Hashem - the Name J. Janda Like Gold hidden deep in the earth so dwells Emptiness deep in our souls often unknown often undiscovered sometimes denied yet the Presence the Empty/Fullness is there - Hashem waiting to be found discovered, claimed believed in regardless the cost, the labour The world is a noisy place. I woke early this morning to find some space and time to be alone and in quiet. Instead of silence my next door neighbour was up early cleaning the garage and playing canned music. The birds, which are numerous and diverse in my neighbourhood, were making their early morning song which were not the dulcet sounds of honeyeaters but the screech of parrots. Perhaps the honeyeaters were in there but I couldn’t here them for the hundreds of Polly’s. And then there was the noise in my head - “I wish the music would stop”, “why are the birds so loud?”, “I have so much to do” - and then listing off all the things to do. There is no real thinking in this space of internal and external noise, only reaction and survival. Real thinking, (I think!), is a marriage of emptiness and fullness. To hear ourselves, our deep creative selves think, we must quieten down our self-conscious minds, our emotions and relax our bodies. I used to believe that this was just a practice for times of designated meditation. I now understand that this is the practice for each moment. The Gold is worth digging for in every moment and the only effort needed is to let go. Let go of grasping, struggle, assumptions, expectations, internal and external noise. Letting go does not mean the noise disappears. It is all still there - the music, the birds, the monkey mind, the frustrations and desires. Letting go means not identifying with any of it and instead discovering the empty place wherein fullness arises and wholeness begins. “I went fishing this morning. Caught nothing. Was about to give up. Heard a voice tell me to keep trying. So I did. Then I realised the voice was the voice of my beloved friend standing on the shore. I let go and jumped into the water and swam to my friend. I stood there and listened and died".
2 Comments
Michael Fitzgerald-Clarke
12/4/2016 11:35:19 am
Thanks for this. I found the ending challenging, until I realised that each moment we are to die to self. Bless you Rebecca!
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Rebecca
17/4/2016 07:36:24 pm
Yes, that is what I meant! Bless you too Michael. :)
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Rebecca Newland:
Exploring balance, silence and contemplative living Archives
November 2016
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