In my last year of high school, I had the experience of staying up all night and watching the unfolding dawn. Had I not been in a car on an overnight trip, driving through the flat of Ohio, I would have missed this daily gift of natural beauty. 

Only when we stop and pause do we see the beauty of life. It is a tonic for whatever ails us. Beauty reconnects us to joy and gratitude. It reminds us that the challenges of living in this crazy world are worth it.

Spiritual practice helps us take advantage of the gift of beauty by bringing us into the moment. Can you do that right now by looking around you and seeing the beauty in front of you?

Seeing beauty is a matter of what you focus on.

I might see the clutter of papers on my desk, the long line of emails that have flooded my email accounts since morning, or I can look at the dream catcher hanging from my bulletin board and a collage of uplifting images with these words:

Dance as though no one is watching you,

Love as though you have never been hurt before,

Sing as though no one can hear you,

Live as though heaven is on earth, 

By Souza

It brings a smile to my face. How many times have I sat at my computer and never taken the time to reread those words that have been waiting patiently since I pinned them to the wall years ago?

The universe is constantly trying to expose us to beauty. It is up to us to notice.

Sometimes, I get so busy checking off items on my task list I forget to stop. Even my outside walking is currently consumed with podcasts, which, although compelling, take me out of the moment.

At Sufi Camp in New Mexico, I walked every morning, photographing the beauty of the dawn, the landscape, and its flowers. Often, I used these images to inspire my watercolor. Watercolor painting induces a meditative state of its own.

Twice a week, I teach a Zoom Sufi class. It is my spiritual salvation. For 90 - 120 minutes, I reconnect to spirit through the joy of my breath, the delicious release of tense muscles, the intoxicating movement of limbs using music as my partner, and the chanting of foreign words that rivet my attention to the moment. 

And, once a week, I write an email to you, which allows me to recollect exquisite moments of spirit. Did you know your mind can't tell the difference between recollection and current reality? Yes, you can get back to Spirit by simply recalling it. And so I keep recollecting and writing.

Spiritual work awakens us to beauty. Adnan wrote many beautiful passages describing this effect of spirit. Below is one of my favorites:

The moment becomes the essence of the eternal dance and life becomes the dance of the moment. The moment becomes the past, the present, and the future. Its secret hidden depth becomes manifested like a beautiful rose, perfumed by eternity and nurtured by the sweet stillness of time. And under the pure light of intelligence, it shows itself in dazzling delight.

What will you do to increase your daily moments of beauty and bliss?

Join me tomorrow, Sunday, February 2, at 8:00 am PDT, and find peace and love in the community of others. If you do not have the new Zoom link, please send me an email. 

Tuesday is my birthday, no Zoom class. Go out in the woods and chant.

Be brilliant,

Dr. Michelle

Life Transformation Coach

Empowering Women to Reinvent Their Life After Loss

Secrets of Life and Death