--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is often thought that spirits in the…" description: "\"“It is often thought that spirits in the after-world do not breathe as we might do - and that in being dead, one does not require inhaling and exhaling..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e21/gabriel-brunsdon-30021_after-world_it-is-often-thought-that-spirits-in-the_717445.jpg" --- # It is often thought that spirits in the after-world do not… ![“It is often thought that spirits in the after-world do not breathe as we might do - and that in being dead, one does not require inhaling and exhaling anything. Well, they do exchange ethers, and the body of a soul does in fact breathe, and talk and sing - though not with oxygen, but a rarefied…” quote by Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e21/gabriel-brunsdon-30021_after-world_it-is-often-thought-that-spirits-in-the_717445.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e21/gabriel-brunsdon-30021_after-world_it-is-often-thought-that-spirits-in-the_717445.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e21/gabriel-brunsdon-30021_after-world_it-is-often-thought-that-spirits-in-the_717445.jpg) > ““It is often thought that spirits in the after-world do not breathe as we might do - and that in being dead, one does not require inhaling and exhaling anything. Well, they do exchange ethers, and the body of a soul does in fact breathe, and talk and sing - though not with oxygen, but a rarefied vitality. And just as a newborn, the very first impulse that comes when one crosses over to the other side, past the veils of death, is to inhale deeply - and then relax.”” [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote describes a metaphysical view that souls continue to breathe a special, non‑oxygenated life after death, likening it to a newborn’s first breath. **In simple terms:** Souls breathe a rare, non‑oxygen breath after death. Key Takeaway Consider the continuity of consciousness beyond death. Themes afterlife spirituality metaphysics breath continuity Mood contemplative mysterious Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - funeral reflections - philosophical discussions - spiritual practices - creative writing - meditation Key Concepts Soul afterlife non‑physical breath transcendence Questions to Reflect On - How do you imagine the soul’s “breath”? - What does “rare vitality” suggest about afterlife? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex theological concepts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath/) [Breathe Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathe-dead-4789468/) [Breathing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Inhale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-inhale-5644697/) [Exhaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhaling/) [Exhaling Exchange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhaling-exchange-5644696/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirits/) ## Related quotes > [“breathe dead hippo, so to speak, and not be contaminated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/breathe-dead-hippo-so-to-speak-and-not-be-contaminated/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [You can't breathe dead hippo waking, sleeping, and eating, and at the same time keep your precarious grip on existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/you-can-t-breathe-dead-hippo-waking-sleeping-and-eating-and-at-the/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [You are sitting and smoking; you believe that you are sitting in your pipe, and that your pipe is smoking you; you are exhaling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/you-are-sitting-and-smoking-you-believe-that-you-are-sitting-in-your/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [...capitalism does live by crises and booms, just as a human being lives by inhaling and exhaling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/capitalism-does-live-by-crises-and-booms-just-as-a-human-being-lives/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [Michael Koryta's THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD is an absolutely thrilling read. I read most of it with my breath held, occasionally exhaling to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/michael-koryta-s-those-who-wish-me-dead-is-an-absolutely-thrilling/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [As a newborn baby breathes and cries, so the signs of life in a newborn Christian are faith and repentance, inhaling the love of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-a-newborn-baby-breathes-and-cries-so-the-signs-of-life-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When you first begin, don’t take too full a breath at once. Start by breathing to the count of four, pausing for the count…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-scott/when-you-first-begin-don-t-take-too-full-a-breath-at-once-start-by/) [S.J. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-scott/) > [CO2 is the exhaling breath of our civilization, literally... Changing that pattern requires a scope, a scale, a speed of change that is beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/co2-is-the-exhaling-breath-of-our-civilization-literally-changing/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [“I believe, if there is some sort of higher power, the universe is it. Whenever religious people ask me where the universe came from,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-gaspirtz/i-believe-if-there-is-some-sort-of-higher-power-the-universe-is-it/) [Oliver Gaspirtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-gaspirtz/) > [When exhaling this air, we announced Jesus Christ risen by the same Spirit. No one can live without breathing. It is the same for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/when-exhaling-this-air-we-announced-jesus-christ-risen-by-the-same/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [She was perfect. I knew this the moment she emerged from my body, white and wet and wailing. Beyond the requisite ten fingers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-diffenbaugh/she-was-perfect-i-knew-this-the-moment-she-emerged-from-my-body-white/) [Vanessa Diffenbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-diffenbaugh/) > [More and more, I am pulled reluctantly towards a strong horizontal current, which is a place where time is moving at such high velocity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akram-khan/more-and-more-i-am-pulled-reluctantly-towards-a-strong-horizontal/) [Akram Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akram-khan/) > [I am safe and secure. I exhale any anxiety and inhale calm. As my world expands so do my heart and mind. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-carr/i-am-safe-and-secure-i-exhale-any-anxiety-and-inhale-calm-as-my-world/) [Kris Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-carr/) > [He also didn't mind Piper's using him for a pillow. She had a cute way of breathing when she slept - inhaling through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/he-also-didn-t-mind-piper-s-using-him-for-a-pillow-she-had-a-cute-way/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Receiving and giving are opposite energies that are inextricably linked together in the natural flow of life, like inhaling and exhaling. If one aspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-gawain/receiving-and-giving-are-opposite-energies-that-are-inextricably/) [Shakti Gawain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-gawain/) ## More by Gabriel Brunsdon > [“Symbology and ritual, at best, can only mimic the Truth ... and cannot, and never has had, any mastery over the manifestations of Divinity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/symbology-and-ritual-at-best-can-only-mimic-the-truth-and-cannot-and/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) > [“Thoughts alone are potent writs of becoming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/thoughts-alone-are-potent-writs-of-becoming/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) > [“Heaven itself is just a little less than perfect: for perfection, by self-definition, is a static condition, and anything truly static has deceased its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/heaven-itself-is-just-a-little-less-than-perfect-for-perfection-by/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) > [“When someone from Faerie ever tells you something, you can see it - you can feel it - you believe it. For the true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/when-someone-from-faerie-ever-tells-you-something-you-can-see-it-you/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) > [“There are faerie lights in Faerie - not the tiny paper lanterns that you might see strung up high upon a tree, and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/there-are-faerie-lights-in-faerie-not-the-tiny-paper-lanterns-that/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) > [“The word 'weird' is never spoken or thought of by the Fey, as to them there is nothing very strange when you take it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/the-word-weird-is-never-spoken-or-thought-of-by-the-fey-as-to-them/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) > [“The strange thing about magic is how easily one can feel familiar with it. Much like a dream, its message can infill the senses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/the-strange-thing-about-magic-is-how-easily-one-can-feel-familiar/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) > [“Between the borders of Faerie and the physical world stands an ancient forest where the trees are exceedingly tall; and although no longer visible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/between-the-borders-of-faerie-and-the-physical-world-stands-an/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) > [“Men are tested and tried amongst deceptions radically and they are winning for themselves abilities to give, to deliberate, to stand fast, to choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/men-are-tested-and-tried-amongst-deceptions-radically-and-they-are/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) > [“Independence' is a magic word, because nowhere in the Cosmos does it actually exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/independence-is-a-magic-word-because-nowhere-in-the-cosmos-does-it/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) > [“Sometimes when deep magic is before you, it can be taken as something quite ordinary. Only when looking back does one question what had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/sometimes-when-deep-magic-is-before-you-it-can-be-taken-as-something/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) > [“True passion motivates the life forces and brings forth all things good. ... desire is the poor cousin to passion, ever hungry and with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/true-passion-motivates-the-life-forces-and-brings-forth-all-things/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) > [“The thoughts of Man build future worlds, whilst the emotions of the Fey build up this, our Natural World.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/the-thoughts-of-man-build-future-worlds-whilst-the-emotions-of-the/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) > [“For all beings within this universal kingdom, their magnetic north rests in genuine mirth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/for-all-beings-within-this-universal-kingdom-their-magnetic-north/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) > [“...for the purity of first light is bliss and surely the whole point of faith is just in this: - Not that we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-brunsdon/for-the-purity-of-first-light-is-bliss-and-surely-the-whole-point-of/) [Gabriel Brunsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) [Explore all 17 Gabriel Brunsdon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-brunsdon/) ## More Breath quotes > [“The days may last forever, but the years pass by in a blink; the secret to survival is actually remembering to take a deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/the-days-may-last-forever-but-the-years-pass-by-in-a-blink-the-secret/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [Take a deep breath. It,s just a bad day not a bad life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/take-a-deep-breath-it-s-just-a-bad-day-not-a-bad-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I stopped loving you today, But OMG..., Seeing your Body takes my breath away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becka-miller/i-stopped-loving-you-today-but-omg-seeing-your-body-takes-my-breath/) [Becka Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becka-miller/) > [So we must do our very best Whatever life may bring And look beyond the winter chill To smell the breath of spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-we-must-do-our-very-best-whatever-life-may-bring-and-look-beyond/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Poetry should be vital--either stirring our blood by its divine movements or snatching our breath by its divine perfection. To do both is supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/poetry-should-be-vital-either-stirring-our-blood-by-its-divine/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [“The first step in awareness is to be watchful of your body. Slowly,slowly one becomes alert about each gesture,each movement. And as you become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/the-first-step-in-awareness-is-to-be-watchful-of-your-body-slowly/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [Tic Tacs are the maracas of breath mints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/tic-tacs-are-the-maracas-of-breath-mints/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [“To control your life, control your mind. To control your mind, control your breath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/to-control-your-life-control-your-mind-to-control-your-mind-control/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [“He’s sitting so close, I can feel his breath on my cheek. My stomach flip-flops again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-s-sitting-so-close-i-can-feel-his-breath-on-my-cheek-my-stomach/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“My life to yours. My breath beecome yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/my-life-to-yours-my-breath-beecome-yours/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“My heart is your heart," she whispers, and wow that takes my breath away, this line from my childhood that she always used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annabel-pitcher/my-heart-is-your-heart-she-whispers-and-wow-that-takes-my-breath-away/) [Annabel Pitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annabel-pitcher/) > [Good manners and bad breath will get you nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-costello/good-manners-and-bad-breath-will-get-you-nowhere/) [Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-costello/) > [“Being able to be myself was like being able to exhale for the first time after holding my breath for years. It’s only when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/404-ink/being-able-to-be-myself-was-like-being-able-to-exhale-for-the-first/) [404 Ink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/404-ink/) [Browse all 1,839 Breath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is often thought that spirits in the after-world do not breathe as we might do - and that in being dead, one does not require inhaling and exhaling anything. Well, they do exchange ethers, and the body of a soul does in fact breathe, and talk and sing - though not with oxygen, but a rarefied vitality. 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