Who is to say what is a meaningful conversation and what is not? Even saying a heart felt good morning, hello, good evening, good night may be a wake up call to the one who receives it.

I read a story about a man who had every intention of taking his own life. As he walked along, making a plan for his earthly departure, someone stopped and extended a hello! Good morning and a genuine smile. The man changed his mind. It wasn’t his time.

As I approach my 70th in less than a week, my thoughts meander to all the stories of our lives. And there are many. Every morning I meet an old friend on Facebook messenger live stream to discuss the ACIM lesson (A Course In Miracle) for the day. We have been friends for 50 years. 50 years!! And every day a new revelation arises, mainly an emanation of the mythic lives we have lived, baby boomers caught in a consciousness revolution that changed everything.

My friend sent me a film about DMT, the only psychedelic drug which is naturally released in the pineal gland by conscious breathing. DMT is the short lived version of Ayahuasca, a ceremonial psychedelic drug. Will Johnson concentrates on conscious breathing in the Hollow Bamboo Dharma, and synchronistically, many resources keep coming my way. One in particular is the Wim Hof method. Wim Hof is known as the Ice Man because of his ability to withstand plunging icy cold temperatures dressed only in swimming trunks. No shoes. He hiked to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in twenty eight hours wearing only shorts and shoes and ran a half marathon in the Arctic Circle in his bare feet. His method is to work with the body, rather than denying it, through the power of the breath.

Will Johnson wrote a book I love called “Breathing As A Spiritual Practice,” which led me to enroll in our year long Meditation Retreat.

And as previously mentioned, Tomaso’s Last Breath led me to explore the living, loving breath, to begin with.

What to do when we step off the meditation cushion? Breathe deeply, consciously and with reverence.

My 70th has brought me to the realization: the rest of my life will be dedicated to preparing for the rebirth into the next life, the next adventure. We help each other by walking each other home.

“It’s really life‘s illusions I recall. I really don’t know life at all. “Joni Mitchell

Om