We were invited to experience and to cultivate the ‘here’ of the ‘I’ as encompassing the whole, to let the ‘here’ of ‘I am here’ open into the fullness of space. In this way, ‘I am here’ can become a gateway to zero, a gate to intimacy.
‘I am here’ is usually felt as a solid point, a fortress where we hide from everything that seems frightening to us. The more insecure we are the more rigid our body, the more obsessive are our thoughts.
As knowledge and confidence increases, some gates of the fortress begin to open. Our body relaxes, our thoughts slow down, our mind more receptive, and the sharp sensation of inside and outside fades. It is possible that, at some point, the solid fortress became transparent, and inside and outside are not distinguishable any more. We can only experience the aliveness and the intimacy of time.
The other day, unexpectedly, as soon as I woke up, and still lying in bed, I listened a bird singing. I could feel the bird song vibrating in my chest, and became aware of this shared aliveness; pure intimacy at the wholeness of space. Sound breath and awareness became one.
At the fundamental level, space seems open by nature. It does not develop; it does not have to be modernized or renovated; it does not have to be opened like a frontier… The zero-point shares in the openness of space; it could even be considered a localized (or locatable) symbol of that openness. SDS 34-35
‘I am here’ unfolded in an encompassing whole, pure openness in the heart of space; unspeakable, alive and intimate.
Hi Eliana,
I enjoyed reading your reflections this week on the intimacy at zero.
It was good to be reminded that the natural access to space is one of intimacy, not analysis. My own exploration of the meaning of “16” this week strayed out of intimacy into thoughts about how meaning and engagement are anchored.
I especially appreciate your description of waking up and feeling bird song reverberating in your chest, and from there breath and awareness becoming one.
I know we can’t revive old experiences in the present, but you reminded me of an experience that is a touchstone for me for the possibility of contacting the openness of space.
I was sitting in a room in the basement of the Nyingma Institute in Berkeley doing ” Marriage of Sound and Breath” when suddenly everything was right there, no distance, no identification or labeling . . .just am intimacy with everything washing through my consciousness.
Michael