Depth of Now

I am convinced that most of us find it difficult to believe in our own preciousness, let alone the preciousness of everything and everyone. So as I was sitting in meditation today, I wondered if we might benefit from affirming preciousness in practice, using as an outline the personal pronouns. The practice might look something like this: Still the mind, body, and emotions with a moment of attentive breathing in and out. Repeat each of the following to ourselves with a pause between each. We might use each phrase as an opportunity to visualize who/what to which we are referring in the phrase. I am inifintely precious. [pause] You are infinitely precious. [pause] It/She/He is infinitely precious. [pause] They are infinitely precious. [pause] You are infinitely precious. [pause] We are infinitely precious. [pause] Perhaps this practice might open a deeper sense of preciousness of self and others.

 I have taken awhile to get used to the word “practice.” Initially, it sounded like something that belonged in sports or some other realm. Over time, it has changed in tone to my inner ear. Practice implies that I keep working on something and with that work I may become more “skilled.” It is that becoming that catches my heart’s fancy, I believe. For too long, I believe that religious piety gave me a sense of having arrived or almost having arrived. Yet the more I practice, the more I see that each step forward moves me one step forward. I can and do sometimes step back, occasionally almost immediately after stepping forward! If I had some imagined goal of platonic perfection, each step would merely be frustrating and, in the extreme, tedious and infuriating. I have as my goal to continue to practice, to create a Rhythm out of that practice, and to trust that the practice could open me to a deepening Presence everywhere and all-the-time. As I have come to a resonance with the wor...

 I have noticed in myself the struggles that come with this change in my routine. Not going to a building when I am working, working from my home space, not “going out” so much to public places except, of course, the grocery store. For me, gathering with my faith community has generally been a source of comfort and strength. Even that is no longer possible at least for now. I have set about to create a few rituals in my own home-space. I write in my journal every morning. I begin that writing with 10 items about which (or whom) I am thankful. I begin there every day, with thankfulness. It has helped. However, any practice that keeps us grounded or reminds us of the sacred-nature of our time can become a “ritual,” practiced regularly as a source of comfort and peace. Other suggestions: Light a candle with your evening meal (or any meal) and speak aloud something good about the day. Place a reminder of important people or experiences or God or whatever on your bedside table to catch ...