The Touch of the Sacred

Everything living is imbued with the touch of the sacred *. Without that touch, each form is simply inert matter. This is most evident if we perceive a body soon after death. It can be self-evident that the living spark that animated that body whilst alive has gone… leaving an empty shell which would in time simply and naturally decompose back into its constitutional elements.

The sacred plays into our life in multifarious ways, from the touch of a loved one, the fragrance of a flower, the taste of fresh fruit, the sound of birdsong and the vision of the sunrise and so many other daily occurrences. Yet we are so often conditioned to focus in a more limited way on our day to day responsibilities, problems, issues and so forth, hence losing sight of the sacred playing into each moment.  It feels beyond a thick veil and we only dimly sense it before getting caught up again in the ‘stuff’ of daily living. It generally takes the aspiration, willingness and intent to practice yoga, or alternative modalities, to begin to pierce through this veil and feel renewed through a reconnection with the sacred.

Life is a dance; transient names and forms being imbued by the touch of the sacred on the stage of life. The mystical path – whether we approach it via esoteric religion, via paganism, via yoga, or via meditation – is essentially a path toward awakening a conscious appreciation of, and indeed a communion with, the sacred in and through the experiences of embodied life. Life becomes a seeking, a surrendering and a reaching out for the sacred, drinking deeply from its life giving waters and asking it to guide us through life and into death.

* Or, if you prefer, the touch of ‘Life’, ‘Consciousness’, ‘Divinity’… use whichever word you wish; they are simply fingers pointing back to the same essence.