The Jesus Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, (inhale slowly)

Have mercy on me, a sinner. (exhale slowly)

“Breath is directly connected to both the autonomous nervous system and the voluntary nervous system. In other words, we can control our breathing, and it goes on automatically when we are not aware of it—unconscious, asleep, or with our attention elsewhere. Breathing is one of the few functions of the body through which we can directly affect our feelings. It is also something we can directly check to see how we are feeling. It is very easy to verify.”

“Think of a time when you were afraid. Think about the circumstances and how you felt. How were you breathing? Chances are you were breathing rapidly and shallowly or holding your breath. Both are very common reactions to fear. … If we want to know how we feel, we should check our breathing. If we want to change how we feel, we need to change how we breathe.”

P., Bill. Drop the Rock: Removing Character Defects – Steps Six and Seven (p. 72). Hazelden Publishing. Kindle Edition.