The Spiritual Exercises Of St. Ignatius

[Mateo el Feo]

I recently spoke with someone who had gone through the Spiritual Exercises. I have gone through an abbreviated version, so we were comparing our experiences. She mentioned, "What did you think about the breathing techniques taught during the Exercises?" I had no idea what to say...breathing techniques?

After being unable to find evidence of anything related to breathing techniques in my copy of the exercises (not too mention a quick google search), I figured I'd ask everyone here if they have any knowledge about this. Is the breathing stuff just a modern "add-on" or what? Any information would be appreciated!

[johnnydigit]

[quote name='Mateo el Feo' post='1246936' date='Apr 17 2007, 01:27 AM']I recently spoke with someone who had gone through the Spiritual Exercises. I have gone through an abbreviated version, so we were comparing our experiences. She mentioned, "What did you think about the breathing techniques taught during the Exercises?" I had no idea what to say...breathing techniques?

After being unable to find evidence of anything related to breathing techniques in my copy of the exercises (not too mention a quick google search), I figured I'd ask everyone here if they have any knowledge about this. Is the breathing stuff just a modern "add-on" or what? Any information would be appreciated![/quote]

i am going to start these in a few weeks and have no idea about Ignatian spirituality yet, but i know that breathing is very important on a psychological and biological level. it calms you and relaxes the body, helps you focus, bring in more oxygen to the brain, helps you think, and induces deeper thought and better prayer. if you do the rosary often, you know how deep into meditative prayer you can get. for me a big plus is it relieves stress, makes me more patient, caring, etc. and that's not even with breathing training yet. i look forward to going even deeper.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

I'm not sure about breathing techniques...I've never really done the whole Exercise myself, but I would imagine that it might be incorporated in his second and third methods of prayer, sort of like it is in the Jesus prayer. There is a practice called biofeedback which incorporates slow breathing to calm one down (I've never done it, but I have a friend who uses it), so I imagine it's related to calming the body and thus helping to calm the spirit.

God bless,

Micah

[Mateo el Feo]

I think I figured out the "breathing" mystery. My friend briefly mentioned Anthony de Mello. A Jesuit from India, he was deeply influenced by Eastern mysticism.

His writings were criticized by the Cardinal Ratzinger, then head of the CDF:
[url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDFDEMEL.HTM"]http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDFDEMEL.HTM[/url]

[AccountDeleted]

The breath is often associated with the Jesus Prayer and the technique is described very well in "Don't You Belong To Me?" by Father Paul Konkler (a Cistercian Monk and Priest). He does advise only doing it while under the direction of a comptetent (experienced with this prayer) spiritual director however, due to possible disquieting and/or dangerous side effects.

Although using the breath during the Jesus Prayer is sometimes (incorrectly) associated with Eastern meditation techniques, they are not the same thing at all.

[Mateo el Feo]

In the case of De Mello, the breathing techniques are almost certainly due to Eastern influence.

My original question was whether the breathing techniques actually had anything to do with the original "Spiritual Exercises" or if they were a modern innovation. I'm tending to think that it's the latter.

[johnnydigit]

i just read some stuff on yoga, christian-yoga, and how it all goes back to Hinduism. it opens doors of evil, and some effects imitate that of ecstasy and other things our saints have experienced. i'm thinking not in terms of who influenced who, but that they have tried to imitate things of the true God and it backfires on them harshly. but then again, even we have experienced negative effects in the past (i.e. posession or the more subtle health problems).

so i wonder also how safe these can be. and should i not be meditating as deeply as i do when praying? could i possibly suffer the ill effects that some of the naive yoga people do? guess i just gotta have faith.

checkitout [url="http://www.thetruelight.net/personalstories/carruth.htm"]http://www.thetruelight.net/personalstories/carruth.htm[/url]
i've noted some things they do, like stimulating the pituitary glands which can affect your hormones, key points in the spinal chord affecting the nervous system and who knows what else, mental problems, physical problems, twitching, bliss-states, etc.

[Aloysius]

johnny, have you read my thread on the Debate Table, "The Problem with Yoga"?

As regards not meditating as deeply when praying: Christian meditation and Eastern meditation are fundamentally different things. Two main fundamental differences: Christian meditation seeks to fill the mind from a source outside of oneself, and thus focuses on specific things; Eastern Meditation seeks to empty the mind. The second: Christian Meditation seeks to worship God above all else; eastern meditation is self-centered, focused on self-improvement, and involves purposefully inducing states in an active manner instead of the passive way Christian meditation accepts the experience with a source from God. So if you find your meditation is too much an active attempt to induce the types of ecstacies described by the saints, you should take a step back and rethink your way of meditation. But to meditate on the Mysteries of Christ passively receiving what God offers is perfectly fine.

it seems your source is a bit protestant, maybe a little fundamentalist. so it should be taken with a grain of salt (though the dangers it described are certainly true, especially of higher level kundalini styles of yoga), but for some Catholic sources:

[url="http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html"]Jesus Christ the Bearer of the True Water of Life: A Christian Meditation on the New Age[/url]

More directly poignent to this specific discussion of types of meditation:
[url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDFMED.HTM"]Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation[/url]

The breathing exercises described here; I'm not sure are in and of themselves bad or dangerous (it depends a lot on the source of them and the intent with which they're used). But what needs to be avoided is trying to master techniques which induce self-betterment.