Day 23
שִׁוִּיתִי יְהוָה לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד
Shiviti Havayah L'negdi Tamid
I place awareness of Love in front of me at all times.
~Psalms 16:8
Awareness: waking up to Love
The Queen of Water calls for an awareness of a Love that is not so much emotional as spiritual. She has been through the paces of spiritual growth, of love and loss, of facing up to herself, and now she wields Love with her whole being. She is immersed in it, one with it.
Understanding, compassion, and kindness are her tools, drawn from the unshakeable knowledge that she is connected, physically and spiritually, to All that Is. She knows that she is not only loved, but infused with Love.
As she moves through the world, the Queen of Water does so with Love in front of her face at all times.
Would your actions and reactions change if you knew in your body and soul that you are loved, and remembered it at all times?
Could you try moving through the world today keeping an awareness of that Love in front of your face?
Ascent
The prayers of Yom Kippur are prefaced by a request that all our intentions ascend, rise up into the heavens in the evening, come before God in the morning, and be accepted and fulfilled the following evening.
In order for our requests to ascend, to reach beyond our hearts and into the world, in order that they may be heard and have the opportunity to be fulfilled, they must be spoken aloud.
If you'd like to try today to keep an awareness of Love before you, I encourage you to say so out loud.
Allow your desire to be aware of Love to rise up, to ascend from your heart to your lips or fingers this evening.
In the morning, bring your desire forth into the world. Place the awareness of Love in front of you, and see the world through that filter until evening. Keep saying the words out loud if that helps, as a reminder.
You are surrounded by and infused with Love.
You are loved. You are Love.
Application
As evening falls again (on Monday night), look back over the day.
What were the effects of placing an awareness of Love before you at all times? Do you believe more strongly, now that you've spent all day being aware, that Love infuses you and the world?
How did this practice impact the people, animals, or environment around you?
Is this a practice you could or wish to bring to your life in this next year? What would you need in order to do so?