Clay: August 20 - 26

For many years, I believed life was something I possessed. From the first breath until the last, my purpose was to discover my mission and become my fullest self. I thought of my life as something given to me, like a lump of clay that I was then tasked to shape and mold into something useful and beautiful.

But what if I have it completely backwards? What if Life is bigger than me? What if I’m the clay and Life is shaping and molding me? What if in reality, Life comes first? Just maybe, awareness is expressing itself through the body of the universe and we are its living cells.

Practice

Ponder your place in the universe as you sit in silence.

Use the breath as an anchor. Breathe in and know that you are breathing. Sense where the breath is most present in the body. Is it the nostrils, the throat, the belly?

As thoughts arise, return your awareness to the breath. This is the basic practice. Thoughts will surface over and over again. No worry. Thoughts are not distractions but invitations to return to awareness of the breath again and again. Returning to awareness is the essence of mindfulness.