When we breathe in,
We literally bring our bodies more life and energy.
Inhale deeply and feel the aliveness.
Exhale,
Releasing and relaxing.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Welcome to a hit of hope.
Alchemy has a long and somewhat troubled history.
It was this idea that if you had a philosopher's stone,
You could transmute or change something like lead into gold.
Or you could create a potion that would prolong life indefinitely.
Inhale.
Exhale.
While it might sound fanciful to us here and now,
It's really no surprise that humans would seek to do this.
To take the commonplace and make it priceless?
To get rid of disease and death?
Yes,
Please.
Inhale.
Exhale.
It's easy to call those who practice alchemy in the Middle Ages fools.
Who in the world would think we mere mortals have the power to do any of those things?
But we,
Here and now,
Might not be that far away from practicing alchemy as we think.
If I buy this cream,
It will get rid of the ravages of age and pollution and worry on my face,
And I will look like that 16-year-old ingenue.
If I buy this lottery ticket,
Or if I make this TikTok and get a million views in three hours,
My financial troubles will be over and my life will be changed for the good.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Look,
I'm all for some magical thinking.
I think I've said before,
I believe the blue eggs I get from my co-op are more powerful than other eggs,
And I save them for big days,
Believing they will infuse my life source with all kinds of bad assery.
Inhale.
Exhale.
And I am not against alchemy.
In fact,
I think we should practice it wholeheartedly.
But it's not the magical or the miraculous we should focus on.
My good friend,
The Oxford English Dictionary,
Calls alchemy a practical craft,
A practice that requires skill and ingenuity.
Are we trying to change plastic into gold or create some mystical kombucha that will have us living forever?
No.
We are trying to turn our leadened selves into something luminescent.
We are trying to get that quality which cannot be named,
But the one we all know,
That undeniable thing that pours forth from folks like the Dalai Lama or Desmond Tutu or Ryan Reynolds.
What we need to know is that we are already shining and glowing priceless treasures.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Well,
If that's the case,
What is our practice then?
To slowly change out of our heavy and leaden selves.
To step out of those downtrodden,
Uncertain,
And small selves like they are the clothes you are wearing while mucking out a barn.
The muck of life sticks to us,
And we carry it around believing,
This is my true self.
Inhale.
Exhale.
The practice of alchemy is to get rid of that muck in order to shine in your wholeness,
To uncover your strange and luminous self,
Your priceless self.
One of the best ways to do this is what you are doing.
Sitting.
Breathing.
Getting centered and still enough to see the muck.
To recognize it for what it is.
Left over waste that hides your true and radiant self.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Alchemy isn't a magical poof.
It takes time.
It requires effort and attention.
But if you can commit to this practical craft,
Soon you will be uncovering your luminescence,
And you'll find the self that is already there,
Deep inside and shining.
Active Light.
