Science And Nonduality Conference – Impressions
Jeph and I attended and volunteered our energies to the Science and Nonduality Conference this past weekend. I am glad to have experienced it and grateful for the insights and food for thought/contemplation.
What resonated, through my lens:
All of us – people, creatures, elements, the whole earth, sun/moon/stars/planets – are connected. We Are All One.
Our physical bodies and primary communication mode, language, present both challenges and opportunities. We can get caught in labeling and separating ourselves from the world. And we can get caught in identifying only with what we experience in the physical realm, through our senses. But the opportunity exists, in every moment, to move beyond the physical and connect and communicate with what we’ve been led to believe is separate from “I”.
We recognize the opportunity when we are present in the moment. And in order to be fully present we must experience the moment, our be-ing, through all of our physical senses.
It’s all there for us. Really, really, look, listen, watch.
…and feel… Then we are grounded in the body – connected to the ground, the earth which graciously supports these bodies of ours (this would be a good time to pause and experience and express our deep gratitude for mother earth’s daily support of our life.)
It is not a mistake that we are here, now, in these bodies. That was a choice, too. “Moving beyond the physical” does not mean leaving the body behind, until it is time for that. Through embracing our earthly nature and loving and nourishing our body we will begin to sense the energy flowing within and through us. That energy is our connection to Universal Energy, our source. Again, We Are All One.
The more we choose to be fully present, in this moment, the more we will come to know our true, deepest self. The more we are here and now, the more we will recognize the interconnection of all life. And as we open up to that, the wisdom of the collective consciousness (and subconscious) will guide our life, our thoughts, feelings, words, and actions.
How do I help others? How do I help this world?
Answer: (silence and presence) and, because we are having a physical experience and are taught to communicate with words, “By just Being – being fully present, being here now, being comfortable in a healthy body, being aware of our interconnection, being accepting of what is – our influence and contributions will be positive.”
-Peter Russell and Peter Fenner in dialogue, paraphrased
And as we return to the moment (and remember to Breathe – that’s one way to really love and nourish our bodies) and connect with Universal energy, we begin to see the infinite nature of Being. Because there is no beginning or end, there is a circle – the circle of life. Which means that time is not linear, though our human perception has led us to believe it to be. So, if this moment encompasses all moments, by being fully here and now, we can access there and then, too. It’s funny, because somewhere in the process of “growing up” we all get in the habit of thinking about the future and the past quite a lot, and guess what that does? It takes us away from the present. It’s a bit of a conundrum because, on the one hand, we can’t be fully here if we are there and, on the other hand, when we are fully here, we can be, and actually are, there too. Hmmm…The thing to remember is Start Here.
Non-local = infinite in space and time. Consciousness exists non-locally.
When we are present, our consciousness naturally begins expanding. Infinite universal wisdom and our subconscious dwell beyond space and time and a regular meditation practice helps us quiet the mind and recognize their many forms and channels. When we are receptive to that guidance and observe the positive effects on our life (and rippling out far beyond “I”), we begin to trust gut feelings, intuition, synchronicities, and premonitions.
Premonitions are preventive medicine.
-Larry Dossey
In the world of dreams (entered through sleep and also through shamanic and other guided journeys), we leave consciousness at the gate. Here the subconscious and collective subconscious are leading our journey. The more we open up to them in waking life (through being fully conscious in the present and through meditation), the deeper our connection in the dream world, and the richer our memories upon awakening again.
The best ways to get in tune with, and strengthen your powers of premonition: keep a dream journal (and pay attention to it!) and meditate.
-Larry Dossey (parenthesized addition by me)
And as we think and speak and act with consciousness of the interconnection, the Web of Life, our thoughts, words, and actions will benefit our life and all life.
What we do is not nearly as important as why we do it.
So let us Wake Up when we are in waking life.
Be Present.
Slow Down – let the busy mind and heart come into focus.
Breathe in life.
Release all that is not helpful, productive, needed.
Let Go of the past (it’s still there/here – we needn’t cling.)
Watch the future as it unfolds in the present.
Recognize Infinity, and the circle of time
in each Moment.
Open to the innate Wisdom
and move through life
in harmony
in synchronicity.
See, really see,
and feel, really feel
your Self in every eye you look into,
every hand you hold,
every shoulder you touch,
creature you watch,
element you take in.
It is You.
The poetic moment is about breaking out of oneself.
Related Posts
- Mindfulness and Lovingkindness
- Poems By Request – Fertile
- Falling Down, Waking Up
- Learning to Meditate
- The Workspace I/We Have Been Wanting
Poems By Request – Fertile
This is the start of a series of poems inspired by Natalie Goldberg. In her wonderful (I am literally full of wonder as I read it) book ‘Writing Down the Bones’ (which I will be writing more about) is a chapter called ‘Spontaneous Writing Booths.’ She talks about wanting to contribute to her Zen Center’s summer festival so she set up a table and offered poems on request – you pick the topic, I write. Her rules: fill a single side of standard sized paper, no specific poetic format, no editing, no reading, just hand it over and move on to the next one. As she says:
With the writing booth there is the opportunity to be a great warrior: you must let go of everything as you write and then in handing it over to the customer. Whey you work that fast, there is a real loss of control.
Wow, I thought, this is a perfect way to get me out of the rut of writing about the same old familiar, safe things (my life) in the same old ways (self limiting and censored.) ‘Cuz losing control can be a good, even great, thing.
I imagine being given a word/phrase/concept by someone and off I go. It’s great fun, very free-ing. Part of the motivation is to get comfortable and loose enough with this that I can have a Spontaneous Writing Booth some day at a local community festival/event/gathering! Then my warrior will become stronger as I let the words, a little part of myself, go forever.
Thank-you, Natalie.
Most of the time I’ll not look back, but once in awhile, when I feel it, I’ll share. Here’s one:
Fertile
The earth is fertile ground. In it are the rocks, sand, clay, bones, trash, fossils, organisms, other bugs, creatures, like hedgehogs, that live in there.
There are caves and caverns, there are ridges and holes where water runs, flows, or has dried up.
It is where we plant seeds and grow the fruits and vegetables that nourish us. Where flowers root and bloom.
Where little acorns and tree seeds get deposited by birds and plant themselves.
And in that fertile soil they take root and send up shoots. And over the years they grow big and tall.
We are fertile.
Our bodies, as women, are a place where the seed of humanity is planted, takes root, is nurtured for nine months, and then new life is born.
Our minds are fertile ground. The Big Wide Amazing Incredible Scary Hard Fantastic Beautiful Abundant Lacking Sad Juicy Ripe Awful Terror-ful Tremendous Vivid Bleak Tangible Untouchable Forgiving Tender World is planted in our mind, impressed on our Fertile Consciousness.
We experience it all and the soil of our mind is where some of it gets planted. It is up to us, consciously or unconsciously, to choose what gets planted and what just blows off in the wind.
Let’s pick the good stuff.
We can experience it all and let the stuff that doesn’t really help or matter go.
Just let it go.
That leaves plenty of room in the field, the fertile field of our consciousness, for us to plant healthy seeds that grow into strong, and flexible, trees and flowers. We can smell the flowers and admire their colors.
We can climb those trees, planted in our fertile soil, and see for miles and miles, the infinite horizon of life.
