A Door of No Door
At dusk in the Vancouver sky, thousand of crows fly east to their nests in the suburb of Burnaby. The next
day, in the early morning they fly west again in search of food. It was always in my plans to follow them on my bicycle, but never did it.
A few weeks ago, I felt like those crows on a journey I made to the east to the nest where I
am from in the Appalachian Mountains of Quebec. It was a journey to retrace all the places I have lived in the past 20 years. I am spending time with friends and family visiting the past while being in awe of the magnificent
transformation of the autumn leaves. Everyday the colors are more and more radiant as the life force is leaving them. From Cortes Island I went to Vancouver, Montreal, my homeland in the Appalachians, Cape Breton, Halifax and back to
Vancouver.
My relationship with time and space is very fluid these days. Meeting people I have not seen in many years, I taste the passage of time in all encounters. There is something that seems to remain the same from the
sparkles in the eyes to the ways in which people create their homes and relate with the world. Although my ancestral land is still very pristine, the rivers are not as vibrant and healthy in previous generations. I am grateful some
regulations are now protecting the rivers.
While visiting family, we looked at old photographs, and shared many stories of the past. We all had different versions of the same events. Our memories are keepers of a fragmented
reality long gone. Contemplating on the notion of memory, and its imperfection I observed that it is relative and fluctuating not only in our ability to recall past events but also in our intake of perceptions in the first place. Our
impressions are filtered through our attitudes and become the source of our memories. When reminiscing about the past we are swimming in a self-created reality. In Freedom from the known, Krishnamurti shares many insights on this subject.
He writes: “Meditation is to find out if there is a field which is not already contaminated by the known.”
We all have very subjective perceptions of the phenomenal world even though we like to believe otherwise. What goes on
behind our eyes determines our relationship with time and space. Our belief system creates what we perceive as reality. There is no limit to our suggestibility and auto-suggestibility. When we become very attached to our peculiar hypnosis
it is hard to conceive of other possibilities, we become fixed in our ways. All power struggles stem from this human tendency to believe that we are the beholder of the truth. And up goes the Babel tower.
I have been traveling far
and wide with the subject of time and space and came back to sitting right here, breathing, feeling my feet, my heart and my mind relax. Present time
Hallelujah! When I traveled through Malaysia, chants would resonate from nearby Mosques “It reminds us to praise Allah!” a man told me.
In some intentional community, the ringing of a bell would make one stop in order to check in. Taking a moment to breath, relax
and feel brings more attention in present time and more connection between our body, mind and spirit. It is very simple: turn the rhetoric off, put the mind on the back seat and bring the attention to the level of sensations in the body.
Well it could be simple but it is not so easy! As written in the bible to get to heaven is as hard as passing a camel in the eye of a needle. The present moment is as small as the eye of a needle through which anything can pass.
Present time is a door of no door into eternity. Eternity is the limitless potential of time and space. It is absolute. There, is said to reside the Akashic record a place where everything is recorded in all times and spaces, an
encompassing consciousness. Some people who have nearly died, come back to life having experienced, in a flash, their whole lives with this heightened perception. Space and time is then in eternity, in oneness with everything that
happens at once. So much bigger than us yet through this body at this time, the glorious life force is circulating.
Relaxing the body and softening the mind feels good and is potent medicine in most situations. Stepping into the
centre of the wheel of time just for a moment to feel our bodily sensations, emotions, state(s) of mind, brings a more integrated state from which to perceive the world. The possibility to make more conscious choices changes unconscious
reaction into responses more in tuned with the moment.
I am in the midst of a major life transition, but I lack the certainty of the Vancouver crows as I do not know where my nest is right now. My journey to Eastern Canada is like
a pilgrimage. I have been changing locations every three to four days for more than a month, everything is in a constant flux. I am listening to the earth song. I find oasis in the magnificent land, the warmth and love of friends and
family and in my ability to welcome every day as completely new.
Useful tips to enhance present time
Children are always in present time, still so close to the original life force with very little conceptual thinking. They feel life with their whole being at once. Moving
from one emotion to another rapidly without much grievance from the past. Letting go of grievances enhances present time and liberates the life force, making it available to see the new day.
Write poetry
Never rush out of bed upon waking; take a moment to tune-in with the sensations in body, mind and spirit.
Enhance presence many times through the day.
Choose at this moment to let go of pride, prejudice, hatred, violence, victimhood, arrogance, and addiction.
Past, future, linear time, cyclical time, multi-dimensional, present time, eternity.
Meditation
When engaged with the elemental world, we can trust in its existence. Bring yourself to a quiet comfortable place either standing, sitting or
lying down. Allow you mind to become softer and receptive, hands can be placed in prayer position over the heart center. Spend at least two to three minutes
with each element with an appreciative attitude.
We have the Earth element, who supports this body right now. Feel the density of your bones, the weight of the body. Express gratitude for all the bounty she provides.
We
have the breath, the Air element; feel the breath all the way in and all the way out. We also breathe through the pores of our skin. Air is all around. Feel the open sky, the breeze. Smell the air.
We have the Water element
composing much of our body as well as the earth. Can you feel the fluid in your body: the blood circulating, the fluids around joints and tendons. Feel your brain swimming in fluid and your saliva filling your mouth, swallowing knowing
your saliva is filled with wonderful enzymes.
We have the Fire element providing energy and animating the whole organism. Feel for any sensation of heat, maybe between your hands if in the prayer position.
And we have the
mind, watch the mind and its ability to wander. Bring it back to this moment in tuned with all the elements. |
