Heart Reflections: Imru vilvavchem

Imru vilvavchem al mish’kavchem v’domu selah

Reflect in your hearts upon your beds and be still. (Psalm 4:5)

A life of spiritual practice is built around pivotal moments of transition. We want to wake up into gratefulness and continue to wake up into awareness of miracle and blessing throughout the day, sanctifying moments of nurturance, pleasure, surprise or connection. Each moment has the potential to bring us into awareness, reverence, and remembrance of God’s Presence. Even difficult moments of missed connection can awaken our yearning for Oneness. Each moment is a doorway where the mezuzah waits for recognition.

I have been somewhat obsessed with lifting up my morning moments of awakening with practices of gratefulness and inspiration. And now I find myself turning towards the mysteries of bedtime, sleep, and dreaming. I’ve learned that how we fall asleep matters and that the quality of our sleep can set the stage for tremendous healing and rejuvenation.

In this practice, we commit to awareness even as we fall into the reverie of sleep. And that commitment leads us to a profound stillness where God can find us, as we relax and surrender into the Divine embrace.

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To download the PDF file for this chant, click Heart Reflections PDF. To download the musical notation for this chant, click Heart Reflections Notation PDF.