Meditation on the Bliss of Being

Isn’t it interesting how much meaning and importance we put on numbers?  While on vacation for 2 weeks I didn’t weigh myself once.  I say this because at home I weigh myself everyday, evaluating some of my health and vitality via a number.  While these digits can bring either sorrow or satisfaction, on vacation I practiced the bliss of being.  Janet Stone, one of my favorite yoga teachers, recently made similar observations about our age.  As she approaches 50, she noted she could name it the loss of youth and vigor, define it as a marker of wisdom, or let go of these judgments by being here and now to celebrate what is.  As she wrote, “‘Fifty’ means nothing to the present moment.”

When we envy what was, ignore what is, and worry about what could be, we suffer.  Yet, when find ourselves fully present, when we’re conscious and connected to the gift of THIS breath, the blessing of THOSE hands, the beauty of THAT person, and so on, we tap into a wholeness, peace, and bliss that passes understanding.  We plug into a Source that’s bigger than and beyond ourselves.

Today I invite us to practice the bliss of being, the blessing of quieting our troubled, anxious, and worried minds, the wholeness of slowness.  I find taking slow, deep breaths in tandem with a mantra to be super effective in this endeavor.  One of my favorite mantras comes from Psalm 46.10 and my Christian tradition, so I encourage you to use as much of it as resonates with you, or your own mantra.  It goes like this: Be still and know that I am God … Be still and know that I am … Be still and know … Be still … Be.