Mind Body & Spirit

Over the years, I had the joy of traveling to many sacred places around the world. I’ve been inspired by cathedrals, shrines and temples. I’ve seen breathtaking and profoundly spiritual natural places, from canyons, to caves, to mountaintops. I have gone on retreats with wonderful people, and had the joy of opening my heart to them as they opened theirs to me. I danced with joy and was moved to tears. And then, I came home again… down from the mountaintop and back to everyday reality.

While I do not argue with the transformative power of (pardon the pun) “peak” experiences, the fact is they are not the stuff of ordinary existence. By their very nature, they are out of the normal stream of our daily routine. And that’s great! But what happens when we come home again?

The vast majority of us cannot live our entire lives deep in meditation at a Buddhist monastery, spend our days singing Gregorian chants in an ancient chapel, or watch the sunrise over the Grand Canyon every morning. Funny thing is, if we did these things every day, they would cease to be “peak” for us and become the stuff of our daily routine.

Nope. Life is mostly made up of the ordinary. We spend our days commuting to work, meeting with colleagues, paying our bills, going grocery shopping, taking care of our children and elderly parents, eating, sleeping, brushing our teeth… This is the substance of our everyday lives. Is it enough?

Yes!

It can be, but only if we pay attention, and see the ordinary with open eyes and open hearts. This is the essence of living with awareness. Being fully present to the moment enables us to experience it fully, and truly live, rather than simply exist. I am not saying this is easy to do! There seems to be a tendency in modern life to stumble through our days in a half-conscious state. Time passes quickly, and we reach the end of the day… or year… a little dazed and say to ourselves, “what happened?” The pressure in our society to function at an ever faster pace certainly doesn’t help.

Learning to really see the sacred in our everyday existence is not a terribly complicated thing to do. It primarily involves cultivating an awareness of what is already present in our lives. Right now, simply take a slow deep breath. What a miracle! You are alive! You have breath. Your heart is pumping. Your neurons are firing. You exist as a one-of-a-kind being, connected to millions of other fellow creatures on earth.

A key to developing mindfulness is to practice sensory awareness. Throughout your day, simply pause and bring your mental attention to your surroundings in the present moment. The sounds, sights, smells, and sensations which normally get filtered out, will become more vivid and real. It is in these moments we can discover the sacred all around us. Pause and breathe. Be aware. Be thankful. And just be.