When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound…
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
~ Wendell Berry
There are spaces of perfect clarity in a human life. The sun as it is rising creates a stirring of mystical repetition during meditation. Gazing into the eyes of another human. The quiet places in one’s day or week or year, where even nature seems to pause and turn inward and then move noisily in a new direction. I find these places most easily in late summer and deep winter. Now, as the heat vibrates off the valley walls in long rays of nourishing light, right before the afternoon breeze begins, everything slows down, as if to reconnect to something important to the natural cycle of things. It is right then, when I slow down, too, that I might remember something forgotten, catching as it rises up to the surface of my sensory system, and receive it like an old friend. On time. Perfectly aligned.
Sometimes, there are ways to bring about this state. Last weekend, our graduating Level One Yoga Teacher Class self-initiates through a series of mystical gauntlets, one of which is a 2.5 hour meditation experience. The results of this deep plunge is always incredibly cleansing. Just being in the field elicits clarity and empowerment for days and weeks. I have participated enough to know! Old patients call me to reestablish themselves in treatment, my daily practice rises to a new level, my treatment plans are on point and my presence more potent. There are less thoughts swimming about and my view of the world is lasered and compassionately neutral. We call this Shunia, in yogic description. Zero point. Getting there requires both the ability to embrace the opportunity and the discipline to reside there as long as one can without expecting anything of the space.
It is in the gift of this that I remember that creation is simply the realization of that which is. “Har”. Primordial Creative Aspect of the Universe. There is nothing to do about it. There is nothing to make or express. Everything already exists. The work is in staying open to the flow of that aspect, that nothing belongs to me. We are all just an expression of what already is and the bliss and gratitude of this realization is a gift. The spider does not make its web because it must. The web appears because the spider is aligned with its realization, with the vibration of the creation. So, ask yourself not what or how should be created. Become the creation. Surrender to the work of the self as an everyday occurrence, the infinite process. Celebrate the flow, less the result. Meditation is a wonderful way to dissolve the everyday clutter that helps us to forget this (which we all know innately). 11 minutes or 2.5 hours. You are welcome to message me for a consult if you would like a specific meditation for your needs.