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Holly brought up some fascinating questions about the nature of breathing and creativity. Indeed, after much some internal debate I decided to write my next web paper on the connection of breathing and the nervous system (after rejecting the concept of collecting a series of case studies examples on shared dreams amongst fellow students for a short webpaper as too labor intensive).

Holly discusses the nature of variability and creativity in breathing, but we must take this one step further. Breathing is one the few things that we can control either completely consciously —that is under the control of the I-function—or completely unconsciously.

What significance or implications may this have? It seems that trick to create establishing new patterns across the nervous system lies. By learning to consciously control our breathing, we may change the workings and patterns of our nervous system that immediate control of the I-function.

This is not a foreign concept. Modern day physicians such as Andrew Weil have stressed the importance breath (and focused attention on breath) can play in improving health. Similarly, many cultures have a long-standing tradition of using breathwork as a means of achieving enlightenment.

Perhaps we should define enlightenment as the ability to access/control aspects of our nervous system in new ways, particularly in ways which connections between the I-function and other aspects of the nervous system are connected in untraditional/uncommon ways.