As in all our practices, let’s take a moment to “clear the slate.” We’re going to step back mentally from anything we’ve been working on, anything we’re thinking about, and anything that is generating a lot of emotion. Let’s take three deep breaths in succession. Each time we exhale, we let go of anything on our minds or in our hearts.

This exercise can be done with eyes closed in a quiet, solitary space or it can be done with eyes wide open when we’re out and about surrounded by people, or it can be done while hiking through a wilderness area. Perhaps it would be easier to say this exercise can be done anywhere and in any circumstance.

At its core, it is the simplest of all our exercises. It can also be the most profound of exercises. We’re going to begin by paying attention to our breath. We’re not trying to alter our breath in any way. We’re just paying attention to our inhale then paying attention to our exhale. Let’s do this for five full breaths.

PAUSE

Now let’s remind ourselves to SHIFT from ME to WE. Imagine that we can see the myriad particles that fill the air we breathe. They shine like dust we might see in a ray of light, but they are a hundred times smaller and a thousand times more numerous. Let’s imagine these particles look like tiny golden specks of light. They move as the air moves. When we move, so do the particles around us. When we inhale, they move into our lungs, and when we exhale they move out of our lungs. Every time we breathe in, we draw into our bodies thousands of new particles, many of which soon become part of us. Every time we breathe out we expel thousands of particles, many of which were, only moments before, a part of us. Wherever these particles are, they are part of our WE.

Whether we sit in quiet meditation, we are walking through our neighborhood, or we are running through a lush forest, these particles surround us, flowing around us, and filling us. It does not take much effort to visualize this reality. Our bodies are made from these same particles. We exchange them with our environment constantly. We absorb and expel them through our skin as well as our breath. And that exchange ebbs and flows with our every breath and our every movement. Our breath gives this exchange a visible rhythm that is soothing and reassuring. We are all in this together!

PAUSE

As we allow our imagination to make visible our invisible reality, we see in our mind’s eye that it is not only our breath that animates the particles around us. They move in response to the tiniest living thing. There is even a subtle exchange between the inanimate objects around us and the air that fills the seemingly empty space. Particles flow in and through everything in existence, contributing to reality’s ever-increasing complexity.

If the universe has an aim, a desired end, or a purpose then complexity would seem the most likely of possibilities. And so far as we know, we are the end result of that universal movement toward complexity. Far from being an accident, intelligent self-reflective life is the pinnacle of existence (so far.) And the universe is not done with us yet!

Some part of us has always recognized our place in the great unfolding that is our universe. But that recognition can leave us feeling uneasy. We can interpret this discovery to suggest we are infinitesimally small, and therefore—insignificant.

Whenever we consider the vastness of our universe through our ME lens, we can’t help but feel small. But when we SHIFT from ME to WE, we’re less inclined to seek confirmation of our significance. Our WE lens allows us to see the beauty and wonder that is our cosmos, and through that lens see ourselves as participants in the great cosmic dance.

And when we see ourselves, others, and our world through our WE lens, we fulfill our deepest longing—the desire to belong. When we SHIFT from ME to WE in relationship to our cosmos, we gain the ability to see the intrinsic connection of all that is. And when we see everything in terms of connection, we cannot help but recognize—we are participating in the grand unfolding that began 14.5 billion years ago—an unfolding that includes everything in existence. There is no space or time where we did not, do not, or will not belong.

We are conscious. We are conscious of the great dance. And our consciousness contributes to universal consciousness. And our contribution will never be lost or forgotten. So we sit, or walk, or hike and we see a million, million, million particles expanding ever outward and we are grateful to be aware once again of our part in the dance.