Internal Breathing: a Meditative Practice

This talk will introduce Swedenborg's meditative practice of Internal Breathing. Swedenborg had a particular understanding of the way that consciousness operates within the body, and the importance of the flow of breath and "spiritual currents" to the operation of the nervous system. His unique form of transcendental breath control is one of the few examples of such practices in the West before the introduction of Yogic practices such as pranayama. When paired with a deep understanding of Yoga, this means these two wildly divergent practices can be used to triangulate the nature of embodied spiritual practice. The talk will explore the history, physiology and metaphysics of "internal breathing" and will include practical instruction and visualizations.

Eleanor Schnarr (1989) is an artist, poet and theologian from Philadelphia. She has developed a unique technical style which spans the representative and the abstract. She is chiefly interested in exploring visual languages of interoception and figuration. Eleanor has a certificate in traditional figure painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MA in religion at the GTU in Berkeley. In her academic pursuits Eleanor is studying the conversation between Eastern and Western esotericism particularly as it relates to the recorded experiences of Emanuel Swedenborg and the Ancient Dharma of Śaiva Siddhānta. Her paintings are explorations of interoceptive modalities, subtle energy and internal consciousness.