Founding Story
Courage to Live
Genie O'Malley lived her first 27 years so deep in a hole of self-loathing, addiction, abuse, and self-destruction that she was more than a stranger to herself - she felt invisible and empty.
Sexually abused from an early age, mentally and emotionally tortured, and fundamentally abandoned in every sense, Genie's life was a roller coaster of drama, disease, and dysfunction. She was sick with depression most of the time, taking incredible amounts of medication - 4500 ml of lithium a day for three years - which not only didn't help the depression but made her more ill. Homeless, living in her car, trying to hold a job, in and out of hospitals with chronic depression, Genie had no sense of self, and the concept of love was truly foreign to her.
The final blow was an ovarian cancer diagnosis. Her grief was profound and overwhelming, but still Genie began hearing an inner voice telling her to go to the rainforest. It nagged; she resisted - but at the same time, she yearned to know what it felt like to love. It wasn't just her body that needed healing, it was her spirit and her heart as well.
Out of nowhere, a long-lost friend showed up at Genie's door. Genie told her friend about the voice and about her unwillingness to heed it, and within hours, the friend had packed Genie off and taken her to the rainforest.
Release the Past
Planning a four-day stay - long enough (Genie thought) to get it together - she arrived in the rainforest and set up camp. Day-to-day life was simple: cooking and crying. A lot. Four days of crying turned into one week, two, then three.
The grief seemed to grow once she was alone with it. Overcome by the fear of herself, abandoned and feeling worthless, with no beliefs, faith, or spiritual knowledge to rely on, all Genie could do was mourn a life that seemed lost. She had lost herself to shame and within that shame had become ill. There was no choice but to surrender and pray for healing - physical and spiritual.
Slowly, Genie's first awakening was to the rainforest itself. The sound of raindrops falling, sometimes softly and sometimes in riotous storms; the fresh drinking water that ran down the mountain; the creek she used for bathing; the warm, damp air - it was beautiful, simple, and nurturing. In these moments of true communion, as if waking from a long sleep, a feeling of life started to emerge, along with an evolving sense of peace (but still no revelations about love). Genie assumed this meant it was time to return home.
One morning as she prepared to return home, Genie sat on a creek bank and spontaneously began to pray farewell to the rainforest. She thanked it for being her refuge, allowing her to cry unceasingly for weeks. She thanked the soil for soothing her soul and absorbing her tears, and most importantly for supporting her during a time of reflection.
In that moment of prayer, Genie heard a voice - a sweet, kind expression of love that whispered into her heart, mind, and soul: If I said to you that feeling love was as simple as breathing, would you do it?
And in that moment, Genie took a breath.
The Discovery of Breath
This was not a normal breath. It was a unique, three-part breath which today Genie calls the Higher Mind Breath. As Genie breathed, she heard the voice whisper the word precious. This was her first time ever to hear this word addressed to her, and immediately she felt love move through her being.
At the same time, alongside the Higher Mind's voice, Genie heard the negative mind: a collective voice, ranting, telling her everything she wasn't - she wasn't love, she wasn't worthy . Witnessing both the higher mind and the negative mind at once, Genie thought, "If the negative mind is speaking to me, then it must not be me. So then who am I?"
Immediately, she realized, "I am Love."
With an enlightened sense of self worth and peace, Genie was able once and for all to release the sorrows she carried. As she sat on the creek bank rocking and breathing, words of love flowed through her mind like a river of wisdom, an invitation home.
Genie stayed in the rainforest nearly eight more months, documenting the voice and the breathing until it became a science. Through its unique pattern and its specific language, she learned that the Higher Mind Breath could awaken any individual to the presence of love. It had, after all, awakened even her from the lowest place she imagined anyone could be.
Finally, with the Higher Mind Breath, Genie healed. She began to understand profound forgiveness, stillness, self-acceptance, and most importantly, the longing for service.
The Gift of the Higher Mind Breath
After nine months, Genie stepped forward from the rainforest, humbled with one prayer: "May all women, men, and children awaken to love and be liberated within the presence of truth. May I walk behind all those who suffer and invite humanity to awaken to love within the knowing of breath."
This prayer has brought the Higher Mind Breath to the world. With the iBreatheLife in-home breath program, the Breathnazium emotional wellness studios, and a non-profit organization serving women in prison, humanity is connecting with the miracle of profound love. The Higher Mind Breath is a wellspring of healing of all people.
