I woke up from a strange dream last night. I was speaking to a group. The room was a bit dark. And this beautiful image of a skeleton hung on the wall. There was so much poetry in that moment. The air spun with energy. This was a meditation on foundation, structure, and our personal architecture.
When I woke I had remnants of the vision swirling through my head. Instantly I felt a strange sense of grounding. I felt the bones within my body. I felt the core of my bed cradling me. The beams of the floor sustaining my bed. And on and on it went.
In that moment I realized we are the stuff that is inside. We are the mixture of what we have come from. The dust of the earth, the blood of our ancestors. The memory of the stars. The dream of our nation. The identity of humanity.
In Buddhist philosophy there is a beautiful meditation that contemplates our humanness. You go inward. You see your body. You see your age. You watch yourself grow, wither and die. You see your flesh erode. You see your bones turn to dust. You see your infinity, and your reality.
This may sound a bit morbid, and scary. The point is not to make you uncomfortable. The excise is meant to instill in you that you are nothing, and at the same time you are everything. That is the pearl of wisdom… knowing that you have within you a small Universe that is the mirror of the big Universe.
Now let’s begin…
1. First Meditate On Your Infrastructure
Close your eyes. Slip into the darkness behind your lids. Let go of all space, color and sound. Follow the lines of your pulse. Slip down the avenues of your veins. Tread on the ridges of your bones. Where does it all go?
This is the world inside of you. The place where you digest your food, your feelings, your experiences. These are the soft spots. This is the garden and the underbelly. This is your heart, and your secrets. You can play here, you can die here, and you can grow here. This is the home of rebirth.
When you touch the danger of your infinity, and the darkness of your inner world… you create a dialogue that bridges gaps. You become in tune with something beyond what you see. This liminal space behind your eyes, and between your flesh is where true wisdom unfolds.
How often have you sat wondering where to go next? What the next bend and turn in the road would be. How often have you felt alone? As if you were drowning. Yet you never really turned inward, felt you bones, felt your feet beneath you. The stones that uphold the earth, and the roots that uphold the trees. The answers are in you. Can you feel them, now?
Accept the skeletons in your closet. The skeleton under your skin. The skeleton in your heart. Accept the skeleton upon which your life is built. Honor, and give thanks to the ancestors that live deep with in your bones. These are the teachers, the hidden treasures, the voices, and the shapers of your present reality.
2. Explore The Universe
Everything you do, everything you experience is a chance to get closer to your inner world, you mystery. These are the things that refine who and what you are, they fortify what you are made of. Wear them proudly as little jewels of victory.
Lay each experience, one on top of the other creating a foundation. They will sustain you, and keep you grounded in your true identity. This isn’t about staying stagnant, or even being nostalgic. This is rather a process of letting the past prompt the present, which shapes your future.
So touch each moment with wonder. Wonder for what can be, for what you can learn, and who you can become. This big, wide, wonderful Universe is like a huge mansion… filled with illuminated places, and dark corridors. Befriend all of them. Traverse in things unknown. Be a gypsy with roots and wings.
There is wisdom in your roots – Your journey shapes you. Think of yourself as a stone, a fossil, a tree branch… anything that is touched by the elements. Nature wears it, shapes it, works her artistic hands upon it. You are this. Life shapes you.
Don’t spend time avoiding your past…dark or light. You don’t run from the things you’ve been through. Befriend them. They help you to identify what feeds you, and what defeats you. What takes you away from, or brings you closer to your spirit.
There is wisdom in your roots. The lines on your personal map all lead you to the next path. Don’t avoid them, honor them. It is cliché to say have no regrets, but this simple truth can enlighten your soul.
3. Be Child-Like
Live with no regrets. That is your affirmation for now. When you observe life, and realize that you are not bound by your experiences, rather you are shaped by them… you can let go of the things that cause you guilt, pain and grief.
A child sees life as one big, swirling rainbow of adventures. They do not worry about how they look, or what out think of them. They live uninhibited, prompted by what feels good, and what feels bad. Yet they go forward fearlessly. This bravery is what fills their eyes with wonder.
Wouldn’t you feel empowered if you could be in the here and now? Feeling the stability of the past, and the possibility of the future? Life is that simple… though there is a lot of subtext that fills in the cracks. But the child in your heart is truly enough.
Your life, your body, your home… they are all metaphors for the spirit. Be open. Be receptive. This simple truth will allow you to live unafraid, and in constant grace. When you live in grace, and awe of this whole experience… you have won the game!
Drop me a comment below and share your thoughts on your own inward journey. Where have you gone? Where are you now? How does your past flow into your present, and into your future?
