{"id":2253,"date":"2020-02-04T06:49:03","date_gmt":"2020-02-04T14:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/?p=2253"},"modified":"2020-02-04T07:00:54","modified_gmt":"2020-02-04T15:00:54","slug":"stop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/04\/stop\/","title":{"rendered":"STOP!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"29\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/theres-only-grace\/inbaby-hand3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?fit=135%2C135&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"135,135\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"inbaby-hand3\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?fit=135%2C135&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-29\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=135%2C135\" alt=\"hand in hand\" width=\"135\" height=\"135\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Seriously, just stop.<\/p>\n<p>Now breathe, through your nose. Slowly, deeply. Let your belly rise with each inhalation.<\/p>\n<p>There is a line from a song by the Police which states, \u201c\u2026every breath you take\u2026\u201d Keep breathing, deeply, through your nose.<\/p>\n<p>In the second chapter of Genesis it states that God formed the man and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and he became a living soul.<\/p>\n<p>Breathe deeply, through your nose. Your soul is being feed.<\/p>\n<p>While you breathe, think about air. What does it look like? How do you know it is around you? Come on, make a mental image of it. It feeds your soul after all.<\/p>\n<p>Breathe deeply, through your nose.<\/p>\n<p>This is difficult, right? Thinking about the act of breathing is not \u201cnatural,\u201d right?<\/p>\n<p>Breathe in deeply, through your nose, expanding your belly with each breath.<\/p>\n<p>Have you ever considered that God is like air? You can\u2019t see him or touch him. For all practical purposes, He just doesn\u2019t seem to be evident to our sight or any other sense we possess.<\/p>\n<p>Keep breathing, deeply, through your nose.<\/p>\n<p>You presently have a concept of what God looks like in your consciousness. It could be any of a number of things which have come to you through some form of indoctrination or social precept. While you continue to breath, close your eyes and take a moment to see the images you have fashioned about who God is to you.<\/p>\n<p>Breathe. Again, breathe.<\/p>\n<p>Air. Describe it as it relates to your soul. What does it look like? How does it feel? When do you desire it the most? Where do you think it is not necessary?<\/p>\n<p>Breathe, deeply, ravenously, gratefully.<\/p>\n<p>God. Father. Creator. \u201c\u2026every breath you take\u2026\u201d A living soul. In the image and likeness\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Breathe. Without ceasing. Eternal\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Stop! You can\u2019t. Neither can He.<\/p>\n<p>Breathe, again\u2026and again.<\/p>\n<p>A fight against God is like a fight against breathing. Hold your breath if you seriously believe He doesn\u2019t care about you. It matters not what you believe, it matters who you have been inhaling from. Breathe, again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seriously, just stop. Now breathe, through your nose. Slowly, deeply. Let your belly rise with each inhalation. There is a line from a song by the Police which states, \u201c\u2026every breath you take\u2026\u201d Keep breathing, deeply, through your nose. In &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/04\/stop\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amazonpipp_noncename":"","amazon-product-isactive":"","amazon-product-single-asin":"","amazon-product-content-location":"","amazon-product-content-hook-override":"","amazon-product-excerpt-hook-override":"","amazon-product-singular-only":"","amazon-product-amazon-desc":"","amazon-product-show-gallery":"","amazon-product-show-features":"","amazon-product-newwindow":"","amazon-product-show-list-price":"","amazon-product-show-used-price":"","amazon-product-show-saved-amt":"","amazon-product-timestamp":"","amazon-product-new-title":"","amazon-product-use-cartURL":"","amazon_featured_post_meta_key":"","_amazon_featured_alt":"","amazon-product-template":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[4,6,5],"class_list":["post-2253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-16","tag-grace","tag-mike-hillebrecht","tag-teaching"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s2ITDy-stop","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2307,"url":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/10\/grace-in-a-pandemic\/","url_meta":{"origin":2253,"position":0},"title":"Grace in a Pandemic","author":"mike","date":"April 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Let me get real with you. This whole world pandemic deal is a freaking mess. However, you\u2019re in luck. I wrote the book on a freaking mess back in 2012, aptly titled, Your Life is a Freaking Mess. I would like to say that I am prophetic in my ability\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2020 Postings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2020 Postings","link":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/category\/2020\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/freakingmess-cover-kin-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3116,"url":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/01\/meditation-coming-home-to-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":2253,"position":1},"title":"Meditation: Coming Home to Grace","author":"mike","date":"November 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many of us live in a state of seeking: seeking peace, meaning, relief, closeness to God. Yet what if the place we seek is not ahead of us but within us? I\u2019ve written about our soul being \u201ca fractal of God,\u201d echoing the idea that we are not distant from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2025 Postings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2025 Postings","link":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/category\/2025\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"hand in hand","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2210,"url":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/22\/being-part-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":2253,"position":2},"title":"Being &#8211; Part 3","author":"mike","date":"April 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The prevalent doctrine of mankind is that we are tripartite, comprised of three elements: The body, the spirit and the soul. The body, often referred to as \u201cthe flesh\u201d in the New Testament writings, is the meat sack we all hoist about in our daily meanderings. Organs and blood vessels\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2019 Postings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2019 Postings","link":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/category\/2019-postings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"hand in hand","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1123,"url":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2017\/11\/17\/grateful\/","url_meta":{"origin":2253,"position":3},"title":"Grateful","author":"mike","date":"November 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"At this time of year, after all the fields have been harvested, the orchards have been picked over, the vines have been stripped of their fruit, humanity looks across the bounty to offer thanks. Granted, this is a picturesque description designed to cause reflection for many; others will scratch their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2017 Postings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2017 Postings","link":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/category\/2017\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3137,"url":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/13\/echoes-of-home-sustaining-the-grace-within\/","url_meta":{"origin":2253,"position":4},"title":"Echoes of Home: Sustaining the Grace Within","author":"mike","date":"November 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"In my last reflection, we explored meditation as a gentle return to our inner Divine home, where the soul reveals itself as a radiant fractal of God's infinite essence. That homecoming isn't a one-time event\u2014it's an ongoing echo, a rhythm that pulses through our daily lives if we let it.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2025 Postings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2025 Postings","link":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/category\/2025\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"hand in hand","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3602,"url":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/03\/grace-dissolving-perceived-boundaries\/","url_meta":{"origin":2253,"position":5},"title":"Grace Dissolving Perceived Boundaries","author":"mike","date":"January 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Day 3: Grace Dissolving Perceived Boundaries Today's Veil to Pierce As we continue this exploration, building on the scriptural echoes of unity we've touched upon, today's focus turns to the active role of grace in dissolving the perceived boundaries that the deceptive veil so cleverly imposes. 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