Welcome to another beautiful sacred pause with me,
Your host,
I'm Kimberly Johnson.
I'm so grateful that you are here taking the time out of your life to sit and explore with me.
Today's meditation is all about finding depth and finding truth and finding the sacred in all things.
So just take a moment and let yourself arrive and maybe just noticing where your attention is.
And maybe also notice how your attention is.
Maybe it was on something that happened right before this or future thinking about dinner later.
And maybe it's feeling scattered or it's feeling dull and not judging how it is or where it is.
Just noticing,
Bringing awareness to our state,
To our quality of awareness.
And then intentionally pick up this awareness and bring it into the body.
And maybe bring it right into the chest or the belly and just see if you can begin noticing the body breathing.
Noticing how the belly or the chest moves,
Changes with the breath.
And as you pay attention to the breath and the body,
Use the attention to scan the body.
And see if there's any tension being held in the body.
And if you notice any tension,
Maybe just for a few breaths,
Practice letting go of that tension.
Practice letting the body relax into the moment.
And as the body relaxes and settles,
Allowing the mind to also relax and settle.
You can even say to the mind,
You can let go of all of your normal thoughts during this time.
And you can just be here and practice.
You can be here to be intentional with your time and your energy.
Really making this time count,
Using skillful effort during this time.
And maybe you've let the eyes shut down.
And if you haven't yet,
Maybe let them shut down.
Or maybe let them soften.
And as you let them soften,
You let the eyes relax,
Just bringing that beautiful attention and awareness right back to the breathing body,
To the breath.
Coming fully within yourself,
Embodying this moment.
And your mind will wander.
This is normal.
And when it does,
Just notice that it's wandered,
Catching the mind.
This is so skillful to practice.
And then intentionally move the awareness back to the breath.
This is one thing that we have beautiful control over,
Especially as we practice.
We can direct our attention.
Now taking a moment to just connect to your heart.
To the space around your heart,
Maybe even letting the chest get a little bit softer.
And really make a commitment to yourself that for the rest of this meditation,
That you are committed to seeing.
That you are committed to opening your eyes to awakening.
And really trusting that awakening is possible.
Right here,
Right now,
In this moment together.
Now gently,
I want you to open your eyes.
And I want you to pick something that's either near you,
An object,
And go ahead and pick it up mindfully.
Notice what it feels like to pick it up.
And if there's nothing near you,
No worries.
Pick something close that you can see.
I would suggest picking up something close,
Even if it seems minuscule.
That's okay.
That's beautiful and we can work with that.
Just picking up something that's near you.
And I want you to begin really feeling this object in your hands.
What does it feel like?
Is it smooth?
Is it rough?
Feeling it like you've never felt it before.
Coming fully to this object with beginner's mind.
With curiosity.
With wonder.
Feeling the texture,
Feeling the weight.
Feeling how it feels in the hand.
And then really looking at it.
Looking at the color,
The shape.
And looking at its edges.
Are they smooth?
Are they sharp?
And turning it over and looking at all sides.
Looking at it from other angles.
From close up.
Maybe from further away.
Noticing how it changes as you look at it.
And then maybe smell it.
Placing it to your nose and curiously inhaling its fragrance.
Even if it's subtle.
Notice what this smells like.
And now think about what this object is.
What role it plays in your life.
How you use it.
Pondering on its function.
What does it allow you to do?
What does it give or offer over to you?
What do you receive from it?
Now I want you to think about what it's made out of.
What's the material?
How was it made?
How many hands and minds went in to creating this object?
How about how many hands it took to get this object into your hands?
And maybe thinking of all of the places it had to travel.
To be here right now with you.
And all the amazing people that had to touch it.
To think about it.
In order to get it right here in this moment with you.
Now think about the material.
What was the material before it was this object?
Where is that material found?
Or created?
And where was the material or what was the material before it was even thought to be a product or a thing?
What created this material?
What or where did the material come from before it was created?
Where are its origins?
What did it take for it to be created?
And how long did that process take?
And if for some of these answers you're unsure,
Just ponder upon it.
Opening up to curiosity about these questions.
And maybe even thinking in a timeline.
What was this object five years ago?
What about 15 years ago?
What about 100 years ago?
And now let's fast forward to now.
Feeling it once again in your hands or looking at it deeply with your eyes.
Getting closer to the complexity of this object.
The miracle of this object.
And now let's fast forward to the future.
Where will this object be in five years?
What condition will it be in in five years?
What about 15 years?
Where will this object be?
And what will it be?
Will it be the same object?
And what about 50 years?
What about 150 years from now?
Where will this object be?
What will it be?
What will the materials transform into?
What effect will time have on this object?
Gently taking some deep breaths.
Bringing the awareness right back to the present moment.
Holding this object or looking at this object for another breath.
Seeing its complexities.
Seeing it in a more whole way.
And then gently closing the eyes.
Getting still and silent.
And maybe just noticing what you're present to.
What does this meditation evoke in you?
And just letting that feeling or sensation,
Letting it get a little bit bigger.
Breathing into it.
Feeling it fully in the moment in the body right here right now.
Letting it inform us,
Teach us.
The world is a sacred learning ground.
And really realizing as our eyes are closed that we can look at every object this way.
We can look at every human this way.
Every animal this way.
Seeing their wholeness,
Seeing more of their full story.
Seeing more of the miracle of this life.
Taking some deep breaths.
I'm going to ring the bell three times to take us out of meditation.
As you leave meditation.
Really carrying forth with you,
Keeping in your pocket.
Whatever beautiful insight or wisdom came.
Knowing that anytime your view has narrowed of someone or something that you can always pause.
And awaken.
Look deeper.
And find this beautiful miracle.
Slowly coming out of meditation.
Taking your time.
If anything from this meditation spoke to you or touched you.
Please go to my insight timer page.
And you can find out more about the work I'm doing in the world there and you can also rate and review.
Thank you so much.
May we all find the sacred in everything and in each moment.
