There Is a Breathing Summary

Barks's commentary discusses how commonly breathing is recommended as a way to calm yourself. Breathing, he says, brings you into the present moment. Barks enumerates other methods of building spirituality by being in the moment, such as meditation, fasting, or walking. He says Rumi recommends relishing these. Barks says that repetition can be spiritual, not numbing.

Rumi's poem enumerates the parts of a person and their purposes. The eye is for seeing; the soul for joy. The head is for loving; the legs for running. The mind is for learning. The writer says, however, that some mysteries aren't meant to be known, and the road to Mecca is filled with danger. The destination makes the dangerous journey worthwhile. Then, the writer compares his talk to making coins, saying that they accumulate while the real work is going...