Our Day As Sacred – A Contemplative Prayer Practice

Hustle and Bustle. List of things to do. Worries. Chores. Life. To be in contemplation of our daily lives sometimes requires moments of stillness with quiet sacred places within this busyness. Come join me for a moment of stillness and a time of reflection on what is sacred or holy in your life.

Transcript

Hi,

And thank you so much for joining me for our contemplative practice today.

To be in contemplation asks us to stop and listen to and be in reflection of that which we are being present.

In this act of silence and contemplation,

We can better hear our own thoughts and see where they lead us.

Contemplation does not ask us to be right or wrong about what we are thinking.

Instead,

It asks us to reflect upon how our thoughts travel in our mind and what paths they take us down.

Today,

We will be using lyrics from a song on which to contemplate this question,

What in our own daily lives do we see as holy or sacred?

The song lyrics I will be reading are from the artist,

Carrie Newcomer,

And her song titled,

Holy as the Day is Spent.

Together we will dive more deeply into contemplation about our own daily lives.

As we move into this guided practice together,

We will first begin with a gentle grounding meditation,

And then we will move through the lyrics several times in quiet contemplation to hear what our mind,

Our body,

Our spirit is wanting to share with us today.

I'll have you come to a gentle resting position with eyes closed as we begin this gentle meditation.

I'll have you begin by taking a deep breath in and exhaling,

And taking another breath in,

Allowing that breath to move all the way up your body.

And as you exhale,

Gently letting that breath flow back out through you,

Out through your feet connecting with Mother Earth with her care and support,

And closing your eyes gently.

From this place of connection,

Breath and support,

We ask this question of intention,

In what ways is life holy and sacred to me each day?

And as you breathe in,

Inhale this question into your body,

Mind,

And spirit.

With this open intention,

Listening to these lyrics,

Holy as the Day is Spent,

Holy is the Dish and Drain,

The Soap and Sink,

And the Cup and Plate,

And the Warm Wool Socks and the Cold White Tile.

Shower heads and good dry towels and frying eggs sound like Psalms with bits of salt measured in my palm.

It's all a part of a sacrament,

As Holy as a Day is Spent.

Holy is the busy street and cars that bloom with passions beat,

And the checkout girl counting change and the hands that shook my hands today.

And hymns of geese fly overhead and spread their wings like their parents did.

Blessed be the dog that runs in her sleep to chase some wild and elusive thing.

Holy is the familiar room and quiet moments in the afternoon,

And folding sheets like folding hands to pray as only laundry can.

I'm letting go of all my fear like autumn leaves made of earth and air,

For the summer came and the summer went.

As Holy as a Day is Spent.

Holy is a place I stand to give whatever small good I can.

And the empty page and the open book,

Redemption everywhere I look.

Unknowingly we slow our pace in the shade of unexpected grace,

And with grateful smiles and sad lament,

As Holy as a Day is Spent.

And morning light sings providence as Holy as a Day is Spent.

Taking a deep breath in and allowing these words to move through you,

Through your body and mind,

Allowing your body to feel the words.

And taking another deep breath in,

Inhaling your breath deeply into your lungs,

And exhaling.

And now as I read the lyrics from this song once again,

This time see if there is one word or words,

A phrase within the lyrics that catch your attention,

That seem to resonate for you.

Allow yourself to feel and hear these words once more.

What words call to you?

Holy as a Day is Spent.

Holy is the dish and drain.

The soap and sink and the cup and plate,

And the warm wool socks and the cold white tile.

Shower heads and good dry towels and frying eggs sound like Psalms with bits of salt measured in my palm.

It's all part of a sacrament.

Holy as a Day is Spent.

Holy is the busy street and cars that boom with passions beat,

And the checkout girl counting change and the hands that shook my hands today.

And hymns of geese fly overhead and spread their wings like their parents did.

Blessed be the dog that runs in her sleep to chase some wild and elusive thing.

Holy is the familiar room and quiet moments in the afternoon,

And folding sheets like folding hands to pray as only laundry can.

I'm letting go of all my fear like autumn leaves made of earth and air,

For the summer came and the summer went.

Holy as a Day is Spent.

Holy is the place I stand to give whatever small good I can.

And the empty page and the open book,

Redemption everywhere I look.

Unknowingly we slow our pace in the shade of unexpected grace,

And with grateful smiles and sad lament,

Holy as a day is spent.

And morning light sings providence,

Holy as a day is spent.

Taking a deep breath in and exhaling.

Now say out loud those words or word or phrase that stood out for you during this reading.

Saying the word or phrase out loud,

Bringing focus to your heart and mind.

Say those words out loud now.

From this moment of quiet reflection,

Allow those words to move through your heart and mind,

Through your mind,

Allowing you to hear what those words mean to you.

With your mind,

Heart and body focused on these words,

This contemplative reflection,

Ask yourself this,

What things in your own daily life can you feel as holy or sacred?

Thoughts,

Memories,

Rise into your mind now with this question.

Listen.

Taking a deep breath in and exhaling.

And as you breathe,

Breathe in this holy and sacred from your own life,

Carrying this in your heart,

Spirit and mind.

We'll read these lyrics one more time to help you integrate that which is holy,

Sacred and special to you.

Holy as a day is spent,

Holy is the dish and drain,

The soap and sink and the cup and plate,

And the warm wool socks and the cold white tile.

Shower heads and good dry towels and frying eggs sound like Psalms with bits of salt measured in my palm.

It's all a part of a sacrament,

Holy as a day is spent.

Holy is the busy street and cars that boom with passions beat and the checkout girl counting change and the hands that shook my hands today.

And hymns of geese fly overhead and spread their wings like their parents did.

Blessed be the dog that runs in her sleep to chase some wild and elusive thing.

Holy is the familiar room and quiet moments in the afternoon and folding sheets like folding hands to pray as only laundry can.

I'm letting go of all my fear like autumn leaves made of earth and air for the summer came and the summer went.

Holy as a day is spent,

Holy is the place I stand to give whatever small good I can.

And the empty page and the open book,

Redemption everywhere I look.

Unknowingly we slow our pace in the shade of unexpected grace and with grateful smiles and sad lament,

Holy as a day is spent.

And morning light sings providence,

Holy as a day is spent.

Taking a deep breath in and exhaling.

May these words,

These lyrics from Carrie Newcomer continue to bless your day,

Encouraging you to be present throughout your daily life,

To slow down just a bit and be present with all that is holy each day to you.

May each moment remind you of the beauty that life has to offer us.

Have a beautiful day.

Namaste.

Reviews

This is so lovely. It makes me think… And to remember to cherish every moment of every day. Do not take anything for granted because when things get difficult, the simple things are huge. I know this from experience. Thank you for this.
✨🌸🕊️🦆🍽️🧺🙏🏼

Very nice..Seeing the great in everyday occurrences..

Just beautiful. I want to listen again and again. Holy.

It was so moving and joyous and only read as Shannon can. Thank you

Hush! This is beautiful
🙏

So beautiful. I will return to this lovely meditation. Thank you and many Blessings moment by moment. 🌻🐢🦋

This moved me and resonated so deeply within my being that I felt an exhilarating and glorious shift, rapturous yet grounding, revolutionary yet familiar. I will never forget the experience of listening to this for the first time…thank you🙏🏾

A slow prayer

Lovely! Thank you 🙏💗

A beautiful practice! Wonderful lyrics and presentation. Deeply felt and meaningful. One to be repeated! Thanks Shannon. 🕊🌈💛

Beautiful!❤️

Stunning lyrics. So moving. Thank you, Shannon.

Holy, sacred, real, and full of comfort-

Thank you Shannon. That was very inspirational. Gave me a perspective of everyday miracles.💞

🥰 lovely

That was beautiful..hope we connect more and you do more especially poetry writing