"Mindfulness and Meditation allow us to open our hearts, relax our bodies, and clear our minds enough to experience the vast, mysterious, sacred reality of life directly. With Practice we come to know for ourselves that eternity is available in each moment.

Your MMM Courtesy Wake Up Call:
Musings on Life and Practice
by a Longtime Student of Meditation

Saturday, October 26, 2024

Outside the Box

 "Around us, life bursts with miracles--a glass of water, a ray of sunshine, a leaf, a caterpillar, a flower, laughter, raindrops. If you live in awareness, it is easy to see miracles everywhere. " 
-- Thich Nhat Hanh

“You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather."
 -- Pema Chodron
  
It felt really good to wake up, refreshed, from a rainy day​, late afternoon nap​. 

As I rolled out of bed, my feet knew. I was headed outside. 

Without a moment's hesitation, I bundled up. (the temp was 49 degrees) and walked out onto High Street.

I had fallen asleep to
peals of thunder and heavy rain. As I slept, the storm had exited stage right. In its wake, scattered gray black clouds scurried through an iridescent pale blue sky. The twilight glowed beyond the silhouetted trees and buildings as I headed south. Just a hint of sunset orange lingered on the horizon. 
     
Over the years, twilight walks have often brought with them a deep sense of connection to a vast and mysterious Presence. At these times, the eyes and mind are no longer constrained by the somewhat illusionary notion of objective clarity. Venturing outside as the sun's light recedes, I've often been amazed -- and grateful -- that the ethereal energy permeating reality is so readily accessible. In the twilight, the spiritual dimension of life glows, sometimes more brightly than in the brilliance of the sun at high noon. I blame that on the Practice.

Sometimes, all I have to do is remember to step "outside the box."

As I strolled down High Street, I quickly sensed that the numinous twilight sky to the south and west was whispering "ya gotta get a better a look at me!" I headed for the open sky -- at least as it presents itself near the center of town.  As I emerged from the line of tall trees and grand two story homes, the western sky opened a bit and the
silhouette of Greenfield's 19th century public library acted as a visual portal to a realm where magic and mystery had not been squeezed out of our collective consciousness quite as thoroughly.  

Throughout most of its time on the planet, our species had communed with unseen energies. Myriad beings, sky gods and earth goddesses, devas and demons, fairies, the spirits of ancestors, and throngs of "other wordly"beings were woven into the fabric of daily life.  As my heart and mind opened more fully to that dimension, I could feel a knowing beyond the limitations of my rational mind.  Moment by moment, my feet and belly led.  I followed. They knew exactly where I was headed.

Of course, in Greenfield, the shortest distance between two points usually -- isn't. It exists only in our minds.  On the ground, right angles abound.  Hypoteni -- squared and otherwise -- are quite rare. Yet, in a matter of minutes, I had zigged and zagged several blocks, climbed four flights of stairs, and was perched on the top floor of the downtown parking garage. 

I wasn't disappointed.  With trees and buildings now below me, I'd accessed the Boundless Sky. Immensity embraced me. Enchantment was in the air.

To the east, the moon, working its way toward fullness, was rising to spray an array of soft rainbow colors whenever one of fast-moving, scattered clouds crossed its path.To the west, a brilliant Venus was glowing low in the sky.There, she too, was playing hide and seek with a flock of clouds.

As I stood there, the veil created by digital distractions and my own self-absorbed, habitual, preoccupations dissolved. Getting out of my head and coming to my senses, the dance of heavenly bodies and clouds within the numinous luminosity of the twilight sky weaved their magic. Even the distant hiss and hum of traffic was drawn into the infinitely vast, vibrant, deep silence. Like a purring kitten, the soundless sound of silence embraced it as its own.

It is always a blessing to touch and be touched by Simple Wonder. 

In today's world, the miraculous nature of our ​existence is so often buried beneath the visual digital ​cacophony, non-stop noise, and incessant activity -- inner and outer.  Yet, standing there under the boundless sky, I​ was again certain that the Sacred is always present. It's Loving Presence appears to be without limitation.  It whispers silently within and beyond the man-made hyper-stimulation of modern life.  


As it is, I often revert to my “go to” media buzzes in the evening. At the end of long days played out with the diminishing energy of a 78 year old body, the couch and flatscreen are amiable companions.  Yet, like our human friends, they promise more than they can consistently deliver. 

These digital devices, like all that manifests in this realm of existence, including ourselves, are imperfectly perfect. As such, they -- and we -- exist with a high side and a low side, a yin and a yang.  With Practice,  we are able to open our hearts and clear our minds to embrace it all. Then, everything -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- becomes compost for the flowering of wisdom and compassion.  

I'm glad that my feet led the way to again experience the mysterious wonder of it all.  All too often, when left to my own devices (digital and otherwise), I can get boxed in by habit.  I spend too many hours indoors with my attention glued to a screen of some sort. It takes its toll.  I forget that there is always magic afoot.

Sometimes, I just have to remember to step outside the box.

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