This summer I am allowing myself the time and space to be in the 'spirit of the moment'. I've become enamored with the ordinary moments of my life. This fascination leads me to the center of the spirit of an ordinary moment, where I experience an intense curiosity and desire to see and know more. It's as if my five senses are joined by my sixth sense of intuition and spiritual guidance. It's a state of heightened awareness coupled with a clear and abiding knowing. I notice a tremendous surge of well being.

Whether I am watering plants, paying bills, folding laundry, or talking with a friend on the phone, the spirit of the ordinary moment offers me the presence of the divine. Once my intrigue is engaged, l am drawn into a rapture of wonderment by the simplest of things that ordinary life offers.

I reached a pinnacle ordinary moment while I stood at my kitchen sink watching water flow from the faucet. The falling water sparkled with the reflected sunlight streaming through the window. The water splashed up on a dish streaked with remnants of pancake syrup, while the sponge smeared soapy bubbles across the surface. I was completely held in this moment, captivated by the sight before my eyes. The moment stretched out for what felt like an age of time, and then snapped like a twig in an instant, and I blinked.

I have been a seeker of the mystical my whole life and I found it at my kitchen sink. How can that be so?

Ordinary moments are comprised of the oneness of all life. With no boundaries, I peer at the creativity of the human mind and its manifestation of a kitchen sink with dirty dishes, water, soap bubbles, and reflected light. And I realize with awe that the Oneness I've sought all my life exists in the ordinary moment. It

What are the Holy Grail, the apex of the Great Pyramid, the sacred Sun Disk of the Ancients but the expression of intense desire for Oneness? These monumental symbols speak volumes about the soul's longing for union with Source. Experiencing this oneness with the universe is the singular mystical experience because it is utterly inclusive of the Divine.

When so much of life limits me to my experience of myself in relation to otherness, the ordinary moment of oneness opens me to a threshold of unity. There is a knowing in this unity. Perhaps that is why the great masters say that enlightenment is found when you breathe in and when you breathe out.

I've heard it said that words have the power to awaken the soul. The Bible tells us that in the beginning was the word. I sense the power of words is not in their symbolic expression, but in the breath or spirit that propells words into speech. The word is a form the expression takes. Yet, it often leaves us hanging, desiring another word or phrase that speaks to the heart and soul of our truest expression. Expression gets tricky when we try to get too close to something words cannot touch.

When I review my words typed above, I feel an emptiness, a hollow loneliness. Writing about moments when the soul awakens is nearly an impossible task, for it must be individually experienced. We can only share our experiences and hope our efforts will build a bridge of understanding. Otherwise, we place too much of our own self importance upon the communication, and the soul of it leaves us with only the words. Words can eventually fade with memory, like a dream that slips deeper into the subconscious when left unrecognized in the waking hours.

Ordinary moments are precious gems that sparkle in the light of our awareness. Are you awake or sleeping through them?

And in your own life, how do you tell the difference?

Margaret Hart Lewis is a Spiritual Author, Educator, Counselor, and Ceremonialist

As a Spiritual Author,

Margaret has published two books - Wisdom Walks In Circles, The Spiraling Journey of Your Inner Voice, Authorhouse, 2004, and Landings, The Spiritual Return to Living Fully in the Body, Authorhouse, 2006. Margaret's books offer readers storylines that touch the soul, open the heart, and expand the mind.

As a Spiritual Educator,

Margaret offers her unique curriculum of exciting online courses and in person workshops and lectures. While generating highly stimulating discussions with participants, Margaret acts as a powerful catalyst for spiritual healing and personal development.

As a Spiritual Counselor,

Margaret's personal consultations provide assistance for releasing internal resistance from achieving your goals and vision of fulfillment. A session with Margaret consists of instruction for accessing personal pathways of spiritual guidance, inner journeys for self-healing and soul retrieval, intuitive coaching, trauma and abuse recovery, and self- development tools for personal empowerment.

As a Spiritual Ceremonialist,

Margaret conducts sacred gatherings to celebrate the Feminine Rites of Passage (puberty, motherhood, menopause), Spiritual Naming, Marriage, Soul Passing, and Fire Ceremonies of Initiation and Transformation.

Margaret has a new companion website to wisdomwalks.com! Please come visit her new addition to the web -- www.margarethartlewis.com!