52 little practices for a year of big change.
This weeks practice is one of a few similarly themed practices. I’ve been excited about sharing this series of little practices. They are FUN! And game changing. I try to practice one of them every few weeks to keep me fresh, appreciative and excited about life. This week's practice is simple, fun and surprisingly sweet.
I think life on earth and in this body is pretty amazing. When I consider “why” I am here living this life I keep coming back to one answer, “to experience humanness.” This means experiencing this body I have been given to live in - the pain, the pleasure, the cravings, the revulsions, and everything it comes with. Our bodies are AMAZING. They are a gift. They are our greatest teachers. We must be here to learn from them! Why else would we be in these funny looking, awkward yet graceful forms.
Experiencing my humanness also means experiencing earth in all its elements, experiencing other human beings, experiencing other life. Experiencing humanness means exploring ( the illusion of?) separateness and (the reality of?) oneness. It means seeing through the curtains of separation to the true shared experience of human and non-human being. It means bridging the gaps of our separate form to serve and connect with our collective form.
This week's practice helps ground me into my human experience and embrace it with joy and excitement. Give it a shot!
Pick a normal day.
Seriously, you don’t need a day where you can set a bunch of time aside or where anything special is happening. All you need is about 10-15 extra minutes in the morning. I especially like doing this on normal routine days.
Set the stage.
The night before your chosen day set the stage in your mind. Before going to sleep imagine that when you wake up you will be waking up in a human body and a human life for the first time. You will only have one day on earth and in the body and life you wake up into. You may not change the routine or plan of the body or life you wake up into. This is key. This exercise isn't about changing your actions or what you spend your day doing. It's about changing how you occupy your actions and experience what you do. It focuses on your human "beingness" not your human "doingness." That's why this is fun to do on a routine day.
You will experience every little thing you do as THE FIRST TIME YOU HAVE EVER DONE IT and the last.
Create an alarm or some kind of reminder for yourself in the morning so that you remember to start with your practice the moment you wake up. Wake up a little early if you normally have to jump out of bed and get right into your daily routine. You will want ten-fifteen minutes or so extra to get your day started.
Checkout your human body for the first time!
Before or as you get out of bed in the morning notice your body. Look at your hands and feet. Feel your belly, your head, your back. Remember - this is the first time you have been in a human body, seen it and felt it. Look at your skin (it’s pretty incredible). Welcome yourself into your body and notice it. Feel the excitement of having hands, feet, hair…everything that is you.
When you get up, find a mirror. Look at yourself in it. Remember you are seeing yourself in a human body for the FIRST TIME. Look at your skin, your face, your mouth, your eyes. It’s all new to you. Be amazed. Feel your hair.
Notice the mirror you are looking at. Be amazed. Remember - it’s the first time you have seen a mirror. Notice the toilet. The shower. Turn on the faucet and be amazed at the flowing water. Feel it as if you are feeling water for the first time. Taste it. Get in the shower if you want. Feel the water running down your skin knowing this is a ONE time experience. You have never felt this before - you will never feel it again.
You get the gist. Continue on your day doing everything you normally do, but as if it is the first and only time. Everything is new. Everything is a once human life experience.
I’d love to hear your experiences when you do this. This is one of my favorite practices!