Beauty, Around and Within_Contemplative Practice for Soulful Living

Get comfortable and centered, doing whatever that requires.

Maybe take a deep breath or two and open your heart and your mind to the beauty you've experienced.

Now when I say beauty, pay attention to what comes up for you.

Is it a thing? Is it a place? Is it a person? Whatever it is, hold that image or images in your mind for about 20 seconds, and I'll count it out.

There's no need to hit pause.

And now as you come back to this space, it's okay if that's hard for you, by the way.

It's something that gets easier with time.

But it's an important practice.

Neuroscience teaches us that it only takes a little over 10 seconds to make a lasting impact on the brain.

And each time you dwell in a memory of something good or beautiful, it works on you and it changes you.

And that makes it a spiritual practice, for it shapes the way you relate to the world, the world around you and your inner world.

So I invite you to contemplate in prayer now the beauty of and in you.

Not just what's around, but what's within.

For some, this may be even tougher still.

Too many voices over too many years sending us other messages.

But go ahead and when you're ready, hit pause and sit without guilt of the image of you that is beautiful or about what is beautiful about you.

Because that's how God shows up in you.

So hit pause and dwell with that now for a few moments.

As you come back to this space, remember these two practices, noticing the goodness around you, the beauty around you, and that within.

And so now hold your hand to your heart and seal in this beauty, this pure gift, this goodness, which is the true core of all things and is your true core.

See your beauty now joining with the beauty around you of others, of the world.

See this force joining up and offering healing and blessing wherever it flows.

And stay with that vision as long as you need and return to it anytime you'd like.