Photo: Fenixx Kali Lovestar Text: Jonas Faremo
Emptiness – it´s not what you think!
There’s is a possibility you have a weird view on emptiness. I did, and it hugely limited the power of thought and the power to lessen suffering. Finding back to experience emptiness in a more real way can contribute to things we long for – inner peace, harmony, stillness, clarity. And take you back towards a more real self.
“-Bullshit!” maybe someone says. Great! Take that as an example. Those words appeared in emptiness. Listen to it and see the thought. Actually it can only exist if there is emptiness. Without emptiness “bullshit” cant appear. (Nor dog shit…) Look and listen to that word again. Above it – space, under it – space, right, left behind and in front of it – space! That space that you are is emptiness. Thoughts, which we usually identify with and think as “me” is a very small part of you. So bullshit and emptiness goes together just as anything we interpret as an object only exists together with space. They go together. A room is mostly space and the sofa, the table and the dog shit under it can only exist if there is room. They go together; space needs “something” be be a space.
Take the sense of hearing as another example. Emptiness or silence is the very circumstance in which sounds and words can exist. What is there most of right now, silence or sound? Silence of course, the space in which my words echo is far greater the petty words. But automatically the mind gives attention to the objects, in this case the sound of the words. For the mind that’s the only real thing. So it identifies with thoughts and fantasies when it is very obvious that what you are is not thought and inner movies. Who is it then who experience them? Yes you are much more of emptiness then thoughts but through the years we automatically identified with thoughts and now the thoughts is the boss, we think that’s “me” talking.
Hearing is a good example also on how we create stress and burn energy instead of being efficient and economic with energy. Someone whispers to you; -Listen! And you immediately start to do something. Tension around the ear, lean the head forward etc. None of which helps the hearing in any way. You hear already. This tension we create all the time as a reaction to outer stimuli without knowing. If we cultivate the identity with the emptiness we will slowly stop doing this. We are present and a vast space, things happen and they are nothing we need to react on. Thought, emotions, outer events like persons and situations. There is plenty of room.
How to cultivate inner peace?
Looking for inner peace? There are luckily many ways to cultivate inner peace. Here is one: Look for the space in between the thoughts some meditation teachers say. I say there is much more to look for. Look around the thoughts. The stream of thoughts and movies doesn’t appear on a horizontal line like this text. They appear in a 3d environment we can call awareness. Some say this is infinite, the very stuff that all consists off. It’s in the same space wherein the event of your body appears.
So look for the space around the thoughts. Try it now for example; Close your eyes and take deep soft breath and listen to the next thought. When it appears, look for the space around it by pin pointing the exact location of the thought in your awareness. WHERE does it appear? This is a great meditation practice if done with equanimity, that is a non-judging attitude. Give no value to what appears, instead notice; “where” and then lean back into the space of awareness and curiously see where next thought or movie appears. Is there space in between the perceived thought and the perceiver? Behind the thought? To the right? Left? Right? In front of? See how much peace there is inside you!!! Maybe that peace doesn’t even have boundaries?
Why cultivate inner peace?
Peace, stillness, emptiness, void, space – this is where the power of thoughts lies; the power of creation and the power to lessen suffering. Imagine throwing a pebble into a still pond. You can see the ripples going to all of the shores of that pond. You can easily observe the ripples and not identify with them if they wouldn’t serve you. On stormy water you can throw the Empire state building and it wouldn’t make a difference. You struggle to fight the waves and the chance of being the observer of the waves is very small when you feel you are drowning.
What is this?
This playful combination of word and image is an artistic project inspired by stillness. The text came out of meditation and is combined with artwork or photo from an artist. Our hope is that it will inspire to a small halt of reflection in the otherwise entertainment-heavy stream of pictures at the internet.
Artist: Fenixx Kali Lovestar is a belly dancing apsara performance artist with an eye for “the image”.
Whats up?
– If you are Swedish and want some support in getting on with your own meditation practice you can sign up on this E-course. Now 20% summer discount.
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