Breathing Groups
What is a breathing group?
Simply put, breathing groups are a simple way to become spiritual friends. That term, "spiritual friends," is an ancient term. It describes a partnership in which people share the spiritual journey with trusting and trustworthy spiritual allies. Spiritual friendship is deeper than familiarity, or socializing. It is the intentional pursuit of God, and spiritual awareness with others.
To describe the elements of this kind of friendship, we talk about breathing groups, about breathing together.
1. We breathe in
In spiritual friendships each partner, on his or her own, pursues insight, understanding, and Truth some way or another. Perhaps one’s truth-pursuit practice is to read scripture, perhaps it is to listen to spiritual music, or carve out a quiet space each day alone, or to read spiritual books. However we find spiritual insight, when we come together, we share them together. We share the experiences of God we have had. This affords us the opportunity to "breathe in" one another’s Truth. Your experience of God becomes air for my lungs, water for my thirst.
This sharing naturally inspires spiritual conversations…
- "This is what God is teaching me; this is what I’m learning."
- "I had a fight w/ my spouse. This is how I found God’s Voice in the midst of it."
- "I had some trouble at work. The book I’m reading helped me to see this, or that."
Together, we talk about what we see of God’s life, truth, and goodness and we breathe in each other’s experience of Truth, benefitting from one another’s experiences, strengths, and insights.
2. We breathe out
After having shared one another’s Truths for a season, we begin to trust one another. We tell our stories, we share our insights, and soon, seeds of affection take root, and we feel safe with one another. In this environment of trust, confidentiality, and safety, we are able to talk about the hard things in our lives: our failures, weaknesses, habits.
History and scripture teach us that when we talk about the dark parts of our lives, the darkness loses its power. When we bring weakness to light, it itself is weakened. There is an old expression that "confession is good for the soul." We believe this is true.
In breathing groups, we "breathe out" our confession one to another. We talk about our shortcomings; our anger, fear, judgment, and weaknesses. We share openly the habitual failures we have secreted away, and then as Jesus encouraged us to do, we offer one another absolution (Jn. 20:23). As we listen, we hold one another before God, offering to each other the forgiveness and love available in Jesus Christ. In this way, we strengthen one another, providing the environment in which strangleholds in our souls are broken.
This is one of the most challenging elements of a spiritual friendship, but for those with the courage to go here, it provides the greatest freedom for our souls.
3. We breathe up
Throughout history and scripture, prayer has been likened to breath. We "breathe" our prayers to God.
Spiritual friends pray for one another. We hold one another’s concerns, lives, families, and friends before God. We remember one another in the night hours, or during our drive time, and in the remembering, hold each other before God. This binds us to one another quite deeply.
- "Last night, I had you on my heart, so I prayed for you. How are you?"
- "I know you are facing X, or Y, or Z, today. I’ve been holding you to God. How is it going?"
Breathing groups are simply a repackaged way of talking about the ancient tradition of spiritual friendship. Those who walk in this special kind of relationship become deeply connected to one another. History would indicate that besides the deep connections, people who live in this relationship are strengthened, transformed, and matured in their spirituality. Spiritual growth is best fostered in the environment of shared experience.