An excerpt from The Wisdom of the Enneagram
The Buddhists say, "There are no holy people or holy places, only holy moments" —moments of grace. All of us have experienced such moments. True moments of grace, when we are fully alive and awake, have an entirely different quality, even in our memories, than other events that we might recall. Essential moments are much more vivid and real because they are still with us; they possess immediacy because the impact of life has penetrated the dullness of our consciousness and awakened us. We realize that as we learn to let go of fear, resistance, and self-image, we become more available to those transformative moments and they nourish our spirits. Thus, while we may not yet be able to produce such moments at will, we can create the conditions in ourselves that make it easier for us to have them.
What is most striking about these "moments that live" is that they do not require extraordinary events to trigger them. They occur quietly and often unexpectedly, at the breakfast table, on the commuter train, while walking down the street, or while talking with a friend. We personally have had some of the most fulfilling spiritual experiences while doing nothing more than looking at a doorknob, or really seeing the face of an acquaintance. The beauty of these kinds of experiences is overwhelming and life-changing. It is thus not what we do that makes the difference, but the quality of awareness that we bring to the moment.
Few things in life are more extraordinary than a living moment in which we are face-to-face with another person. To be truly open and present to another human being is awesome and sometimes overwhelming. Being authentically with another person helps to remind us that we are always in the presence of the Divine.
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Write for thirty minutes about the moments of your life that had the most reality for you. What were they like? What were you like at such moments? Were these moments important events or ordinary events? How are they different from your other memories?
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