Experience Awe Every Day

Inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson - seeing the miraculous in the common. We dive deep into relaxation and then bring attention to the everyday things that would bring unbelievable awe and wonder to life if we allowed ourselves to stop and witness the fantastic nature of all that is around us. It is an amazing world and experience that we get to enjoy, if only we remember to check it out.

Transcript

I'm recording this computer.

All right.

Welcome to this meditation.

This meditation is inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson and the idea of seeing the miraculous in the common.

He has a quote of,

If the stars only appeared once every thousand years,

How man would marvel and stare.

And then has another quote of,

Directing us to find the miraculous or see the miraculous in the common.

Just those things that we see all the time that we've taken for granted.

And really how amazing all of this is.

So tonight,

For now,

This is the meditation.

So I invite you just to settle into your seat,

Relax,

Move your body in any way to get comfortable.

Just letting everything go right now.

Kind of sitting in your seat.

I'm leaving my eyes open for the moment.

We're beginning to become aware of our breath.

Now,

Looking forward with our eyes open,

We're just going to shift our perspective away from a single object to the full peripheral field of vision.

Just seeing how we can take it all in at one time.

It's just using the right hemisphere of the brain,

Crossing over,

Bringing both hemispheres of the brain into harmony.

So while we're looking at that full view,

We'll take in a deep breath through our nose.

And as we do,

We'll roll our eyes up towards the ceiling in the sky.

And we'll hold that breath in and hold our eyes in that spot.

So let's go ahead and breathe in deeply through our nose.

Roll our eyes up.

Looking up towards the ceiling or the sky at about a 45 degree angle and holding our breath in.

Noticing sensations in the body,

Holding our breath.

And still using that peripheral field of view to see it all.

And then just exhale deeply and allow your eyes to go back into a resting position.

We're going to do this two more times.

So let's breathe in deeply through our nose.

As our eyes look up,

Holding that breath in,

Just feeling that cleansing breath as it circulates throughout our body.

Noticing the full field of vision.

And then as you deeply exhale,

Just feel any tension falling away from your body,

Your eyes relaxing.

Take another third and final deep breath in,

And then exhale.

Take another third and final deep breath in,

In preparation.

Allowing our eyes again to be looking up.

Just going to hold them there for a moment.

Eyes letting our brain know we're ready to sink into an alpha state.

And then this time as you deeply exhale and relax your eyes,

If you're comfortable,

Just allow your eyelids to gently close as well.

But if not,

You can just let them be in a resting position,

Not really focused on anything.

We're going to breathe normally,

But we're going to allow our attention to completely observe each breath.

From start to finish,

When it enters through the nose,

As it rises the chest or the stomach,

It circulates through the body as the capillaries pick up that oxygen in the bloodstream and carry it through our heart,

Pumped through all parts of our body to the smallest of the cells.

Every single part of our body receives this cleansing and healing,

Rejuvenating oxygen.

Till it's returned and then we allow it to leave our body and exhale.

Each breath that we take just relaxes us more deeply into this present moment.

Just bringing our full attention into the here and the now.

So we'll do just a quick scan,

Starting as if there is just a warm trickle of water over our head,

It's just gently cascading,

Golden white light all around our scalp,

Our forehead,

Our cheekbones,

That it's just going through,

It goes across the surface,

But it also is light so it can enter through all the cells.

And then we'll just take a few more breaths and just let it go through our nose,

The back of our head.

We're just going to allow that trickle just to cascade completely over the shoulders through the neck,

Down our chest and our back,

Massaging every single fiber of our physical being,

Just flushing through our nose,

Massaging every single fiber of our physical being,

Just flushing away any tension,

Any ligament pressures,

Any soreness,

Twitches,

Just allowing this image of this golden white light just flushing across the top of our body,

But through our body as well.

And anywhere that we notice is asking for extra attention,

Just allow your awareness to go to that spot.

Imagine that your breath comes in and goes directly to that area,

Just wrapping itself around that area,

Just acknowledging that it needs your attention.

Just let it know that whatever it is that is calling,

That for right now,

Everything is okay.

In this present moment,

The body can just relax more deeply.

And as that image of that light continues to flow down and around through the body,

Just allow it to continue out through your waist,

Through your legs,

Down and out through your feet and toes,

Acknowledging either your chair or maybe your bed or a cushion,

Just acknowledge whatever it is that's supporting your body right now,

Noticing the connection,

The spots where they meet,

To just let you know and let your body know that right now,

It can completely relax.

Now drawing our attention into our chest,

Into that heart space,

Just going to imagine the breath entering directly into that cavernous area in the center of our chest.

And through our mind's eye,

I invite you to just imagine your pinpoint of consciousness entering in to an area inside your chest that has space around it.

Because if you are in a safe room,

Or maybe it's a safe outdoor space,

But it's right there in the center of your being,

Completely surrounding you,

If it's comfortable to see it as a dark room,

That's great,

Maybe it feels better to see it as a bright luminous space.

Whatever feels most comforting,

Just envisioning yourself in this area in the center of your chest,

As if your body and the space around it is a separate thing that's just containing you,

Containing your pinpoint area of consciousness,

That spot where thought arises.

We'll draw our attention to what is it that is witnessing this spot,

That deeper essence of who and what we are.

So as we can feel that single point of awareness within that physical body,

Within a space in between,

Allow that image of you as this point of consciousness to expand larger and larger until it's holding your body within it.

Your imaginary arms are holding your physical body within.

You can allow that image to expand until it's holding the space that you're in.

Maybe you're in a room,

Maybe you're outdoors,

Just allowing your imaginary body image to continue to expand until it takes in the space around you,

Until it takes in the space around the larger area,

Continuing to expand it as much as your imagination can,

Until it takes in your city,

Your region.

Allow that image to pull back even more until it's holding the entire globe within it.

This point of consciousness,

This energetic body of your imagination is completely unlimited.

So let's pull it further back even to where we're holding the solar system.

All our planets around us,

Further still until we take in the Milky Way galaxy,

Just holding that within our awareness,

Stretching even further until we're taking in multiple galaxies.

And then expand that beyond until you're holding all that exists,

Everything,

The entire universe within your awareness,

Within your imaginary arms,

It's all within.

With this deeper imagination,

With this deeper consciousness,

Let's allow our minds to imagine that starry sky that Emerson asked us to imagine as if it was only going to appear once every thousand years.

So imagining a dark night sky without any stars,

And then knowing the one day when the stars are coming back,

And then knowing the one date where the stars would shine for us,

What an event that would be.

Our humanity would plan,

Hold parties and get togethers for this event.

What an amazing sight the stars would be.

Even if they only showed up once a year,

That one night a year would be magical.

How we can allow our awareness just to notice how truly blessing and wonderful stars really are.

What a gift they are.

And while we know what they are,

What a gift they are.

And while we know what they are,

To the imagination,

For through the eyes of a young child,

How truly magical they are.

So what other things in our everyday life,

We come to expect,

That we don't stop,

And just revel in the awe of the seeming miraculous.

How about the electricity that runs through our dwellings?

What is that electricity?

How wonderful is it,

How it powers our devices,

Brings light into the darkness.

How does it work?

How does it work?

And how about something as simple as a cotton blanket?

The cotton that grows from a plant,

That is the most beautiful thing in the world.

How about a pencil and a pen,

And how about something as simple as a cotton blanket?

The cotton that grows from a plant that is harvested,

Transformed,

Woven,

Something that grows out of the ground that then is transformed into something so comforting that's an extra soft sheet,

Blanket.

What a gift that is.

What else can come up in your awareness as we continue to monitor our breath.

Allow an image or two to rise in your imagination.

That is something that truly is miraculous that we experience on a daily basis.

That is something that truly is miraculous that we experience on a daily basis.

That is something that truly is miraculous that we experience on a daily basis.

By becoming aware of deeper nature,

Deeper reality of which we are a part of,

Of all the somewhat miraculous things that have come before us from the dawn of civilization,

They've all culminated in this point right now.

What miraculous things are yet to be.

So opening up to this deeper imagination.

If you're in alignment with this idea,

Allow your imagination to just envision a planet of harmony amongst all human beings where people reach out their hands to help,

To acknowledge,

To recognize one another,

To recognize that deeper part within each imagination and consciousness.

That deep down inside each individual is just seeking to experience more love or harmony,

Acceptance,

Community,

Well-being.

So what does that look like?

What does it look like when you are able to receive an unconditional love,

A deeper presence,

The same essence that brings the life force and the breath throughout your body.

This miraculous physical system of which allows you to navigate and experience in this physical world.

It's held together,

Breathed,

Grows and heals all through this underlying current of life force.

What an amazing thing it is.

So allowing a gentle smile upon your face.

I invite you just to accept and receive while acknowledging this deeper life force coming to you,

Through you and as you.

Through that same awareness that is flowing through all,

Everything that is,

Everyone that is,

Everyone that ever was and everyone that ever will be,

It is that same one life energy through it all.

So with a deeper awareness and your reminder to allow this awareness to seep into your everyday experiences to bring a little more wonder and magic into your daily activities to remind us to stop and breathe and just witness and observe this magic in all that we do,

That all of our days may hold a little more meaning and a little more joy.

Bringing our awareness back into the space around us with a heightened awareness.

And just to observe the sensations in your body,

Knowing that as we come out of this meditation,

That our body is in a refreshed state of being,

Ready for whatever is the next part of our day or evening.

So as you're ready and not before,

Just allow your eyes to gently open,

Bringing you back into this space and a new frame of mind.

Thank you for taking this time and Namaste.

Reviews

This meditation was exactly what I needed today, such awe!

Wonderfully enlightenment, and deep though in developing such a meditation. 😊💕