Meditation practice offers us a direct experience of the wonder of resurrection arising out of death.

 

Meditation practice offers us a direct experience of the wonder of resurrection arising out of death, of particular things being born out of emptiness or spaciousness.  As we focus on the outbreath, allowing our minds to become vast and spacious, we let go of all thoughts, perceptions, emotions and sensations.  St. John of the Cross calls this state "general loving awareness," and Buddhists often refer to it as "emptiness."  Here, everything specific and particular is released and let go of.  As this occurs, all of the things we've released seem transparent and non-substantial.  However, we then watch in amazement as they reappear, more vivid and colorful than ever!  John Muir puts it this way: "The pain caused by the melting of all beauties into one First Beauty disappears, because after their first submergence in fountain God, they go again washed and clean into their individualisms, more clearly defined than ever, unified yet separate."

Photo: Sand Lily with rain drops; Reservoir Ridge Natural Area; Larimer County, CO; April 19, 2014