Do I Dare Disturb The Universe?

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All Our Comings And Goings

They say we're tripping the light fantastic, but maybe it's more akin to stumbling.

Our arrival on this planet is often marked with a bounce-landing.

Our Bodies Betray Us

With no lack of dysfunctional body parts, broken emotions, or minds lost along the way, we try our best to manage a slew of struggles. Betrayal awaits our bodies at every turn.

 

To add insult to injury, the flesh of this world mocks us. Hovering over us at all times is the ultimate trump card marked Death. Given that our bodies hold the upper hand, you'd think they could be a bit more gracious.

Those who are strong today can just as easily be shattered tomorrow.

No one, nothing, escapes impermanence.

This Tarot Soprafino Death Card was created by Johann Elias Ridinger and engraved by Johann Jacob Ridinger about 1760.

Impermanence Is Raw

The word "impermanence" has a soft connotation to it. What's here today will not be here tomorrow.

"Oh, impermanence," intoned a bored lady in the room where the women come and go talking of Michelangelo (hat tip to The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, by T.S. Eliot).

"Yes, I am quite familiar with it," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, as if impermanence were only a damp wisp of fog easily brushed away.

All Things Shall Pass

It's a cerebral topic of discussion in Buddhist philosophy. Like the sand mandala in the photo, Buddhism teaches us that all things will pass.

We get the impression that events are calm, even well-prepared, and then disappear.

In reality, impermanence is raw and visceral. It crashes down around us.

Impermanence screams in fear, whimpers in a corner, and rips our hearts out.

The serenity of a Buddha statue belies the stark reality of beginnings and endings that are violent and painful.

Perhaps You Think We Exaggerate

The National Geographic movie documentary, "Journey to the Edge of the Universe,"  catapults us into a wild and wooly cosmos.

When the ending credits roll, our eyes are wide with amazement and, if we're honest, a bit of fright. We're left with nothing to hang on to as we careen across inter-galactic space.

Nuclear Fusion And Black Holes

Nuclear fusion reactions are common and explode across space. Galactic energies collide and then coalesce. Deadly quasars of breath-taking beauty blast out jets of radiation from their cores.

Entire galaxies are destroyed. Vast universes are reborn. 

The hypernova reigns supreme in lawlessness and destruction as the most violent star-death of all. Its core becomes a black hole that destroys and consumes everything, even light, that enters it.

All rules of physics collapse within the vortex of a black hole.

What exists when there is no matter, no time, no space?

Are we destined to become emptiness and nothingness?

At The Edge Of The Universe

Where do we go from here?

When we reach the edge of our known universe – what or where, is our consciousness?

In humans, hope springs eternal. We stubbornly cling to a shard of light. We clutch our chests even as the universe flings us into the far reaches of the cosmos.

In stillness and meditation, we sit, willing our hearts to beat even within the dark matter of the galaxy.

Do I Dare Disturb The Universe?

Meanwhile, back on Earth. 

A great roar of noise is taking place all around us.

Do we hear it?

  • A bullet sears through flesh.

  • Bones are splintered in a car crash.

  • Trapped in a sudden cardiac arrest, a heart slams to a halt.

Every last dying breath of all-that-is calls out to – what?

 

But, do we hear it?

T.S. Eliot continues in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock:

“When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through half-deserted streets...”
 

We move through our lives as if we, too, were etherized. We're aware of only a fraction of existence. We're smothered under multiple layers of veils. This numbed state keeps us blind and deaf.

It's Time To Lift The Veils

It's time to see again. Time to hear the many vibrations swirling around us.

We'll lift the veils, slowly and surely, with our meditation.

Eliot poses the question: Do I dare disturb the universe?

In one word... Yes.

Where Is The Edge Of An Infinite Heart?

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An Infinite Heart Has No Edge

Questions abound.

Can we love to the ends of the Universe?

Can our hearts soar wide enough?

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand,
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
To hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an hour.”
— William Blake
 

What Is The Infinite Heart Of Love?

Can we see every drop of existence and find the hidden passageway to its heart of love?

Can we fully know, beyond the limits of the mind, the exquisite light and healing love within every nano-molecule of existence?

Is this heart of love even within a grain of sand?

Let’s answer this with a resounding yes. These photos show the wonders that Dr. Gary Greenberg* discovered at the microscopic level in the sand on our beaches.

Flight Within The Inner Realms

Flying on this planet is so three-dimensional.

Flight within the realms of the inner planes is multi-dimensional. An inner journey is so vast and incomprehensible at our small human level, that it compels us to plop down right where we stand.

Our feet are whisked right out from under us in the wonder of it all.

Can we break these surly bonds without the aid of a flying machine?

Surly Bonds Will Not Contain Us

Off we go on your path of discovery into the infinite heart.

Let's meet each other there.

 

*photos by Dr. Greenberg used with permission

 

Martha And Mary Days

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Our Martha And Mary Days

With a cup of coffee in hand, I launched my morning. Looking down at my to-do list, I noticed that my day would be a "Martha and Mary" day, like most days. My schedule would consist of activity and rest, or meditation. Maharishi emphasized that the two aspects were an important balance in our daily lives.. We couldn’t do just one or the other.

 

martha stewart photo

 

The Bible Story Of Martha And Mary

There is a story referenced in the Bible in the Gospel of Luke 10:38-42:

 
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’

’Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’”
 

Growing up, my family had a 10-volume set of children's books printed in the mid-1950s – The Bible Story by Arthur Maxwell. I don't know how they got them. Perhaps someone came to the house as a door-to-door salesman.

When I was young, I loved to read and like most children, I could read the same thing over and over again. This set of books was no exception. I clearly remember the story of Martha and Mary.

Semiradsky, artist

Martha Or Mary – Who Was Right?

The story stuck with me, because I always felt sorry for Martha. The story painted her in a somewhat negative light. It didn't seem very fair. It's not always so clear which one is “right.”

Because who knows? Maybe there were extenuating circumstances – maybe Mary had a reputation of not doing her fair share of work around there. If we all sat around in constant meditation, others could get upset about tasks left undone, especially meals missed.

It's all about everything in the right timing and balance, isn't it?

My final analysis was that Martha probably needed to relax a bit and get in touch with her own deeper meditations and Mary probably needed to pull her full weight a bit more.

Perhaps this parable was a gentle reminder that, in the chaos of this world, we need to remember to keep balance in our own daily lives.

Johann Vermeer, Artist

Martha And Mary In Balance

Joanne Weaver wrote a book with this very idea in mind, entitled: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World.  She is quoted here:

 
“While the world applauds achievement, God desires companionship.
The world clamors, ‘Do more! Be all that you can be!’
But our Father whispers, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’”
 

We want the qualities of both Martha and Mary, because both aspects are needed and desired. In fact, when these two energies are in balance, each one contributes to the loving qualities of caring. The trick is that neither should overpower the other.

Keeping everything in balance, however, can be quite the juggling act. Distraction is at an all-time high in our modern lives. Just look at all of us bent over our phones.

With unrelenting daily pressures to complete outer tasks – it's easy to become overwhelmed and distracted by all our "Martha" obligations.

Nurture Your Inner Martha and Mary

Poor Martha, being called-out like that. I hope she got over it, finished what she was doing, and then relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the evening.

What about you? Do you sometimes find you are more Martha or more Mary?

 

The Winding Road Of Life

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Heading Down The Road Of Life

On the "long and winding road" of life... we often find ourselves launched on a discovery process of personal growth.

The further we go into our awareness, the more we start to experience a shift of our focus. Instead of looking only at the minute details of every particular situation, our vision widens to a more inclusive, all-embracing view.

It's that common saying: you can't see the forest for the trees.

In this case, instead of seeing the trees, you start to see the forest.

Our perspective becomes more universal, like broad brush strokes sweeping through the inner landscape.

From Doing To Being

So much of our lives is about doing.

Doing, doing, doing – it becomes a chant of our daily lives. Accomplish this, finish that. Naturally, that's just what we do.

But over time, the accomplishments start to lessen. After all, we have already accomplished so much. It becomes less about the things I do and more about the steadiness of I am.

We shift from the I, and even the you, to a more inclusive state of being. A broader awareness emerges like widening ripples on an infinity pool.

As we move from doing to being, so does our love. Love that has been driven by accomplishment, love that has had to achieve love, now relaxes into simply being love.

Being Love Instead Of Doing Love

On the meditative journey, a shift begins.

The emphasis on doing transforms to a state of being.

Our loving is not so much something we attain and hold forth for all to see, but rather something we are. It's no longer based on the people or circumstances surrounding us.

You're not doing love. You are being love.

The object of your love fades away into pure love. The *I* and the *you* drop off and all you're left with is love.

I love you, I love you, I love you

I love, I love, I love

love, love, love

LOVE

 
“Eventually you will come to understand that love heals everything, and love is all there is.”
— Gary Zukav
 

I couldn't leave you without sharing The Beatles song I think of every time I hear the words "long and winding road."