What would it be like to live your life in a continual awareness of the holiness of everything?

Does that sound like something monks do in their quiet cells but too challenging for the busy, frantic lives we live?

And yet, each moment carries with it an invitation to see the sacred, cultivated though contemplative practice.

Prayer gets us in the habit of looking below the surface.

A practice called lectio divina (sacred reading) is an ancient Christian prayer form being re-discovered and re-claimed in our time.

Through it, we are invited to listen deeply. We read not for information but formation which is a heart-centered way of approaching the world.

There are essentially four movements to the process of lectio divina.

1. Select a text to read. It can be scripture, a poem, or literature.

2. Read the text and listen for the word or phrase that is calling to you this day.

3. Move into reflection and allow the phrase to unfold in your imagination and tend to the images, feelings and memories that are stirring in you.

4. Listen for the invitation to you in the midst of the circumstances of your life right now. How are you being invited to respond? After holding this in your heart, spend some time resting in silence.

With regular intentional practice, the rhythm of lectio divina becomes a part of your way of being in the world.

Everything becomes a sacred text and with it, comes an invitation. Even in the midst of our busy lives, the spirit will awaken within us.