Gifts of Divine Sight and Sacred Pause
I am halfway through an incredible journey, of visiting life long friends and family, and making many connections. Many moving pieces came together easily and quickly.
A dear one said to me recently, that this trip would be a time of great significance. She was right...
I am so happy to spend days walking the beach, grounding my feet in sand and salt water. It has been years since I've had that opportunity, and this time I will spend time on three beaches and two coasts.
A few days ago, as I walked along the shore and looked at the crashing waves, waiting for the sun to peak through clouds every now and then in the early morning, I was struck by the luminosity and the clarity of the waves - how very silvery and radiant the water looked, how I seemed to be able to capture every little detail in the dancing foam.
Mind you, I cannot see very well.
And yet, in these moments, I was so present, I was able to "see" with a different sight - that went beyond the physical eyes...
I was also struck by the motion of the waves - how there is a "Sacred Pause" before the waves roll up and begin to unfurl in their trajectory home, towards the shoreline.
In pranayama - the yoga of the breath - this sacred pause is known as "kumbhaka" - it is literally the pause between an inhale and an exhale - and I often envision it as the Sacred Moment so impregnated with the Divine.
Some speculate that this is where God exists.
The Sacred Pause reminds me to slow down. To pause. To listen. And that, is exactly what I have been doing.
Like the waves, I unfurl and open my senses to all that the Universe and the mighty ocean offers me in terms of insight. Wisdom. And even support. I step into the ocean, surrounded by it's warm embrace, and it indeed feels like a homecoming.
With every step on the shoreline, as waves crash against my feet, I am baptized anew. I release layers upon layers of so much that has held me back.
Yesterday, I offered to the ocean three things I wanted to release from my life.
During the Jewish High Holy Days, there is the beautiful practice of Tashlikh, which literally means casting off. On the Day of Atonement the penitent casts off stones, or crumbs dug out of pockets, into the water and lets go of his or her sins.
"You will cast all sins into the depths of the sea," is a verse commonly recited.
I do not throw stones into the ocean. Instead, I write what I wish to release on shells, and offer them back to the ocean.
This morning as I walk by the ocean, I am grateful for this time. For the connections I am making. For greater sight and Insight. For this pause - in my life and in these many moments. Especially the sacred ones by the sea.
I am blessed.
May I take these Lessons with me as I move on to the next stage of my life.
A dear one said to me recently, that this trip would be a time of great significance. She was right...
I am so happy to spend days walking the beach, grounding my feet in sand and salt water. It has been years since I've had that opportunity, and this time I will spend time on three beaches and two coasts.
A few days ago, as I walked along the shore and looked at the crashing waves, waiting for the sun to peak through clouds every now and then in the early morning, I was struck by the luminosity and the clarity of the waves - how very silvery and radiant the water looked, how I seemed to be able to capture every little detail in the dancing foam.
Mind you, I cannot see very well.
And yet, in these moments, I was so present, I was able to "see" with a different sight - that went beyond the physical eyes...
I was also struck by the motion of the waves - how there is a "Sacred Pause" before the waves roll up and begin to unfurl in their trajectory home, towards the shoreline.
In pranayama - the yoga of the breath - this sacred pause is known as "kumbhaka" - it is literally the pause between an inhale and an exhale - and I often envision it as the Sacred Moment so impregnated with the Divine.
Some speculate that this is where God exists.
The Sacred Pause reminds me to slow down. To pause. To listen. And that, is exactly what I have been doing.
Like the waves, I unfurl and open my senses to all that the Universe and the mighty ocean offers me in terms of insight. Wisdom. And even support. I step into the ocean, surrounded by it's warm embrace, and it indeed feels like a homecoming.
With every step on the shoreline, as waves crash against my feet, I am baptized anew. I release layers upon layers of so much that has held me back.
Yesterday, I offered to the ocean three things I wanted to release from my life.
During the Jewish High Holy Days, there is the beautiful practice of Tashlikh, which literally means casting off. On the Day of Atonement the penitent casts off stones, or crumbs dug out of pockets, into the water and lets go of his or her sins.
"You will cast all sins into the depths of the sea," is a verse commonly recited.
I do not throw stones into the ocean. Instead, I write what I wish to release on shells, and offer them back to the ocean.
This morning as I walk by the ocean, I am grateful for this time. For the connections I am making. For greater sight and Insight. For this pause - in my life and in these many moments. Especially the sacred ones by the sea.
I am blessed.
May I take these Lessons with me as I move on to the next stage of my life.
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