In the inhalation and exhalation there is an energy and a lively

In the sacred language of both science and spirit, Michael Servetus once wrote: “In the inhalation and exhalation there is an energy and a lively divine spirit, since He, through His spirit, supports the breath of life, giving courage to the people who are in the earth and spirit to those who walk on it.” These words, radiant with both reverence and discovery, unite the realms of faith and reason in one breath. They remind us that life itself — the simple act of breathing — is not a mechanical motion but a sacred exchange, a rhythm through which the divine spirit animates all living things. In every inhale and exhale, Servetus saw not mere biology, but the pulse of creation itself.

The origin of this insight lies in the daring and tragic life of Servetus, a sixteenth-century physician, theologian, and visionary. Born in Spain during the height of religious upheaval, he sought to reconcile faith with the growing revelations of science. It was Servetus who first described the pulmonary circulation of the blood — the great discovery that the heart and lungs work together to bring oxygen, or “spirit,” into the body. Yet for him, this was not merely a physiological process; it was a divine mystery. The breath of life, he wrote, was the living evidence of God’s presence within humanity — a symbol of both courage and consciousness. For this blending of theology and science, Servetus was condemned as a heretic and burned at the stake in 1553. Yet even in death, his words breathed immortality, for they spoke a truth larger than dogma: that life itself is sacred energy, sustained by the spirit of God.

To Servetus, inhalation and exhalation were more than movements of air; they were acts of communion. Each breath was a moment of divine exchange — the Creator giving life, and the creature returning gratitude. The breath, he believed, carried both courage and spirit, binding the body and soul in perfect harmony. When he wrote that God “supports the breath of life,” he revealed his vision of a universe alive with meaning, where even the unseen act of breathing is an echo of the divine will. Thus, he transformed what others saw as mundane into something eternal. Every living being, by the simple rhythm of its lungs, participates in the living pulse of the divine.

There is in these words a deep poetry of existence, one that modern eyes often overlook. We rush through life, seldom aware that our breath — so effortless, so constant — is the quiet bridge between our inner and outer worlds. Servetus teaches that in every breath lies energy, the sacred spark that animates flesh and thought alike. To breathe consciously, then, is to return to our source — to remember that we are vessels of a greater life-force. The ancient sages of the East understood this too: in Sanskrit, the word prana means both “breath” and “life energy.” Thus, across time and tradition, the wisdom of breath has been a universal path to peace, courage, and awareness.

Consider the story of Viktor Frankl, the psychologist and survivor of the Holocaust. Imprisoned in the death camps of Auschwitz, surrounded by despair, he found in the smallest acts of awareness — even the act of breathing — the strength to endure. He wrote that between stimulus and response, there is a space — and in that space lies our freedom. Servetus would have said the same: that the divine spirit enters in that space, through the breath, renewing courage in those who walk upon the earth. Even in chains, one can breathe — and in that breath lies both spirit and strength.

Through this lens, Servetus’s quote becomes not merely scientific or theological, but existential. It tells us that life itself is sustained by divine energy, and that this energy flows through every living thing equally. No matter our creed, our power, or our pain, we all share the same sacred rhythm: the inhale of receiving and the exhale of giving. The one who breathes with gratitude honors both body and soul; the one who lives in awareness of the divine breath becomes an instrument of peace.

Let this, then, be the lesson passed to those who live in haste and forget their own sacred rhythm: remember the breath. In moments of fear, return to it; in times of sorrow, let it steady you. With each inhalation, receive the courage that sustains all beings; with each exhalation, release your burdens to the divine. Know that in this exchange you touch the same spirit that has animated the world since its beginning.

For as Michael Servetus teaches, the breath of life is no ordinary thing — it is the living presence of God moving through you. To breathe is to participate in the divine act of creation itself. Therefore, breathe deeply, live courageously, and let the spirit within your breath remind you that even the simplest act — the rise and fall of your chest — is a miracle of love, energy, and eternal connection with the divine.