Lessons from the Eclipse; How to Be in Alignment, Body, Mind, & Spirit
Eclipse Painting by Addie Hirschten
I was so blessed to have the opportunity to experience the 2024 total solar eclipse. Our family stayed home and experienced the eclipse with another family in our neighborhood. As the moon aligned with the sun and the earth, it was one of the most magical, grandiose, and awe-inspiring moments. As the sky darkened and my 8-year-old son and his friend ran crazily around in circles under the newly starlit sky, I had the most surreal experience of impermanence I have ever felt. In those few minutes of totality, it seemed like time stood still. In the stillness, I became viscerally aware that the next time a total solar eclipse would be experienced in this location, every single one of us experiencing it at this moment would be gone. It was an incredibly humbling moment for me on how short life is. We have such a brief time on this planet, only a glimpse! How do I make the most out of my brief time here on this Earth and live a life well-lived? What does that mean to me? As I sat with that question reverberating in my mind after the eclipse, the answer I have for myself is that I want to be energetically aligned like the sun, moon, and earth physically were during the eclipse; to be a person who lives aligned in my Body, Mind, and Spirit.
How do I live in alignment and what does that mean? It’s not always easy. There are ways of being and practices we can do that help us either be in alignment or not. I am far from perfect, but the following practices are what I do to feel most aligned. I begin my day with self-care. I get up early and I take care of myself in these ways on most days.
My Body: Do my physical therapy, yoga, and exercise.
My Mind: Gratitude, before my feet hit the floor, I think of things I am grateful for. I journal my thoughts, keep my mind sharp with new learning, and meditate.
Spirit: Prayer, devotion, and surrendering to God, Source, the higher power. This is my prayer: “May I be in alignment with the highest and best good of myself and others today. Please, God, show me the way.”
When I am taking the time to take care of myself in these ways, I am better able to be of service to others. Aligning myself with my purpose each day helps me to go about the rest of my day in a more mindful self-aware, grateful, and open way.
May you find your alignment in Body, Mind, and Spirit today.