Salvaging Sacredness
We are on a journey of awakening, a path that leads us to fully embrace the sacred within the present moment. It is not about transcending the human experience or attaining a state of perfect equanimity. Instead, it is about showing up wholeheartedly for the realities of life, no matter how mundane, tedious, aggravating, or shameful they may seem. In doing so, we begin to recognize the holiness that permeates every aspect of our existence.
To make space for this sacred seeing, we engage in disciplined practices such as meditation or prayer. These practices become our magic carpets, rescuing us from the constant identification with our thoughts and emotional distractions. By intentionally creating periods of reverence and stillness in our days, we train our eyes to gaze through the lens of love, and we gradually become better at perceiving love everywhere we look.
Our practice may take the form of sitting in silence for twenty minutes each day, embarking on aimless solitary walks, kneeling in a place of worship, or simply following the flow of our breath with full attention. Through these practices, we inch our way towards a more feminine-positive approach, one that embraces the sanctity of our bodies and the blessings of the ordinary.
We are on a journey of reclamation, salvaging the sacredness within ourselves and our lives. We flirt with the possibility of fully inhabiting the present moment, willing to investigate things as they are and ourselves as we are. With curiosity and kindness, we develop a method of mindfulness that expands beyond the cushion and into the open field of our existence.
(adopted from: Mirabai Starr, Wild Mercy)