A friend told me that she is starting to
become more aware of things in her life she never noticed before.
She now loves it when someone unexpected shows up at her door. She flows through the day responding with ease to most things. And she is attuned with all her senses when she takes a walk outside.
These are new experiences for her, but this deepening awareness has always been available. Things aren’t becoming more tender or sacred. The appearance of the leaves and rocks hasn’t changed.
What’s changed? Her perspective.
Rather than living in mental noise, she’s available to directly experience what’s present.
She moves more slowly so there’s space to see and appreciate everything.
She’s aware and grateful—and her heart is touched over and over.
This is the sacred in everyday life.
When something is known as sacred, it has a quality that is beyond the material, physical world. It’s not subject to the mind's analysis, judgment, or interpretation.
It is illuminated by grace. It may look ordinary, but as we’re with it with nothing in the way, we stand in awe of its very existence.
Recognizing the sacred all around us—which includes ourselves—we take nothing for granted. Then everyone and everything is a gift, a surprise, an expression of the light of consciousness.
Oh, the puddles of
rain outside my window! I get to breathe! I hold my friend who just lost her husband.
Most of us need reminders—a gentle tap on the shoulder that invites us out of the mind’s noise and into the living reality of this now moment.
And this is where rituals and practices are helpful.
A friend has an altar at home that she visits in reverence every morning. Another steeps himself in books describing the exquisiteness of being present in nature. And another starts the day with a guided meditation that grounds her in
presence.
There are countless ways to remind yourself of the sacred quality of everything. Here are some suggestions:
- Set an alarm with soft chimes to awaken you to presence any time during the day;
- Pair a conscious breath with a common action, such as standing up or feeling the urge to check your email;
- Read or listen to something that inspires you before you turn out the light at night or just upon waking;
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Offer a prayer of gratitude before you start eating a meal;
- Commit to slowing down and being aware when you find yourself rushing.
The mind may tell you that if you were really far along on your path of awakening,
you wouldn’t need rituals and practices. But love will tell you something different.
Give yourself permission to do whatever it takes to absorb into the experience of being aware. Come up with actions that bring you back to the spaciousness beyond your personal self, and incorporate them into your daily life.
With each moment of consciously being aware, you're here, experiencing the sacred in everyday life, peaceful, free, and utterly alive.