Oneness and Wonder

Wow!  What’s That ! ? !

We’ve all had such a moment.  Hopefully many of them.  Hopefully nearly every day.  Frank and I just had one yesterday.

We were standing in the kitchen and by some trick of the afternoon light, the wall under the desk, in the office, right below the closed shutters, looked like it was iridescent or had suddenly turned into an awakening computer screen, only much deeper and imperceptible in it’s nature.  We were both startled and felt compelled to walk toward it to get a better look.  It was so weird and surprising.  We wondered, ‘How could such a thing be?’

As we walked closer, we could see that it was just the wall, with the usual cords and whatnot draped down from behind the desk, and somehow the bright afternoon light, reflected off the back of the shutters or the back of my old metal computer monitor, or something, was illuminating the wall in a way that either hadn’t ever happened before, or that we simply hadn’t ever noticed before.  The moment passed.  We brushed it off, still a little surprised, as ‘just the wall.’  Then we left it and went about our business.

The interesting thing to me, in hindsight, was how it stopped us both.  It caught our eye, gave us pause, knocked us right out of our thoughts and activities and drove us into action, in this case, the need to investigate.  We both jumped right into the present moment with an excited curiosity, almost a touch of fear and an alluring love at the same time.  

These are the qualities of awe and wonder.  And when we get there, we step right into the right hemisphere of our brains.  Time is replaced by a sense of flow in the present moment.  There is a pause, we open our mouths and our eyes.  We listen.  The surprise that we feel at the same time demands a moment of recalibration as we consider the newness and the allure.  We loose a sense of self and feel called forth into action or response, the need to do something.  All at once we suddenly tap into a flood of possibilities, new ideas, creative potential and a feeling of healing or well being.  All of this, all at the same time.  

In wonder, we also find a locked in unity, a sense of togetherness or oneness.  When Frank and I saw that light, we both experienced the same body movements, a lifting of the head and chest, a dropping of the jaw, then a peering closer, focusing on the same point, listening, then moving forward, both of our minds and our sense of consciousness, open and as one.  We were moved to respond.

Fascinated and fascinating.  A widened perspective.

Babies and small children experience this sort of state on a regular basis.  It is part of everyday life.  Everything is new and calls out for our attention.  Everything invites us to wonder, to try to figure it out, to open to all the possibilities that could possibly be in play.  “How does that fly fly?”  “Wow!  Look at the shadows of the leaves playing on the sidewalk in the sun.”  This is where art dwells, imagination, creative flow, discovery, the unified whole.  And it’s all imbued with a sense of love.

As infants, with mommy or daddy near, we feel safe and protected. (Given the natural parent/child bonding experience.)  Our parents even join us in our surprise and delight, as the world of exploration opens before us, reliving for themselves the joy of discovery and the love that we all share.

When we bask in this state, we slip ease-fully into Divine Placement in the grander scheme of all things.  Our ego or sense of individuality falls away and we enter the flow of oneness.  All is right with the world, everything is possible and it’s all moving toward love.   In the pause of awe, we become free.  We open our hearts and minds and become one with everything.  Just like any other creative moment, be it singing or dancing, playing music or painting, splashing in the waves, digging in the sand, or stringing beads, we feel ourselves fitting nicely into the whole of the greater totality of being.  And, at the same time find ourselves gratefully opening to the unlimited potential and the wider perspective that dwells there, amongst all possibilities.  

So, let’s remember Oneness and Wonder.  Let's let ourselves be caught more often, even daily, if we can, by the jaw dropping beauty and mystery that surrounds us in every moment of every day.  Let’s not brush it off as something nameable or explainable.  Let’s be baffled for a moment before things start to come clear.  Let’s twirl in the miraculous wonder of it all and move together toward greater healing and love, where new ideas and creative solutions pop up in front of us, coming seemingly right out of nowhere.

 

Josephine Laing
© 2024

"Do nothing. Time is too precious to waste."

 

This somewhat famous lesson from the Buddha, "Do nothing.  Time is too precious to waste." has indeed perplexed me from time to time, because there are so many important and worthwhile things to do.  And there is also so much that really and truly needs to be done.  But then, blessedly, I find myself just sitting quietly somewhere, maybe gazing up at the clear blue sky, or indulging in a little day dream, and then I get it.  The being part of me, the human being, rather than the human doing, settles my mind once more, and I fall into a deeper reality, a freer and wiser place within myself.  

There is such an emphasis on productivity in our Western culture, what with the rush and pushing of time.  And yet so often our most profound understandings and our sudden unexpected inner knowings for our best course of action pop into our heads, not while we are trying to figure it all out, but instead these insights occur most often while we are doing nothing.  It is as if we humans really do need to step aside once in a while, to let it all come clear and slide into place.

Ram Dass, in his seminal work, Be Here Now, demonstrated the bursts of creativity that can come when we allow ourselves to simply focus on the moment.  Watching the cat stalking stealthily in the garden, or a bee visiting a series of flowers, gazing into a campfire, or taking in the silence and stillness of the night, letting the mind simply focus on what is present, for just a few minutes, now and then, is natural and a very important part of who we humans are.

In our rush of technology, and too often wrongly in the name of efficiency, somehow the current trend has resulted in us letting these precious moments of doing nothing slip farther and fewer away.  Instead we play word games or distract ourselves with videos, leaving the television or the radio to play in the background.  Or we listen to talks or the news.  All good ventures unto themselves and completely justifiable.  But not so good for the seemingly ever increasing abstinence from open windows of freely attentive time.  Time where nothing is happening.  Time where we are not trying to meditate or take a nap.  Time where we just take a little break and let ourselves be.

Our brains get so used to us filling every moment with varying pursuits, sounds and distractions, that it actually starts to feel uncomfortable to do without.  Open space for our mind's to gaze at something, or to wander around in, become no longer familiar, and it can start to feel really weird to do so, unless we consciously begin to cultivate empty time, intentionally, once again.  

Allowing this free flow of mind is important, because it is in this open state of simple clarity that epiphanies arise.  Inspirations live here.  The non-focused gentle resting of our attention opens the door to our connection with everything.  This is how we spontaneously see the bigger picture and move past our fears or self-imposed limitations and progress into the free flow of fresh ideas and more prescient understandings and deeper connections.

So, though I too can get frequently lost in the 'brownie points' of checking things off of my 'to do' list, and rushing on ahead to getting things done, the Buddha's words do reach through this furor from time to time and remind me of the clarity that I can find by just taking a moment to look around and do nothing.  So, join me.  Let's just relax and let the moment in.

Draw What You Want

Here is a wonderful little trick that I learned years ago for manifesting what you'd like in life.  It's simple and it works great.  All you need to do is draw it.  A very rough sketch will do.  Then, post it somewhere visible so you will see it and be reminded of it regularly.

Changing our thoughts is like changing a habit.  Too often we get stuck in the old pattern, repeating what we don't want over and over again.  Our thoughts are very creative.  The thoughts we think either desired or undesired are like tracks that are being laid down for our reality to follow.  So it is a good idea for us to notice and pay attention to our thoughts.

A few weeks back, I realized that I was beginning to have fearful thoughts about something.  It was troubling me very deeply.  But there was an alternative.  There was more positive outcome that I could imagine.  So, I stopped, grabbed a hold of myself, and grabbed a pen and a little note paper.  I did a quick little sketch of what I would like to see happen.  

My drawing was a very scribbled portrayal with only the rudiments of perspective.  The paper was small in size being only a few inches across and the whole thing was completed in under five minutes time.  Though it was very sketchy, it got the point across.  I gave it a title across the top and placed it prominently on the dashboard of my car so I'd see it every time I went some where.

It made me smile to see this little drawing and within two or three days I had completely dropped my fear based thinking.  I began celebrating instead.  I'd get in the car and call out "Yeah!"  I could see it, I could feel it, and I began to know that this would be true for me.  My whole attitude throughout the day began to brighten.  Then, quite naturally, within a week or two, things started to take a turn for the better.

We can all do this to great effect in our lives.  We can visualize what we'd like to see.  Then we can infuse it with positive emotion, celebrating the desired change, and begin to reap the reward.

Another way to do this is using collage.  If you feel insure about sketching, try cutting out photos from some old magazines.  You can use these to help you create an image of what you'd like to see.  Paste them together on some paper and set it some where where you will see it.  Then remember to let yourself celebrate.  Delight in the positive change.  Do a little happy gratitude dance by tapping your feet, while turning around and waggling both hands in the air. 

Both techniques, either collage or sketching, will work, but I prefer the sketching.  There is something fun and silly about little stick figure type drawings that aren't perfect but get the point across.  And I also think that the level of creativity is higher with drawing and that is what we are trying to do here, create!  

So be bold.  Give it a try and see how drawing what you want helps you to accomplish just exactly that in your life.

© Josephine Laing 2016