your intention.
HUMAN PLAYGROUND
Working with Frequencies
Exercise #5
Check-off which Vibrations you want most in Your Playground
Long, Slow Waves of Short, Quick Waves of

Energy Energy
Thought works well while Soul works well for

for planning projecting
Thought entertains while Soul entertains with

with trivia insights
Thought supports while Soul supports love

frustration
Thought holds us in while Soul holds us in

stress grace
Thought offers fear while Soul offers joy
Desire:
Desire is generally associated to wanting more stuff, but desire for change is a basic
principle of evolution. When we conceive an idea for improving ourselves, creating
personal goals, enriching a family experience, rewriting our business vision, the
universe automatically creates an ideal solution. That ideal solution awaits our discovery
of it. It is ideal in terms of providing the path of least resistance to achieving our goal. It
exists as a potentiality that can best satisfy our desire for betterment. This is how
evolution works.
Finding the jewel that best satisfies our desire means looking into the chaos of unknowns
for the simplest, common-sense approach. This is followed by regularly returning to the
calm to allow perfection to reveal itself. It is a process of being active, while being present
with the beauty of the Calm guiding us.
Chapter 12
Sliding Scale of identity
Humanity has spent a lifetime holding thought in the highest regard, while according
little importance to the value of emotional wealth found in Soulful identification. It’s no
surprise then, that life is as challenging as it is, because Soul isn’t participating to its
fullest.
Consider how having intrusive thoughts is like being in polluted clouds in the sky. Once
you are inside that cloud you are unable to see anything other than its contents. On the
rare occasion that you do get a glimpse of the heavens beyond, you are in awe. But the
void offers nothing to hold your interest, so you return to the comforts of the polluted
cloud.
Most of us live in a place of clouded dilution. We are trained to look with our eyes instead
of through our eyes. When we just look, we see very little. Such is the case with passing
through present moments without savouring the calm long enough to see the immensity
of what is there. When we are accustomed to living in thought we are not free to see more
than the illusions that already exist in our head.
Ego and Mind:

In the Living Behind Your Breath approach, we seldom refer to ego, for it suggests focusing
on the object ego, detached from the Self. The ego generally refers to undesirable
characteristics that we prefer did not exist. We often hear it said, “My ego made me do it”
or “that’s my ego again”. Ego falsely subscribes to our most undesirable social traits like:
greed, aggression, sexual fantasies, or pride. These are human traits that many are
embarrassed to have, thus the trend is to blame something other than ourselves. It is
similar to the religious saying, “The devil made me do it”.
Referring to the “My” in my mind is another example of disassociation between the
subject “My” and the object mind. The concept of mind is limiting and offers little insight
as to who is having the experience. For example, ‘conscious mind’, suggests that the mind
is being conscious. Instead, it is you that is being conscious, not the mind. The My is the
subject of the experience.
It can be argued that the use of the word mind as a noun has served its purpose when we
identify with the subject My as being you the Soul. ‘Soul consciousness’ is more accurate
than My mind.
To stop thinking in terms of ego and mind we need to take ownership for our undesirable
traits and realize that there is no shame in accepting who and what we have become.
When we take ownership of all that we are, we become aware and conscious of our
actions which is awareness or mindfulness.
Sliding Scale of Identity

Exercise #6
Where am I Investing my Emotional Energy? (in %)
I am Consumed I am Soul Focused I am in Harmony

by Thought
Today
In a Month
In 6 Months
Consciousness:
Challenges can be viewed as experiences in the evolution of Source consciousness, for
how we deal with them reflects where we are on humanities’ scale of progress. In terms
of evolution, Nature is the jewel of the universe and there is no greater privilege than
having a human experience no matter how short or traumatic. All challenges are
experiences in the evolution of Source consciousness.
The word consciousness has many levels of understanding, for example:

• Source consciousness, which to some means that there is nothing else;
• Soul consciousness, which refers to Love;
• Individual consciousness which is awareness of being alive;
• Awareness of Soul and Source consciousness and;
• We also have Infinite consciousness and Finite consciousness;
• Then there is unconsciousness, subconscious and being soulfully unconscious.
It’s all very confusing. Here, we eliminate the use of most of those terms and refer to
individual consciousness as Identity. Identity is whatever we are conscious of, which is
everything including thought, pain, joy, Soul, Source, or whatever.
Identity:
The identity is the Subject that is experiencing the object of doing and having. It is what
we choose to bring into our experience. It is all that we do, say, think, understand and
live. Our identity is all we have to qualify that we are alive, in joy, in pain, asleep or in the
cloud of thought.
In this sliding scale example, we use the eye as a symbol of what individual consciousness
identifies with, through our senses, emotions, thoughts and feeling. Identity is whatever
we choose to relate to. In this example, there are only two options, either we relate
primarily to a limited consciousness in the world of thought, or the expanded
consciousness in a world of Soul.
Soul:
Consider Soul as the energy source of your existence, which some call our Heart Center.
According to Dr. James R. Doty,9 there are two sources of thought, the brain and the heart.
Heart thinking, senses energy, bypassing the five other senses. The brain on the other
hand manipulates data into thought received from the five senses.
Here is an example of the difference between brain thought and heart thought:
You see a person standing at a corner in the dark. Their dress, stance, and appearance
look unusual, causing your brain to profile them as being a potential threat. Then your
heart kicks in and lets you glimpse this person’s pain. You realize they are silently
screaming for help.
9
James R. Doty, M.D. is a clinical professor of neurosurgery at Stanford University and author of Into the Magic
Shop. Published February 2, 2016 by Avery
That is an example of two thought sources providing two opposite conclusions, each
serving a purpose when well applied. The Soul thrives on energy flow, so any act or
thought that disrupts that flow cuts off Soul’s participation in our lives, resulting in
confusion, poor judgement and emotional pain.
The Soul is Love or Love has Soul. Each are one and the same. Loving anything generates
a good feeling whether socially acceptable or not. Being aware of doing the loving, is
richer than just loving, because you feel the Loving energy emanating from within your
Self. (Move on the Soul in Chapter # 13 & 22.)
Sliding Scale:
Thought tricks us into believing we are our thoughts, similar to how we accept that we
are our story. Fearful thoughts recreate the same reactions as the original event, which
makes them so real. Reliving such memories can be useful when we read into what the
emotions are telling us about ourselves.
The Living Behind Your Breath approach transforms the energy we invest in intrusive
thinking to becoming fully engaged in living. We accomplish this by learning how to
move into the present moment whenever undesirable thoughts occur by initiating a few
aware breaths. Focusing on a slow inhale and exhale distracts the brain long enough to
escape run-on thinking, or any other unwanted thoughts. This takes away the power that
thoughts have over us and minor anxieties dissipate like vapour, leaving us in a better
place to deal with each cause. The present moment is our natural gift to view our troubled
past with objectivity. Each time we move out of an unwanted thought we immediately
arrive in a place of calm, the Now, the present moment.
The cause of discomforting thoughts may not have changed, but we can approach each
cause, in our own time, as the observer rather than the victim. This doesn’t mean that
the same pattern isn’t going to replay over and over, it simply puts us in a better situation
for maintaining our harmony, so gradually we’ll unravel the mystery. Any challenge is
manageable when it is approached objectively rather than a reactive manner and the root
causes to disturbing thoughts can be reversed using the breath along with other
practices.
Soulful Expression:
As you gain control over intrusive thoughts, you make room in your life, for more Soul
expression. All your actions are creative offerings whether because you smile more, walk
with confidence, are more active, listen better, or are quietly comfortable with your Self.
Your mood uplifts others, makes homemade meals taste special and helps plants grow.
You are already combining Soul with constructive thinking and it is this kind of activity
that the brain is designed to perform best. As a society, we all benefit greatly as each of
us takes control of where we invest our energies.
No matter how challenging our past has been or our present is, we have the power to
shape a future filled with Wow moments. It is all about shifting identification out of the
realm of thought and into the natural realm of harmony. Then with the strength we find
in harmony, view the world through the Soul’s perspective.
PART 3
Grounded Soulfulness
The Soul is the

heartbeat
of our
existence
We came as
Love
we exist as Love
yet
Soul allows
consciousness
the freedom to
explore
all that Love is
and all that
Love
is not
Chapter 13
Flavour of Soul
Soul is your guiding light, your silent advisor, your magnetic pull to do things and to be
in certain places. It is your enthusiasm, your excitement, your awe, your appreciation,
your feeling of gratitude, your sense of wonder, your openness to new ideas and
opportunities, your sense of trust, your lack of doubt, your connection with living things,
your insights, your joy and all your “knowings”.
As far as we know the Soul does not occupy space, even though I use the heart as symbol
of Love and Soul. As we discussed in Chapter 12 under ‘Soul’, the heart has an ability to
sense the environment outside of the body and communicate that information to the
brain, which gives it another attribute of Soul.
The right side of the brain offers similar attributes as does Soul. According to Jill Taylor
a neuroanatomist,1 the right hemisphere acts like an antenna picking up signals from
beyond the range of our physical senses and providing insight, creativity and glimpses
into other realities.
In my own experience I see myself as Soul, not having a Soul, but being aware of myself,
in my body sensing the energies of Love. I can’t do that when I am in my head, therefore
I choose to remain in the Soul’s playground of Love. Gary Zukav 2 refers to this, as the
'Heart of the Soul'.
So many are looking for their purpose in life, yet each person’s purpose is the same - ‘Do
what excites you the most’. Your Soul is not here to save the world, it is here to express its
essence of Love and experience the same from others. Let Love flow in the simplest way
that suits you. Everything thrives on Love and since you are Love, then being Love is all
you can do or be. Leave the heavyweight stuff to Higher Self. Trust that it will find you
when you are ready and guide you in Love.
Being Okay:
Whenever we feel okay or better, Soul is engaged. As previous chapters mentioned,
intrusive thoughts, self-imaging and identification with our story, limits soulfulness. We
have been programmed to believe that to value ourselves we need to be doing and
accomplishing something, while emotions of appreciation, holding space for others and
feeling good are perceived as doing nothing. Yet such values are expressions of Soul and
those expressions fuel all good moments.
1
Jill Bolte Taylor, Stroke of Insight, July 2008
www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_my_stroke_of_ins
2
Gary Zukav, The Heart of the Soul, August 2002
Soulfulness is a personal experience, that carries us along in a warm cuddly feeling,

providing a sense of security, calm and tenderness. It is acceptance without thought,
appreciation without analysis and enjoyment without guilt.
Wayne Dyer3 said in a Hay House workshop, “Soul doesn’t want to be boxed in” or “… told
what to do” and in the movie, The Shift he says, “If you are excited about something, that
is your Soul.” Our rebellious, adventurous nature is the Soul pushing us to allow it to
experience its bliss.
Unconditional Love:
This is not about offering your love to people whose bad habits are difficult to like.
Instead, it is the simple act of giving Love with no expectation of anything in return. No
returning favours needed. It is loving your parents, partner, child, or friend without
expecting anything in return. You love just because you can and some trait in their being
draws the love out of you and you need no other reason. The reward comes in the loving.
Families often display unconditional love amongst each other. For example: one member
has a trait that is annoying, yet over time it defines their personality. As annoying as it
might be, it becomes their signature that causes us to love them even more.
We also want to be accepted, as we are, unconditionally so that our true self can be
comfortable in the presence of others. Without that degree of love our light is dimmed.
The Soul can observe situations where Love is absent, Soul offers love when there is an
openness to receive and Soul can beam Love into the world unconditionally through the
pure pleasure of being alive.
3
Wayne Dyer in the Hay House movie The Shift - June 29, 2009
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEM0SF04Rw4
Insight, Creativity and Joy:

These are true expressions of Soul. Whether you are dancing in the kitchen, being
intimate, jogging along a stream, splashing oil on canvas or listening to opera, you are in
Love with life and in those moments, you not only have soul, you are Soul. But as we’ve
shown, intrusive thought can interfere, causing us to go through the motions in the
absence of the richness that we deserve.
Soul has access to all intuitive knowledge through your higher self, but while in this
earthly form you are not all knowledge. You are denied it until needed aspects are either
sought after for the benefit of your Self or provided for the benefit of others. Higher Self
will guide you to have a glimpse into the unknown when appropriate, as shown in Chapter
15, 'By Grace'.
When the challenges of each day seems too heavy a burden, it’s helpful to remember that
we came from a reality more beautiful than this life and we are returning to that beautiful
reality. We are here in human form for a one-of-a-kind experience, and the survival of
our bliss is every bit as important as the survival of our body. Placing our emphasis on
both brings harmony and makes everything easier.
Connections:
Appreciation for the small things in life are imbedded in the calmness of Soul. Our
attention is drawn by a silent call from people, animals, plants and things to be seen, to
feel their presence and acknowledge their existence. Such awareness is found in the
calm, in the moment of appreciation, in the instant of eye contact and within the space
of a heartbeat. Behind each connection is the simple motion of breathing.
Making Good Choices:

There are no bad choices, even though it often appears that way. Rather, one choice will
feel 'more right' and be smoother than the other. All choices have at least two options and
the selection reflect our sensitivity to claiming the best-case scenario. Even though each
is a unique experience they most often lead us to the same place in terms of getting what
we need rather than what we want.
We are constantly faced with making minor day to day decisions as well as significant
ones including: career, travel, dating, purchases and studies. When we remove the belief
that events occur in sequential order based on time, we can consider how the final
outcome may already exist. The choice we are about to make may be awaiting our arrival
as we step into it rather than create it.
When we trust our instinctual decision-making abilities, we know that we will always
choose what is best suited for us. In other words, standing at a street corner asking
whether to turn left or right, the choice you make is the best one, because you will it to
be so. However, thoughts of doubt sometimes become the challenge.
Consider that the path you take is the best one, even if a dog runs out and scares you, it
is an experience you may not have otherwise had. There are times when we are in a good
place emotionally and something knocks us off course that we should have seen coming.
That is why we emphasize the importance of grounded soulfulness. We know we are in
the state of being, when we’re present and somewhat elevated at the same time. There is
a beautiful, fearless sense of being in control and aware at the same time. Moments like
that is living behind your breath.
However, we are not responsible for circumstances out of our control, where serious
harm is inflicted by others in their absence of Love. In such a case we are the victim of
someone else's poor choices.
None of this make sense while living in an illusionary world outside ourselves. Creating
options was left at the mercy of whatever happens, happens.
At this moment, what is the Flavour of YOUR Soul

Take a deep breath before answering
Exercise # 7
What does being

Ok feel like?
Who needs your

Unconditional
Love the most?
What creative
insight did you
recently receive?
To what degree is
Joy a factor in
your life?
How are you

doing with
connections?
What new
confident choices
are you making?
Chapter 14
Eye of the Storm
The center of a
Storm is
completely
void of
wind
just like the

now is the
calm
in your
stormy life
Our limited understanding of the universe allows us to conclude that it exists as a

dimension separate from other dimensions, that there may be parallel universes, that
antimatter is possible, time may be irrelevant, past and future could occur in the present
moment and it is likely that all of these potentialities exist simultaneously. For anyone
claiming to understand the totality of it all, would be like an ant standing atop a blade of
grass looking to the clouds and claiming factual knowledge on what the clouds and sky
are made of.
Our reality is one of duality, where everything has opposites; life and death, up and down,
happy and sad and so on. Everything we comprehend has beginnings and endings and
no matter how hard we try, we cannot escape our limitations of perception. Therefore,
trying to understand anything other than a dualistic reality is thought to be impossible.
However, we are compelled to share opinions about our relationship with the universe
and how it may work. I use the concept of a storm, like a tornado, to show the flow of
energy that supports our life.
No matter how strong the winds are on the perimeter of a tornado or hurricane, its center
is perfectly calm without even the slightest movement of air. I know, I have been in one.
While riding a motorcycle through Kansas, I drove into what they refer to as a grounder;
a 20-mile-wide storm with winds of approximately 60 mph that never rises high enough
to achieve a funnel. I rode through its exterior and into the center where the stillness was
eerie, as though all Nature was on alert. Then I rode out of it, crossing its outer band of
winds, fierce enough to keep lifting the front tire of my motorcycle off the asphalt. Once
again, it was not my day to die.
Our life is like this, full of strong emotions with winds coming at us from nowhere,
broadsiding us with pain so deep we wonder how we will survive. Then, by sheer
willpower we find ourselves free, exhausted from the effort and needing some tender
loving care. There are also those occasions when life seems so perfect, we wonder why
it isn’t that way all the time and we become committed to doing whatever is necessary to
hold onto the bliss, but the warm comforting breezes dwindle, and we return to our
normal life.
This analogy is common for many of us. What is valuable to remember is that whether
we are in the slower vibrations of anxieties or in the faster frequencies of love and
inspiration, the now is riding right along beside us, totally within our reach, never
showing itself until it is found. When most religions state that God is always with us, they
mean that the power of the present moment is there for us, just like the calm in the eye
of a storm is equally present from top to bottom.
The Present Moment provides calm, support, comfort and safety. Whatever revolves
beyond the calm is unable to disrupt its presence. It remains completely untouched by
events as life swirls by, whether we are overwhelmed with shame or flying high in
creative ecstasy. The eye of the storm is equally calm at the top as it is at the bottom, just
as the Now is steadily available to us within a heartbeat and how a single breath can pull
us out of the storm and into the eye of our own storm. The breath provides a neutral zone
of harmony where potentialities lay beneath the surface of calm waiting to be claimed.
Chaos and Simplicity:

Whenever we take on a challenge to create, plan, organize or build, whether for ourselves
or in business, we engage our intellect to pull pieces of the puzzle from all sources from
what we already know and from new research. Eventually we gather a mix of information
from which to work with. Although at this stage the pieces are unorganized, and in a
somewhat chaotic disorder.
Buried in the chaos of ideas is the thread of simplicity extending through all the
information we have gathered, through all the possible scenarios. To follow that thread
will expose the very best possible option. Just like the calm in the eye of the storm, the
thread of simplicity resides, waiting to be discovered. It is wrapped in intellectual threads
of information that need to be viewed objectively.
Chapter 15
By Grace
If you feel
alone
ask
your Self
“How often has my path
been
made easy?
How great did that

make me
feel?”
Let’s
map out
those
wonderful moments
Once consciousness experiences more than external reality, it wants to know more and
thus the journey into self-discovery is ignited. That journey may begin with a phrase in a
book, a word spoken, a moment of appreciation with Nature, a tragedy, a mind-altering
drug, a hug from a friend, a dream, a voice, or an ah-ha moment. It is then that the search
for the missing clues in our life begins.
The journey involves tremendous discipline, whether with a group of like-minded
travellers or on one’s own. Either way, it remains a solo discovery of the inner Self. In the
early stages we get extraordinary acts of kindness in the form of guidance from our
Higher Self. Everything from that point is new and takes an otherworldly appearance
that might be mystical, insightful and beyond imagination. It’s filled with waves of love
and appreciation.
We refer to this stage as the Grace Period, for in this cycle we need encouragement to
continue our exploration along a path that generally conflicts with what we know about
our Self, our culture and our world. We are made aware how things really are rather than
how they appear or are interpreted by others. The illusions of life become exposed and
our beliefs are shattered. Throughout this stage of our journey, we need as much loving
guidance as we can get. Fortunately, it is there for us until we reach the stage of being
free from our past beliefs and habits.
Eventually, we graduate. The grace period of guidance is over and we re-enter the world
with new understanding and perspective. We are on our own to source our own inner
strengths, answer our own questions, and create our own realities. It’s a form of spiritual
maturity that calls on applying all that we know about ourselves, how energy works and
how best to live our purpose.
At this stage of the journey, all needs for sensation, credentials, gratification and
manifestation are replaced with the inner knowledge that we are in the right place, at the
right time and it feels good. We have arrived and are now in the driver’s seat of a destiny
of our own making.
For some, it can be a frightening place, for suddenly any small cracks in our
understanding become crevices that need to be crossed or closed. Yet a rediscovery
occurs, that shows how all the answers are inside and always were. In the past, we were
not strong enough to go it alone.
Here is an exercise that puts it into perspective to confirm that you are in the right place.
This exercise is designed to help you avoid falling into what is referred to as spiritual ego.
BY GRACE
Exercise # 8
1 On letter size paper, turned sideways, draw a horizontal line

across the middle of the page.
2 On the far left, write the year of your first awakening

moment.
3 On the far right, write the current year.
4 Place marks for each year or groups of 5 years, in between

the two points. If it was 20 years there would be 21 marks.
5 Now, close your eyes and go deep inside your emotional

body. Recall each moment in your life where Love handed
you what you needed most. Those might be the dark
moments that were followed by insight and change. Indicate
what year that occurred.
6 When that is done, record the emotional impact that each of

those moments gave you. Indicate the intensity of the
experience.
7 This chart indicates your historical moments in terms of

your spiritual awakening.
Spiritual Ego:
Having reached a point of connection with one’s spiritual self comes the responsibility
to exercise our potential. For some it’s a scary challenge that can result in a
misinterpretation of having fallen out of grace and into failure. Some then adopt
disciplines requiring even greater effort, like long hours of meditation, periods of silence
and extreme fasting. Such disciplines have value at certain periods of growth, but there
are gentler forms of discipline, more harmonious and aligned with natural rhythms.
It is sad to witness one develops a spiritual ego, for these beautiful beings choose to
continue looking beyond themselves for greater mysticism. I am told that in Buddhist
monasteries, one Monk is assigned responsibility to protect another monk from
considering themselves not yet aware enough, when they actually are.
You now have a record of how and when you were led by the Grace of your own inner
council. Give thanks to yourself, your Higher Self and to Soul for being silently patient
with your human process throughout past years.
PART 4
THE BREATH
Becoming
Instinctually Soulful
Breath
is the
Doorway
to
Soul
Soul
is the
Porthole
to
Source
Awareness of our Breath brings us back into the Present, that place where Love resides,
quietly awaiting our return. Repeated visits build a conscious link to the Soulful energies
that we are.
Soon, unloving actions from others that caused hurt and confusion will be transformed
by empathic understandings. Thoughts that revolve around daily disturbances are about
to be replaced with an untouchable calm. Amazement of our own beauty will pour in
from all directions. Reflections of our impact on the environment will become an
advanced, experiential source of learning.
All these good things occur, not directly because of the Breath, but because we are aware
of being behind our Breath. Consciousness becomes conscious of itself being conscious.
Chapter 16
Healing Breath
Practice #1
Yoga Method of Breathing:
Practice 1A
We are not designed to breathe by expanding our chest in and out. The natural way is by
expanding and contracting our stomach muscles. Watch how your pets breathe and you
will visually see the difference. What led to this change in breathing incorrectly may date
back to 1500 in Italy, upon the introduction of corsets for women. India on the other hand
is the birthplace of Yoga which maintains the correct way dating back to 2700 BC.
Our diaphragm is positioned below the lungs attached to the rib cage. When it rises, it
compresses the lungs forcing air out and when it returns flat the air is drawn in. The
stomach muscles naturally perform that cycle. As we push those muscles out, the
diaphragm flattens, giving maximum space in the lungs and as we pull the stomach
muscles in, the diaphragm is forced upward, pushing the air out.
Expanding the chest on the inhale works against the diaphragm’s efforts to flatten, as
does tightening the chest muscles while exhaling restricts the diaphragm from rising up.
Our typical chest breathing is unnatural and is accredited to much of our shoulder and
neck pain.1 This is due to unnecessary tensing on those muscles resulting in strain placed
on the nervous system due to working against the body’s natural design.
Here is a basic exercise in learning how to breath correctly:
1
Faulty Breathing Patterns Can Cause Neck Pain, by Therapydia, June 21, 2017
BASIC YOGA METHOD OF BREATHING

Practice 1a
1 While sitting straight with eyes open
2 Push out your belly and inhale to the count of 4+ heartbeats
3 Pause
4 Pull in the belly and exhale to the count of 4+ heartbeats
5 Pause
6 Keep practicing for a least 3 full breaths
7 Return to normal breathing continuing with the method
8 Now stand, take 3 breaths, and begin walking normally

maintaining this breathing rhythm
9 Tell yourself that this will be your new default way of

breathing
The Four Count Method:
Practice 1B
Various methods of breathing are used to satisfy an immediate demand for greater
potential, for example: increasing strength, keeping warm, removing stress, improving
clarity, eliminating uncomfortable thoughts, maintaining balance in stressful situation,
extreme sports as well as in all forms of yoga and meditation. In Living Behind Your
Breath, we use a simplified version for our exercises. It requires the least amount of
thought and is easily learned, because it is close to being natural.
It is based on 4+ counts on the inhale, a pause and 4 counts or more on the exhale, a
pause and 4+ counts on the inhale and so on. Each count is timed to your heartbeat,
which is more easily felt with the yoga system of using stomach muscles. The pause is
the brief moment prior to the air flow changing direction. No counting necessary. When
the air begins to flow again, follow it for 4 or more heartbeats. Simple! You can choose
your own method of breathing through your mouth, your nose or back and forth between
both. Whatever is most comfortable. There is no precise way to do this. It is more
important that you find a comfortable rhythm. It is all about making things easy and
requiring minimum thought. The basics of this method is used in all other exercises.
Gaining Control Over Intrusive Thoughts:
We entertain ourselves with an abundance of non-constructive thinking such as: fantasy

wishing, trivia, complaining, dialogs, melodramas and other forms of ruminating.2 We
are told that we only use 10% of our brain capacity and the other 90% are thoughts that
repeat over and over. This means we are investing 90% of our potential capacity in
random thinking. What is not talked about is how the 90% capacity is not found in the
brain, instead it is released by awareness of our instinctual ingenuity that lays dormant
behind awareness of the Breath.
Example: You have chosen to be present and ten-seconds in, a thought comes up. “Did I
turn the light off before I left home”. You try again and another thought arrives about the
time your sister left the heat on when she was in Mexico and on and on. It’s the haunting
story of our lives. As an experiment, test yourself and see if you can go more than 15
seconds without an interruptive thought.
Generally, thoughts fall into four categories: doing, planning, complaining or

remembering. Collectively, they are either constructive or intrusive, but what is most
important is being in charge of our thinking instead of thoughts controlling us. In
general, when we have that control, constructive thinking is synced with spontaneous
inspiration, thoughts of complaining provide reflections of how we react to events
outside ourselves. Past memories, both loving events and hurtful ones can become less
distracting when we decide when to have them. Using the Breath on varying degrees of
trauma can bring us back to that place of calm, which allows us to be in a better place for
coming to terms with the cause.
So much of our anxiety is the result of repeatedly returning to the same memory. If we
are hit by a bus eventually our body heals. Yet, each time we think about the event, we
get hit by the bus again and again. That process of repeated memory creates patterns in
the brain. Addictive chemicals are released upon each repeated recall. Anything can
trigger the repeat of the event and those same chemicals are again released.
2
The Center for Creative Leadership article entitled, “Ruminating - The #1 Reason You Are Stressed...”
Transforming mild cases of

BRAIN CHATTER and UNWANTED THOUGHTS
Ideal for quick escape
Exercise # 9
1 Catch your-Self in the act of this unwanted thought
2 Take 1 or 2 breaths and become centered in Self for a brief

moment
3 If you fall right back into thought, focus on an object and

follow with aware breaths
4 If the thought and emotions continue begin breathing through

your mouth, this way:
5 With your mouth open, breathe in through your nose and out
through your mouth
6 Place the tongue on the roof of your open mouth, then breathe
in through your nose
7 Lower your tongue and exhale through your mouth
8 Practice the tongue motion until this method is an easy default

in moments of need
According to Dr. Lara Boyd, a neuroscientist at the University of British Columbia,3 the
brain also learns from the absence of learning. In other words, it learns to lose its
excitability through lack of challenges. Yet, since we are designed to be in harmony and
be the best version of ourself, these lost patterns can be re-introduced. According to Dr.
Joe Dispenza4 who talks frequently about the brain’s ability to be rewired; that healing
process can begin with awareness of Breath.
3
Dr. Lara Boyd, Univ. of BC, Ca.
www.languagesciences.ubc.ca/people/faculty/lara-boyd
4
Dr. Joe Dispenza - Becoming Supernatural, 2019 www.drjoedispenza.com
Dealing with Shocking News:
When we live through a stressful event such as a death in the family or being told our
partner is leaving, the Breath naturally brings calm to our nervous system. Initially, the
news is so powerful we can’t think, but eventually our body reminds us that being so
upset is not healthy. We need an immediate escape to help us get back to being almost
normal. We know that we can better deal with the news from a place of calm. This is
when we initiate slow deep breaths, repeatedly until we can say, “I’ll be Okay”.
Dealing with
SHOCKING NEWS
Exercise # 10
1st Take a deep breath with eyes open and focus on any object
2nd Breathe deeply, in through your nose and slowly out through
your mouth
3rd Continue with deep breaths until your heartrate returns to

normal
4th Take a few more long slow breaths until you sense the calm
and say, ‘I AM OK’
5th Implement some form of action while maintaining the calm by

continuing to be aware of your Breath
Dealing with Past Acts of Unkindness:
There are less intense thoughts than a death in the family, that release chemicals in
unfavourable ways, for example: In your youth, you were teased because you were
shorter than others. Now as an adult, your palms sweat when speaking with people much
taller than you. It’s embarrassing, distracting and undermines your confidence. Now, you
choose to end the cycle.
Dealing with your Reaction to

Past Acts of Unkindness
Exercise # 11
You repeatedly react the same way to situation
1st Catch yourself as you are reacting
2nd Don’t be embarrassed or upset with yourself
3rd Become empowered with your intent to end this
4th Take a few aware breaths to calm your reaction

Solidify your intent with: 1, 2, 3, 4 in, pause, out 1, 2, 3, 4
and so on. No one is noticing!
5th Allow the fear of the moment to be wrapped in the calm you
are creating. Let that calm energy dictate your emotions
6th Say, ‘I AM done with this’! Feel your strength
7th Thank your emotional body for its cooperation
8th Now you have achieved one small victory over today’s reaction,
but the cause still exists. Begin a practice of healing the cause
through Self forgiveness and Love using all the skills at your
disposal. The next time this pact act of unkindness reaches
you, remind yourself, ‘I AM done with this.’
Healing the Inner Child:
You have already committed to resolving emotional reactions like the example in
exercise # 11 and you are preparing to move inside an event. When it occurs, assume the
position of the adult and work toward eventually becoming the observer.
As you relive an event, you will soon find that you are also aware of an aspect of your-Self
looking on as the observer. In other words, there are two of you present, the victim and
the healer. This is where the healing really begins, for little by little the observer moves
closer to the cause where the hurting self is trapped. You are going mining to rescue an
aspect of yourself that never escaped the event. The healing process begins as the adult
Self forgives the younger self.
For example: As a child an older brother would slap you on the back of the head from be-
hind. As an adult, each time someone walks behind you, your head shrinks into your
shoulders in self-defence against this imagined event. You hope no one notices.
Healing the
INNER CHILD
Exercise # 12
Reliving past emotion
1st Initially you are consumed by the emotion to the point of not
being aware of anything else around you. It’s like being in a
theatre watching a bad movie and you can’t leave until it ends.
2nd When the memory is over and you a clear of it, you reaffirm your
intent to take control. You are committed to tap into the healing
power within and the Breath is your friend.
3rd Each time you relive the experience, you will become aware that
you are in it sooner and sooner. Use the breath to stop the movie
before the ending. This is claiming control.
4th Soon your adult self will become the observer and with practice
you will sit with your inner child and give it Love.
5th The inner child is stuck in a memory and has not matured. It
doesn’t understand the circumstances around the event from an
adult’s perspective. It may cry out for more love insisting that the
adult you, does not understand, but you do. It has always needed
the Love it has been denied and need to know it wasn’t at fault.
Your mature adult self holds the healing love the Inner Child
awaits.
6th Sit with your memory, help that part of yourself come to terms
with the cause by being lovingly firm that it must move on. Also,
to bring your past into alignment with the present, you must be
clear in your own mature forgiveness of Self and any
perpetrators.
7th Each time the intensity of the emotions will subside and the
Inner Child will eventually abandon the security of its hurt and
assume its Adult Self.
8th The healing may come with an intense burst of energy rising
through the solar plexus from the kundalini.
Freedom from deep trauma involving events of extreme lack of Love are real challenges
that re-quire professional assistance. Wherever a person is in their journey of unraveling
such mysteries, there is no such thing as failure, only what is, ‘IS’. As difficult as undoing
the damage is, harmony awaits somewhere in the future. The Breath approach is
intended to work with other healing methods that are available like journaling, dream
recording, meditation or therapy.5 In essence the breath is used in all healing
approaches, even if not mentioned. The body has evolved a natural routine for dealing
with threats and we have the ability to mend the emotional disruption experienced and
reverse the effects through awareness.
5
Art Therapist, Elise Laviolette
www.psychologytoday.com/ca/therapists/elise-laviolette-kanata-on/777425
Chapter 17
Holding Presence
Practice 2
Holding Presence is a technique to bring you into recognition of how it feels to be totally
present inside your body. In later chapters, we will explore that even further by helping
you feel the silence around you, extending your presence visually, including when you
move through various energies.
“Feeling the Silence” was the original name given to Living Behind Your Breath a decade ago.
At that time, people thought it was about being silent, thus the change in name. Here is
a short excerpt from the original workshop:
Feeling the Silence is not about being completely silent or not talking. Instead, it is about
finding your personal small point in the midst of the universe and consciously relating to
the world from that point.
It is about extending yourself from that central point into the surrounding environment
and establishing a relationship to the extent of being connected with all that you focus on.
The process is silent, and personal, but it is also very much physically felt. Thus, Feeling the
Silence is about connecting with your immediate environment.
As one nurtures Feeling the Silence to the point that it becomes another physical sense, one’s
‘beingness’ expands beyond visual and audible boundaries. At this stage, one reaches out
and attracts to them-selves impulses, frequencies and connections that are beyond their
immediate surroundings. They can, if they wish, enter into the global family visualizing
common sense values for change. The process is getting easier every year.
Holding presence is an exercise to develop an identifiable sense of how it feels to be fully

aware of being inside your body, inside the space you are in, peering out through your
eyes at your surroundings, allowing the breath to bind all the sensations into one burning
tip of consciousness.
There is no shifting consciousness from the body to what you are looking at, no shifting
from the body into a thought, no loss of connection to self. You will hold presence with
the additional, extraordinary sense of being fully aware of being everything.
It is from this perspective that the ‘I’, the subject of the experience, the I in “I AM”, moves
into the world as Soulfully conscious being. You step into full participation in life as
consciousness abandons the illusion it has held onto since early childhood. While
holding presence, the subtle feelings you have form the foundation upon which
recognition of your Soul signature will be built upon. We refer to that process as the Seat
of the Soul. With practice your Soulfulness will drown out all external interferences and
you will live the life you know you deserve and are creating.
Practice 2
Schedule five minutes each day for seven days. Choose a comfortable chair that you can
use each day at the same time. You will begin with the Yoga belly breath count of 4+ and
return to a natural rhythm while inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your
mouth. Give this exercise the respect it deserves similar to a rendezvous, an appointment
with a Spirit Guide or a deceased ancestor.
This short practice helps consciousness familiarize itself with being centered in the body
with a feeling that there is nowhere else. It helps you feel your presence in the space
around you and in the room. You may feel the energy from the ground and sense objects
around you without losing yourself to those objects.
Near the end of the practice, you will open your eyes and attempt to experience
connection between yourself and objects you see, without losing the feeling of being
inside your body. This is all about developing 100% awareness of Self without losing any
part of your-self to objects around you or to thoughts.
Once this feeling is established you can honestly state to yourself, “I AM Here Now”. No
other human has the right to declare this unless, like you, they are aware of themselves
being present in their body. This is not imagination, not a head game, not just another
form of thinking. It’s the real thing.
HOLDING PRESENCE
Practice # 2
1 Sit straight in your favorite chair with feet on the floor.
2 Look around the room observing objects and the space,

then lose your eyes and begin 3 long, slow, deep breaths
to the count of 4 heartbeats.
3 Return to being present and ask, ‘Where do I actually exist

in this moment? Am I really here inside this body?’
Establish how You, the consciousness feels being inside
this chest cavity, how does it feel being behind my closed
eyes. Sit with this for awhile.
4 While holding awareness of air entering your nose and

exhaling through your mouth, become aware of your feet
on the floor, knowing that the energy of the earth is there
as well.
5 Bring your awareness to your hands on your lap while

maintaining awareness of your feet on the floor along
with your breathing and being inside this body.
6 Continue this and include the feel of sitting, your back

against the chair while holding all the sensations together,
including your breathing.
7 Add to this the weight of your arms on your shoulders, the

feel of your ears, your eyes, your hair, all the time
maintaining awareness of your feet on the floor, hands on
your lap and the air flowing in and out of your body.
8 Breathe, breathe, breathe.
9 Add to your awareness any sounds inside your body,

inside the room and outside your space. Hold it all
together and become the core of this experience.
10 Feel the presence of a wall close to you, or a chair and

breathe your presence into the space.
11 Realize that you are establishing yourself as the central

consciousness in this space. You are more in this room
than you were 5 minutes ago. Everything here is aware of
your presence, because now you are more aware that you
are here.
12 And when you are ready, say to yourself 3 times and mean
it: ‘I am HERE now’. On the inhale say ‘I am Here’ and the
exhale say ‘Now’. Saying it out loud helps as well.
13 Open your eyes, observe an object close to you without

losing yourself to it. Don’t just look at it, establish a
relationship between your Self and it.
14 Ask your Self, does the space appear different?

How to I feel?
15 Today might be a good time to journal, remember your

dreams and meditate.
I strongly recommend you focus on this exercise, because the following chapters assume
that you have established a sense of what it feels like to relate from your heart core using
the Breath. In the absence of this, the additional information could simply become an
intellectual exercise. I believe you want the real thing, so please take the time,
experiment and experience what you can do with holding presence. It can be done
anywhere, sitting on the toilet, lying in bed, riding the bus, or sipping coffee. Establish
your presence, not just in yourself, but in the space you are in. Look from your heart and
feel the presence of objects, plants, pets, people, or walls rather than just looking at
them. Record your daily sensations here.
HOLDING PRESENCE
Your comments
DAY COMMENTS TIME
Since it is difficult to read and perform this practice,
for the first time on your own,
we have created an audio version to guide you through it.
Visit www.livingbehindyourbreath.com
Chapter 18
The Pause
In this dimension of duality, where everything has an opposite, the power of the pause
exists in the stillness between any two versions of those opposites. For example, the act
of a ball thrown up into the air, must fall back down. The instant that it stops rising, and
begins to fall, the ball is in transition. That stop/start moment of stillness is the pause.
We tend to think of stillness as being nothingness, and in a way, it is, however we also
understand that nothingness can also be everything.
Between every thought there is a pause. An instant between ending a thought and
beginning a new one. And between each thought, the pause is enough to allow us to catch
ourselves in that thought and end it. In that moment there exists a power, it is called the
power of Now.6 We touched on this in the “Eye of the Storm”, where there is a constant
lifeline that is with us all the time. It is there in the “silence between the notes”,7 between
thoughts, between each walking step, between being still and beginning to act, between
glances and between breaths. Understanding the Pause brings us into awareness of what
exists there. When we become fully conscious of our presence behind each breath, we
see and feel a world we previously didn’t know existed. It is so subtle, and is not found by
looking for it, rather it simply shows up one day. The Pause is a happening place.
When we begin a transition between being stressed and finding calm, the pause exists in
that period between realizing we are stressed and achieving calm. There is a lot going on
during that period, and there is much energy available to us for transitioning from one
state to another.
Whenever we become aware of a change in our mood, our activity or thought, we can
use the breath to help the emotional body quickly transition those energies from the
mood we are leaving to the mood we are about to begin.
The pause can be compared to Latent Energy, which is hidden energy between the states
of change. For example, there is latent energy between ice converting to water or water
converting to ice. The breath is a tool that heightens awareness of the existence of latent
energy, and that is where the potential of change resides. Experiencing how the breath
can alter habits and increase the richness in life helps us tap into the power that lies in
the pause.
6
Thank you, Eckhart Tolle for opening our consciousness to the value of the Now
7
"Silence between the notes” is a phrase Wayne Dyer likes to use
The practice of using the breath lengthens the pause of our transition, just long enough
to give us strength to bring us back to awareness and give us back control of our actions.
It can also lead us to new understandings of our relationship to the universe.
An example of how this plays out in our daily life is to consider what happens when we
are mildly depressed. It is clear to us that we are not joyful, nor are we experiencing
anxiety. Instead, we are in a kind of emotional void. We’re in the “feeling nothing zone”.
We have no enthusiasm to get out of it, no clarity as to why we are there, nor do we care.
This can be compared to the pause, in that we are not being our okay self, nor do we have
anxiety. We are in between and it’s not a bad place to be, providing we move through it.
It is a long pause between transitions.
We are in this zone to either, let our energies refuel or because the timing is not yet right
for our next adventure. We call this, “treading water”. It is like floating in a lake, not
having any idea as to which shore to swim to, so we choose to float there until there is an
indication of where and when to move. When you find yourself in this state, go easy on
yourself because when you are not actively doing something guilt knows how to find you.
Remember, that you are in a holding pattern called the pause. The universe may be
preparing the way for you and it will let you know when it is time to move. In the
meantime, hone your skills at being present.
Chapter 19
Sensing your Place in Space
Practice #3
The invisible energy around you supports life in the same as the invisible air around you
supports life. Our five senses feel the air when it is moved by the wind while our inner
senses feel the energy when it is moved by emotions. The body is very much aware of the
environment it occupies, as Bruce Lipton8 pointed out in his book, Biology of Belief, the
cells are conscious and respond to the environment outside the body as well as inside.
Feel the Space you are in:
Practice 3A
Being aware of yourself in your body gives you the opportunity to tune into the space you
are in and sense the density of the air as well as the energy supporting the space for the
air and all that is in it. This is not meant to be sensational, however, it is hard not to get
excited upon first experiencing it. After that, it helps to confirm your success at being
free of thought and feeling the space you occupy. We swim through this energy
constantly, with each emotion causing ripples extending in all directions.
(A spiritual master will drop an intention into this cosmic pool,
knowing it will find a shoreline somewhere.
No returning echo is needed.
It’s referred to as ‘paying it forward’.)
8
Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton, October 2015
Feeling the Space

Practice 3a
Reliving past emotion
1 Stand sideways with your left shoulder about

30cm/12’’ from the wall
2 Close your eyes and take a couple of belly breaths
3 Can you feel the void of space off your opposite

shoulder?
4 Turn and face the opposite way and to the same
5 Continue at your own pace, until you sense the

contrast between the energy of the wall and the
opposite space.
6 It is a simple experiment with rewarding results

that can benefit you in so many ways later.
Write below how that felt Date

Peripheral Vision:
Practice 3B
Becoming aware of objects and actions in the obscure corner of your vision is a practice
to reinforce the feeling of existing in space as your Self being a finite point of
consciousness. Awareness of objects is so different from looking at an object.
Acknowledging the existence of objects with the energy of being present brings them
into your aura. Once you gain control of your thoughts, you no longer move through
space aimlessly. The void of lost thoughts is automatically filled with new observations
and this exercise makes it all the more real.
Peripheral Vision
Practice 3b
1 Sit straight in a chair, eyes open
2 Raise your hands about your head and with one hand at a time move them above
your head until they are almost out of sight. Let your eyes follow your hands
3 Repeat on both sides and them do the same at a lower level
4 Play with this and establish the outer edges, side to side, up and down
5 Now look straight ahead and do the same with both hands establishing the range
of your peripheral vision wherever your hands can go
6 Drop your hands, look straight ahead and maintain visual awareness of the entire
peripheral view
7 Stand up and look straight ahead being aware of your new expanded vision
8 Begin walking slowly, looking straight ahead. Be present with the totality of what
you now see and feel
Welcome to your new world of being connected to the world of objects that share your
space. You are no longer being bombarded by the external world, instead you are
consciously moving through it selecting what to interact with. This is one of many
rewards found in the silence behind the calm of the Now.
When walking in Nature, try looking ahead instead of down and using your peripheral
vision to guide you every step. Take it all in as you see the bird in the sky, while observing
the squirrel on your right and a grove of birch trees far away on your left. Let yourself be
there among them, free of thought, experiencing the full gamut of it all from your heart
core.
Peripheral Vision – How is it different? Date

Chapter 20
Visual Presence
Practice 4
When we look into the distance, we see two dimensionally and the landscape looks flat,
as in a photo. For objects to appear three dimensionally, we need to see two or more sides
of something. With the physical placement of our eyes so close together, it means we
don’t have that option, though moving our head side to side does add perspective and
provides a sense of depth. We can, however, enrich that experience further by being
aware of ourselves doing the looking.
Most people lose themselves to what they observe. Consciousness shifts from our body
to the object being observed, which again is shifting outside the Self. As that happens, we
unconsciously allow a disconnect to occur. Consciousness leaves the Self behind as it gets
caught up with the beauty of Nature. We are looking more than we are feeling. We miss
Nature’s call, “Come and play with us!” This exercise builds upon the previous practice
of holding presence and establishes a distinction between just looking and connecting.
I have often travelled the lakes and rivers in Ontario, Canada on overnight trips via canoe.
I have observed how various canoe partners see nature differently than I. Wondering
why has led me to realize that unless we connect with an aspect of what we look at, there
is little or no energy exchanged between us and what we observe. Artists and
photographers understand visual presence and refer to it as having an artist eye for
things. They look into the negative spaces around objects, observing the contrast of
shadows, the texture of the landscape and the uniformity of combined colours. For them
a scene is a discovery of its aliveness.
The practice of visual presence is a process of selective vision, where small aspects of a
landscape are allowed to capture our attention. When we do so in awareness of ourselves
being in our body, in our location, observing, we create an energetic pathway for an
energy dance to commence. Holding that link gives the object of our attention a direct
link for it to communicate back to us. Sounds far out? Okay, here is a story.
On two occasions while presenting this concept I was looking through a door toward
Nature and, to my surprise, it responded. The first time was in La Cruz, Mexico. I was at
the level of the palm tree branches just outside the room and I could see three trees in a
row. There was no wind, everything was still. While I established a connection with a
small cluster of leaves on the first palm, suddenly its leaves began to shimmer. My eyes
moved around to see if a breeze was responsible, but no other leaves moved.
Then a cluster of leaves on a palm behind that one began to move, and then the one
behind it. All were in my direct line of vision and all three tree branches shook more
vibrantly. Still there was no wind and no other leaves moving. When I turned my
attention back to the presentation, I noticed how all the leaves went immediately still
again.
I choose to believe that the palm leaves behind the one I first connected with wanted to
be noticed as well. To anyone not understanding that everything is energy, this sounds
impossible and to them it is. But because I was fully aware of being in my body, my gaze
toward them encouraged an energy dance. Had I lost myself to what I was observing, the
potential for connection would have been lost as well. Now the point here is not to go
around having Nature notice us, instead, it is to realize that the lack of connection
supports separation. We can gain understanding of our relationship with objects by
connecting with them rather than merely looking.
Native cultures describe an even deeper connection when they shape shift and merge
with an element of Nature and become it, similar to the Rabbit experience that I had as
a child.
Biologists observe the phenomena in chameleons, like cuttlefish where they are able to
transform each side of their body differently and at the at the same time, in response to
threats.
Practice 4
You will be selecting various objects to look at and you will bring them into your visual
consciousness along with awareness of breath.
VISUAL PRESENCE
Practice # 4
1 Open your window curtains, exposing a view of nature if possible.

Set a chair in front of you with it facing a window
2 Sit upright with feet on the floor and close your eyes, and take 4
belly breaths
3 Bring yourself into Holding Presence, which you now know how to
do quickly
4 When you open your eyes, know that you are behind those eyes
peering out from inside. Breath long and slowly
5 Establish connection between you and the top of the chair and hold
for a couple of breaths
6 Extend connection to the windowsill, while keeping the chair in

your peripheral vision and being aware of yourself breathing. Hold
for a couple of breaths.
7 Now extend visual awareness to an object outside the window,

while holding the windowsill, the back of the chair and yourself
into one consolidated connection
8 Extend your vision further away never losing awareness of yourself

looking through your eyes instead of with them. Hold all these
visual elements together for a couple of comfortable breaths
9 Now slowly work back. Let go of the object outside, then let go of
the windowsill and return awareness to the chair and then to the
Self. Say, one the inhale, ‘I AM HERE’ and on the exhale say ‘NOW, I
AM HERE NOW’ and mean it
10 Practice making visual connections morning, mid-day and evening

until it’s your norm of observation
With practice you will no longer see two dimensionally, instead, landscapes will have
depth. You are no longer just looking, you are bringing aspects to yourself. Appreciation
and gratitude are wonderful attributes and visual presence is what appreciation and
gratitude are made of. You and Nature can intertwine in love.
I can see clearly Now . . . Date

Record here, your observations
There are so many opportunities to test this out, for example, when you sit behind the
wheel of your car, before you turn the key, establish your presence in the seat, hands on
the wheel. Position yourself there behind the wheel, then look to the hood of the car,
then down the street and reinforce your presence in relation to that point down the road,
which you will soon be traveling. Now you are ready for the experience of driving. You
are consciously about to drive with embodied awareness behind the wheel. Turn on the
key and be ready for what new adventures are about to unfold.
Since it is difficult to read and perform the practice,
we have created an audio version to guide you through this.
Chapter 21
Presence in Motion
Practice 5
Let your
Soul do
the Walking
and
the Talking
Now that you have returned home to your body and are able to consciously interact with
the visual world, it is time to connect with people, plants, animals and living things. You
can give yourself permission to do this at all times and places, whether lying down,
sitting, walking, swimming, working, driving, dancing or talking. You and your
consciousness are about to confidently explore a world that you previously passed by and
barely noticed. In fact, as you previously practiced holding presence, sensing space and
visual presence, you already know what I am talking about. Now it is time to develop a
practice that allows you to live behind your breath as long as it suits you, whenever it
suits you and wherever it suits you.
It involves using a few breaths to become present and with eyes open, approaching
objects with the intent of acknowledging their existence. That occurs by consciously
inviting the connection. We will begin with plants or pets and then move outside to
engage with other aspects of Nature like shrubs. The practice will continue in various
ways.
Practice # 5
Presence in Motion
Practice # 5
1 Sitting upright in a chair, eyes closed, begin with 3 long belly

breaths to the count of 4 + heartbeats
2 Silently repeating, I AM HERE NOW until you actually are
3 Open your eyes, stand and take a few steps holding your presence
4 Approach a plant either in the house or outside
5 Visually link your heart center with it and breathe
6 Study the details of what you see, without analyzing or recalling

what you know about this plant
7 Extend your hand and touch a leaf. Acknowledging that you are
also as much a part of Nature as the leaf. Maintain presence in
your body and your breath
8 Show your appreciation with a nod of your head or a smile and

continue exploring other plants until you are satisfied
9 When you are done, let the experience linger as you walk about
observing the space you are consciously in
I suggest practicing this in all your activities. As you cut up vegetables for a meal, you will
be putting energy into what you’re about to consume. Being present while you eat is
doing more than honouring the food, it is allowing your body to share fully in all the
nutrients they are about to give you.
Ask yourself if you are ready to take this into the street, into family interactions, and into
the workplace. This technique is intended to become automatic, but initially it takes
considerable reminders to create a permanent discipline. After all, the brain has been
trained to do the opposite. But it loves this stuff, for instead of being asked to pull out the
same old files over and over and rearranging that information, it gets to file delicate
sensations, new levels of alertness, visual delights, sounds and emotions.
Your brain finally gets to deliver more of its potential, but first it needs its host to take
back control by dictating that all intrusive thoughts stop here. The breath is your simplest
and most available means to reach that goal.
Since it is difficult to read and perform the practice,
we have created an audio version to guide you through this.
PART 5
Soul Signature
Securing Identification with your Core-Self
If we liken non-constructive thinking to polluted water, there is no way you would swim
in it or consume the stuff, yet each of us have done so at lengths. However, at this stage
of life, we most likely prefer to taste the purity of Soul more frequently and deeply.
Previous practices, disciplines, insights and experiences have prepared us for this time
when consciousness can re-emerge with our unique signature of Soul in a more
meaningful way.
No one can tell us how being soulful will manifest. This is the beauty in our quest for
ultimate freedom, for our canvas is ours alone. Individual expression of our connection
with Soul, form the mosaic of our journey. The more aware that expression becomes, the
more it allows Source to observe this reality through our eyes.
Any degree of advanced consciousness is a gift to the collective and part of our evolution.
Being able to allow Soul to participate in this earthly life is our gift.
Chapter 22
Higher Self
Our Higher Self finds us in dreams, meditation, journaling and quiet moments. It
transforms our view of reality through art, music, dance or connections with plants and
animals. We don’t have to be concerned about finding our Higher Purpose, for when we
are ready, our Higher Self finds us. Being ready simply means, continue being your best
version of what you know yourself to be and following your dream.
Higher Self communicates through Soul and directs us as need be for our best interest,
to aid another or to be of service in ways we may not even recognize as special. The Soul
is a fragment of Higher Self that loses its awareness when born into its earthly
experience. While on earth, Soul is divorced of knowing who it is, until its host
consciousness sufficiently identifies itself with Soul. Then it begins to get glimpses of
where it came from and where it is going and who it should meet and how to assist. We
came from Higher Self and when we die the Soul returns to Higher Self.
For these reasons, we are not conscious of higher self all of the time. But when we are,
its presence can be more intense than anything in our daily lives. It will intervene to
protect us without warning and often without us knowing. We may be positioned by our
higher Self to meet others for the benefit of both.
We may find ourselves in scenarios and agendas that are part of a bigger plan that make
little or no sense to us. We refer to those moments as “set up”, where our energies are
needed to serve a purpose we do not yet comprehend.
Getting Direction:
Firstly, we need desire. Not desire for things, but desire to understand and improve. That
desire sends a message to the universe like a fly in a spider’s web, except desire tells the
universe that an energy form on earth wants to grow.
The easiest expression of desire is to ask a question, expecting a response, not just
hoping, but knowing. When we know that the answer to our desire already exists, then
it becomes our responsibility to claim it. We do so by being receptive enough to receive
ideas, follow our input to approach a person at the right time and to also sense best
scenarios. Sometimes, it means stopping what we are doing, assessing the situation,
maybe even putting our actions on hold.
A good rule to follow comes from Esther Hicks,1 who reminds us that there are only two
emotions, good ones and bad ones. When events are clicking along well, it is a sign that
we are on the best path and it feels good. When they begin to go clunk and only obstacles
appear, then the feeling is less than good. That is an indication that something is either
missing or we are heading in the wrong direction.
At times when our comfort levels are less than great, we realize that our efforts are taking
us in the wrong direction and there is a need to stop and abandon details of our plans.
Often when there is one slight error, the universe will not support us. When we are off,
the only way to realign is to stop, wait, listen and try again with a new piece when it feels
right. When we get it right, then the universe backs us 100%.
1
Esther Hicks channels Abraham - www.abraham-hicks.com/workshopsandcruises/
Chapter 23
Soul Archetypes
My Higher Self explains that universal energy enters our domain in two forms, as Being
and as Doing energies. ‘Being’, is Yin energy and ‘Doing’, is Yang energy. The Doing
portion transforms itself in two equal vibrations and all three have the same energy
potential and output.
From our Higher Self perspective, we are an Archetype that governs a specific
manifestation in the physical realm. Each has a primary resonance to work with the
‘Vibe’ for either projecting, creating or manifesting. That unconscious part in us
administers what is referred to as the ‘Vibe’.
The Vibe:
The Vibe is more than the energy we sense from others and goes way beyond the slogan,
"Good vibes Man". Although the era of hippies, rock ‘n’ roll, communes, activism and
moral liberation shows us how the Vibe rocked a nation. It was felt by a culture of co-
creatives and it initiated change on a global level. However, that era was a reflection of
how we responded to the Vibe rather than what it is.
The Vibe is the necessary ingredient that causes things to work. It is an energy frequency
that develops between individuals who share a common goal in Love, to the extent that
nothing else matters. The details of like or dislike are secondary or non-existent. The
Vibe has the power to shatter beliefs, to right wrongs, to create a collective and to rewrite
history. It is the power behind set-ups to learn more about ourself and learn from others.
It draws people together in like-mindedness, to bond in Love and to birth new ideas.
I believe it is evident now in this new wave of youth showing their vulnerability and
willingness to share their story for the benefit of change. In Jim Carrey’s words during an
Eckhart Tolle event called, The Awakening,2 he describes how the Vibe felt when he first
recognized its existence in himself. He said, “I’m not a fragment of the universe, I am the
universe.”
Kim Eng,3 says it this way, “When we realize who we are at the core of our being, we
blossom into our life purpose. We cannot help but do so. And that is how we create what
Eckhart Tolle calls ‘A new earth.’ ”
2
Jim Carrey Awakening with Eckhart Tolle , June 4, 2009
3
Kim Eng - Eckhart Tolles wife - www.eckharttolle.com/kimeng/
The Projector:
Projectors need periods of solitude, because of their empathic ability. They are the ‘be’-
ers and holders of space for future events to unfold. They sense the absence of coherence
in themselves, others and in the world. They have the ability to perceive the most
common-sense solution, sometimes in detail, often with abstract notions of how things
should and could be. They are the holders of the Vibe, the blueprint for what awaits. They
maintain an image that others can retrieve from the fabric of things to be. Projectors are
often the pioneers of ideas and often never see the fruit of their labour.
For example, before sustainable construction was well known, individuals dedicated
time and money to educate the public on the value of solar energy. Twenty years later, it
caught on because the Manifestors recognized the potential, invested and the industry
took off. Meanwhile, the Projectors remain unknown for their sacrifices in holding the
vision and doing the hard work. As a result, they rarely get a reflection of their own glory
and to compensate they often try to create and manifest, but it’s not their forte.
The Creator:
A Creator is constantly reaching into the unknown for the Vibe of creative images and
they have the ability to find them. Their Soul understands how to deal with raw,
unstructured energies from the universe and they thrive on its lack of structure. Their
need for variety is a reflection of their continual desire to savour new energy and to play
with it. However, manifesting is not their strength and although they seek it, they often
lack the discipline.
The Manifestor:
A Manifestor knows how to work with the Vibe and thrives on giving ideas physical form.
They have a gift to take a Creator’s blueprint of a vision and organize a complex variety
of pieces. They complete the cycle of bringing energy into form. However, Manifestors
struggle to create and it is not their gift. Recognizing this makes them better at what they
do best.
Ideally, change needs both Creators and Manifestors working together. This happens
when each is secure in their Soul’s uniqueness. It’s called teamwork when each
acknowledges when it is the correct time for the other to take charge and present their
piece, allowing for an energy dance to express their shared gifts. Meanwhile, Projectors
can often sense the progress of their projections and don’t need to see the final outcome.
SOUL ARCHETYPES
yin yang of BEING DOING

creation
Higher Self Projectors Creators Manifestors

Expression
Soul HOLDING ENDLESS FINDING

Expression SPACE POSSIBILITIES WAYS
for change for change for change
Principle They are the They know how They channel

Note Vibe to Vibe The Vibe
Their Needs Solitude Variety People
Their Interests Reading Designing Organizing
Their Expression Distant Healing Writing, Music, Public

Art Speaking,
Teaching
SOUL SIGNATURE AND ARCHETYPES

Exercise # 9
What does your Higher Self say you are?
Projector
Creator
Manifestor
Which Soul ARCHETYPE are you most familiar with

and how does it play out?
Projector
Creator
Manifestor
Chapter 24
New Living Economy
Our social systems are built on the wealth we extract from both natural and human
resources. Nature has given us enough already. So have the labour forces in countries
that receive little reward for their toil. This approach to managing resources is no longer
suitable for today’s challenges.
We have all the engineering and scientific knowledge to deal with environmental
sustainability. Each of us recognizes that our systems of education, health, agriculture,
business, legal governance and leadership are broken due to self-interest permeating
every profession.
The new paradigm is being built on the philosophy that corporations are entities of
Nature. They mimic4 Nature’s harmonious way of providing while also enriching the
elements they depend on. A form of Social Auditing5 is deployed, where corporations,
Nature and human equity6 benefit proportionately.
A Living Economy7 allows people and business to follow their dream and align their
contributions with instinctual creativity. It gives opportunity for best practices in
learning, creating, and producing. Communities will thrive, individual contributions will
be an art form, families will be nourished with respect, businesses will grow with vision,
corporations and Nature will work as one, countries will offer what others have not and
the planet will operate with a wellness-based economy.
We can achieve this, because the Breath connects each of us to the same Source where
solutions already exist. The living economy is being launched with heart-felt projections
and soul-sourced insights rather than self-serving thinking.
4
Janine Benyus, author of Bilomimicry - the art of mimicking Nature 199
5
Social Auditing, Silent Partners, January 1, 2001, www.soulhaven.ca & https://www.obooko.com/free-general-
and-literary-fiction-books/silent-partners-hugh-perry
6
Peter Trevor Wilson, author of The Human Equity Advantage, June 4, 2013
7
Sonia Molodechy, coined ‘Living Economy’ in her book, A New Human Story,
December 21, 2020
Chapter 25
Affirmative Action
Many ideas are never realized, because along the way they get derailed. Between
knowing what should be done and committing, there are obstacles. When we become
aware of a problem, often we unconsciously point to others and tell them what they
should be doing. For example, you and your neighbours are complaining about
municipal garbage pickup and you hear yourself say, “You should call them.” Walking
back into the house you realize that both of you should be making that call, but it never
gets made.
Change begins when we claim ownership of the problem, envision a solution and take
responsibility for action. However excessive thinking drains the energy of enthusiasm
and kills actions. Assuming responsibility arises from the calmness of Self, sensitivity to
needs in yourself and others and exercising the wisdom of your Soul archetype.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Exercise # 10
How do you respond to Needs for Change?
Unconscious Visionary Critical Affirmative Direct

need to Act need to need to Act Intent to Act Action
Act
Expressed as Looking for Awakened Taking Taking

ridicule inclusive responsibility responsibility ownership
support
You have to We have to I have to
You need to We need to I need to

I am I am
You should We should I should going doing
to it
You could We could I could
You must We must I must

Chapter 26
The Power Triangle
I was presented this Power Triangle as I wandered aimlessly in the forest after a fresh fall
of snow. The day was cool, and clouds filled the sky. I stopped for a rest, lit a fire, sat on
a log, toasted a sandwich and began to eat. As I did, the sun broke through the clouds,
casting shadows on the snow from tree branches above.
Those shadows created a perfect triangle on the snow’s surface close to my fire. As I
observed its perfect dimensions, I sensed that something significant was about to occur.
I asked the shadow, “Why are you here? What am I about to learn?” Immediately, light
grey letters began forming on the snow, close to my feet. ‘Honesty’ was the first word
shown. I leaned forward and then the words ‘TO Self ’ appeared.
I sat back as waves of joy spread through me. I felt privileged and thought, ‘Of course!
Honest to myself as well as others.’ Then new words began appearing slowly being laid
out on the snow as my ecstasy turned to tears of appreciation. I doubt Moses could have
been more elated.
As I asked for explanations it began to spin clockwise faster and faster until it went into
a blur and disappeared as a cloud moved and hid the sun.
I don’t know that I fully understand the importance of the Power Triangle, nor what it
can do for us, but I have been carrying it around for twenty years knowing its time will
come.
Our family needs us to have honesty TO our Self, in order to share our feelings, our hurts,
our confusions and our vulnerabilities. They need so to see our human side and to do
that we must remain authentic and honest to our self. Pretending to be strong has served
its purpose in the old paradigm, but now is the time to discard tendencies toward giving
false self images.
Our friends need us to gain love OF our Self, to the extent that we are attending to our
spiritual growth before all else. This is how we cultivate an abundance of love for all.
There is no longer selfishness in being self centered. From Soul’s perspective it means,
being in harmony with Self and centered in Self. There is no longer shame in Self Love.
Our partner needs us to trust IN our Self, to the degree that our wisdom lights up our
words and exemplify our actions, to the degree of creating a safe space for all to grow.
The power triangle is a generator that requires an initial spark of desire to get it turning.
It all begins with honestly admitting to our Self, that there is nothing more important in
our life, than to Love our Self to the Core. That admission of honesty to Self, gets the
generator moving. Once we embrace our basic need, Love of Self becomes the focus.
And when Love is secured, our aura expands and new opportunities show themselves.
We can trust in all our ideas and in all our choices. Feelings to act will have purpose and
our input to others will have merit. Then trust in Self becomes automatic and it only
needs to be nurtured with action.
Chapter 27
Human Harmonic Orchestra
Evolution functions on many principles
and the most evident,
is the principle of Change.
Humanity’s greatest challenge has always come as the result of having freedom to
explore possibilities. Presently, one intriguing exploration remains for each of us. How
can my actions align with my personal needs, serve my Soul and at the same time serve
the greater community and beyond.
To this end, a culture of co-creators, of which you are a part of, have heard the call to
action. Each of us will play our unique Soulful Note, and as we play, people will
instinctually recognize the tune and respond by moving to the music. It’s the song of
Love. So let us dance, dance... danc… dan…. da…. d….
CONCLUSION
Living Behind Your Breath

Approach
Let your Soul do the walking and the talking
Take back control over intrusive thoughts
Use the Breath to transform anxieties
Limit, living outside the Self
Become the Subject rather than being lost in Objects
Know who is having the experience
Become the Loving adult observer for the Inner Child
Make the calm of the Now your default
Look through your eyes, instead of looking with your eyes
Hold Presence in Self in all that you do
Feel the space you are in
Move through life with Presence
Support connection and not separation
Honesty to Self, Love of Self, Trust in Self
Enjoy being the best version of yourself
Love the life you are in

In the REAR VIEW MIRROR

Exercise The Practice Chapter
PART 1
Exercise #1 Aura Accounting 3
Exercise #2 Awareness of Breath 6
Exercise #3 Self-Imaging 7
PART 2
Exercise #4 Antidotes for Anxiety 9
Exercise #5 Human Playground 11
Exercise #6 Sliding Scale of Identity 12
PART 3
Exercise #7 Flavour of Soulfulness 13
Exercise #8 By Grace 15
PART 4
Practice Healing Breath 16
#1A & 1B
Exercises
9 to 12
Practice #2 Holding Presence 18
Practice Sensing Space 19
#3A & #3B
Practice #4 Visual Presents 20
Practice #5 Presence in Motion 21
PART 5
Exercise #9 Soul Archetypes 23
Exercise #10 Affirmative Action 25
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It was a warm Sunday morning and my parents and I were attending church in Boston.
It was known to be the Kennedy family church and that day celebrated the Grand Knights
of Columbus, of which my father was a member.
I was 10 years old and understood little about the occasion and cared even less. Mid way
into the mass I became internally very warm for no known reason. Realizing I was about
to pass out and needing air, I stood without warning to my parents, slid past the knees of
strangers and into the aisle. I rushed to the front doors past disgusted gazes for leaving
in the midst of such a spiritual event. But the real spiritual event was about to occur
outside.
I sat on the stone edging of the steps and placed my head in my hands and breathed
deeply. As I did so, I noticed two men at the opposite side of the steps, about 40 feet away.
They were in dark suits, adamantly whispering to each other. I would discover later that
evening on the news, that the man facing me was Ted Kennedy and the man with his
back to me was Robert Kennedy.
With my hands over my face, I saw Robert glance over his shoulder at me, while Ted paid
no notice. Embarrassed for being discovered, I closed my eyes and soak deeper into my
hands. A few minutes past and then my right hand was slowly being removed from my
face and there was Robert’s eyes sinking deeply into me without a word. I had never seen
a face like that back home. It spoke to me in new ways that I have not forgotten.
He was kneeling on his left knee observing me for what seemed like a long time before
asking if I was okay. I said, “Yes”. “Are you sure?” “I think so”, I said. He took my other
hand from my face and studied me further before saying, “I am right over there if you
need me”, and then he rejoined his brother Ted. I watched them for some time wishing
he would return and stay longer, because he had given me something I wanted more of.
Soon they separated, Robert taking long strides up the steps and into the church, giving
me a quick last glance. I wanted so much to be able to communicate my gratitude and,
in a way, I am now, and have throughout my life by being dedicated to doing what’s
necessary to make this world a better home for everyone. I have come to understand how
unconditional love makes a strong impact on whoever is fortunate enough to be touched
by it. Most of my life has been spent finding that place in myself, from which love flows.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hugh Perry is a pioneer in the emerging field of evolutionary

spirituality, self-help author and founder of Living Behind the Breath.
He brings together core insights and approaches based on decades of
on the ground research at the leading edge of spiritual practice and
inquiry.
Hugh began his spiritual journey in an International intentional

Community called ‘I AM’, he graduated as a Certified Applied
Metaphysician and continues to experience a sense of profound
peace, connection, unconditional love and the sacred energy that beats at the heart of all
creation. Hugh ultimately found himself at the forefront of conscious evolution.
Manifesting his love of the planet into a career in sustainable design and construction he
has been a major contributing writer to Eco-homes magazine and associate editor with
SABmag - a leading Sustainable Architectural and Engineering Design magazine.
After an intensive 30-year spiritual quest he discovered a new technique to assist people
in reconnecting to who they are, through their breath, in order to find a new meaning
and purpose in their lives.
Hugh continues to write, offers individual training, gives group presentations and is
currently presenting at Grail Springs Wellness Center in Bancroft, Ontario.
LBB logo
The Spirit of Source, (the white dove), empowers Feminine energies,

(on the left) and the Masculine energies (on the right), to bring the
physical heart of humanity into alignment with the principle of
Change.
Fund raising support available for

Sustainable Groups or Individual Initiatives
www.livingbehindyourbreath.com

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LIVING BEHIND YOUR BREATH

The Art of Being Alive

69 Helferty Road, Palmer Rapids

(the full story is shared in acknowledgement)

This is an authorized free edition from www.obooko.com

We Live Outside Our Self

You are not

you are Soul

HOW SURVIVAL NEEDS SHIELD THE SOUL

Our mindful community is gaining understanding of how fear, conscious or

Best Version of Self

All living things

Even a dying flower

Despite our failures

Intrusive Thoughts and Aura Accounting

• Do your Aura Accounting right here in your guidebook

Anxiety Energetics Organizing Spirituality Home- Trauma

When trapped in emotional dilemmas, no matter how insignificant, we have a tendency

Conscious recognition of our Soul creates Soul-full-ness or Soul Consciousness, where

It is in our nature to create images of ourselves, according to how we want others to

1 Do I lose sight of who I am when in the

2 Is my body language revealing aspects of me

3 Am I the same person I show to the world?

4 Does my self-image differ from the person I

5 Can I differentiate between another person’s

Becoming the Observer

that would enable me to duplicate the experiences minute by minute, challenge by

TYPICAL ANTIDOTES FOR ANXIETY PATTERNS

EMOTIONS CAUSE ANTITODE

Stress Demands Calmness

Worry Doubt Trust

Trivia Boredom Appreciation

Expectation Fear of Missing Out Acceptance

What if - Situations What if +

Disappointment Failure Growth

Anger Injustice Change

Confusion Wanting Allowing

Fear Threat Knowing

Sadness Rejection Love

It is a basic right for all humans

This is the nature of

Check-off which Vibrations you want most in Your Playground

Long, Slow Waves of Short, Quick Waves of

Thought works well while Soul works well for

Thought entertains while Soul entertains with

Thought supports while Soul supports love

Thought holds us in while Soul holds us in

Thought offers fear while Soul offers joy

Ego and Mind:

Sliding Scale of Identity

Where am I Investing my Emotional Energy? (in %)

I am Consumed I am Soul Focused I am in Harmony

The word consciousness has many levels of understanding, for example:

The Soul is the

Soulfulness is a personal experience, that carries us along in a warm cuddly feeling,

Insight, Creativity and Joy:

Making Good Choices:

At this moment, what is the Flavour of YOUR Soul

What does being

Who needs your