A Shabbat Moment...an Imagery Experience for Transforming Yourself from a DOING…to a BEING...
By Rabbi Joyce Reinitz
These imageries were included in our Spa Shabbat Movement as Prayer class.
When the Israelites were wandering for 40 years in the desert…..they were told by God...to build a sanctuary...
One of the most important features of this sacred sanctuary was that it was portable…it went with them wherever they went and wherever they traveled… God’s Presence was not fixed in any one location…God’s Presence always accompanied them…and so it is with us…
We have within us a portable sanctuary…a holy place to pray…to commune with God…to pray...to BE…all we need to do is stop...and enter the Sanctuary Within…
So I invite you to enter your own portable sanctuary and experience the transforming power of a Shabbat Moment…
Gently close your eyes…and take a few easy breaths…emphasizing your exhale…Breathe in through your nose…breathe out through your mouth…
See all the things that you do in a week…
See the people who depend on you…your family…your friends…your community…
See yourself on your busiest day…sense how you rush and push yourself…squeezing in just one more chore…in an effort to get it all done…sense the frustration you feel when you don’t get it all done...
Notice how you look…notice how you feel…
Now…double the tempo...triple the pace...
NOW...STOP…COMPLETELY STOP…
Sense what it means to cease…Feel yourself becoming perfectly still!!!
Breathe out…and Listen to the gentle rhythm of your breath…breathing in and breathing out…
Listen to the silence…be with the stillness…breathe it in and breathe it out…let it fill your soul.
Now, when you are ready…slowly enter your inner sanctuary…the sanctum sanctorum…
Move through the layers of diaphanous curtains…turquoise and purple and crimson…See how they shimmer and shine….
In this sacred inner space…hear the sounds within the silence…feel the movement within the stillness…sense yourself illuminated with golden light...
Sense the Presence of the Divine…Savor this sacred moment…
Now…if you wish…offer a prayer…express words of gratitude or seek the guidance or help you may need…speak from the depths of your heart…
Sense yourself being lifted up by the hands of God…and then sense yourself being placed down gently…
Live and know the joy of BEING…Sense how you look and feel…
When you are ready…slowly return through the curtains the way you entered…Breathe out and gently open your eyes…remembering to return to your inner sanctuary…whenever you wish…
Notice how you feel…
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