Treasures - A Meditation for Consciousness

Hey there wonderful people. Welcome once again to another week and opportunity to practice mindfulness. 

Thank you for showing up. 
Thank you for reading and listening.
Thank you for sharing this time together.
Thank you. 

Thorton Wilder writes, ‘We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.’.

Let’s take a moment and take a deep breath and ponder that thought. 

Breathing in, feeling alive...
Breathing out, connecting to our heart. 

To feel alive is to connect to ourselves and to those around us. 

When we can open up our heart and really feel into our own existence, we can embrace life more fully.

And when we take these actions of connecting to our own heartbeat and realizing that we have more in common with those around us than differences, we can begin to feel gratitude.

Life is full of treasures. 
Great and small.
Everywhere we look...
Precious gifts abound. 

Let’s take a moment and experience one of those treasures. Close your eyes and take a nice deep breath and feel the gift of your breath. Just breathing is a gift. Life doesn’t exist without it. 

Now let’s explore another gift, your physical body. Try putting a hand on your heart and one on your belly. Taking another deep breath, feel your treasured body, your temple. Let’s stay here for just a couple of breaths and really express gratitude for all that our body does for us. We take for granted all the natural abilities that we have without fully realizing the gifts that they are. And maybe we haven’t treated our body so kindly in years past. Take a moment, as you feel the connection of your hands to your body, and give thanks for the miracle of life. 

And as you continue to sit here breathing and feeling your body, take notice with your senses. 

Let’s start with the gift of smell. And even if it’s something that isn’t what we would label as pleasant, may you give thanks for the ability to experience it. Just breathing and smelling.

With this next breath, listen. Give your awareness to all the sounds that are around you. Notice the proximity and layers of sounds. Really listen and focus on what the world is singing to you. Just breathing and listening.

Now, notice any tastes in this moment. Maybe even the act of paying attention to your mouth begins to salivate. Have gratitude for the ability to taste and that your body is ready to take in and process food. Isn’t that an incredible experience! Just breathing and tasting. 

Continuing to breathe deeply, take your hands that have been lightly resting on your body, and apply a light pressure. You could slowly shift your hands over to your arms or shoulders, and give yourself a small hug. A small embrace. Maybe even bring a small smile to your face and see if you can invite a little compassion for yourself and everything that you’re going through right now. Just breathing and touching, feeling. 

And slowly open your eyes and take a look at the beautiful world around you. The first thing that you’ve glance upon, can you give gratitude for what you see? And then take a moment to let your eyes slowly scan the room or whatever is in front of you and truly take in the depth, colors, texture, richness, complexity, details, and simplicity. Can you give thanks for your ability to see and really notice the amazing details that life has gifted us? Just breathing and observing.

And for our last few breaths together, let’s give thanks for our ability to have this experience. Our Consciousness, that lives in this body, in this eternal moment, that gets to experience this life, is a treasure. Feel your own Presence. Take this time to feel into and open your heart and give thanks. Just breathing and experiencing. 

We are alive. 
We are here.
We are Present. 

Life is a present! 
Our gift to experience and share. 

I invite you to continue to sit quietly for just a moment whether your eyes are open or closed, just feel. Witness. Experience.

Breathing in gratitude...
Exhaling with peace. 

Breathing in awe and wonder...
Exhaling with gratitude.

Let’s truly choose to be alive. Let your heart be conscious and welcome this moment's offerings. 

May you find treasure in abundance today...

With gratitude from my heart to yours.