INNER SPACE
Excerpt from an article I wrote as a submission to a writer's competition several years ago called "Jewels in Space".
A long, long time ago, with family and tribe safe and fed in the back of a cave with a warm fire, you stood and looked out upon the beauty and stillness of a moonlight un-rippled lake. Or perhaps it was the embers of the fire at night or the billions of stars in the vast space of the night sky that captured your attention.
The calmness you witnessed was reflected fleetingly back to you and, for a moment, your focus of interest shifted from thoughts of survival to a feeling that emanated from somewhere within you, some restful inner space and you found yourself becoming aware of the simple act of breathing.
Perhaps, almost intuitively, you stayed with this simple attention on the breath for a little while and your perception seemed to transform, so that more and more of the beauty, always there yet often un-noticed in the world around you, flooded in. Simultaneously, subtleties of new and exquisite feelings danced ever so ephemerally within you.
Questions of “who am I” or “what am I doing here” receded momentarily into the background and you where forever transformed with the knowledge that you had an inner life, a comforting inner space that truly felt like home. And that this inner space might be the source of exquisite goodness. But you didn’t really know how to recreate this experience and at the risk of forgetting, you communicated and openly shared with others around you.
You found they too had transcendent experiences to share. One of your companions found herself deep in a cave in utter darkness, yet when she let go and even shut her eyes, she found a hint of some inner light that bought solace and comfort. Another tribe member was alone in a quiet breezeless valley, and he recounts sensing a soothing sound that had no source outside, almost as if hearing the silence.
Stories of other’s encounters with a font of sublime yet inherently human experience originating from a space, a source within, began to come together over generations and generations. Often someone in the tribe or village had the gift to hold and embody these stories and experiences and share them with others and pass the knowledge on through the spoken word and simple know-how to the next generation.
Over thousands and thousands of years this fascination with self-emanating feelings of joy, tranquillity, kindness and aliveness began to awaken and transform human consciousness. Masters, mystics, wise men and wise women of a time made themselves available. For all of us who had convinced ourselves we had it all, knew it all, yet carried a hungry heart.
And those that thirsted for greater understanding in making a conscious connection to their inner life space whenever they needed, sought out one who could assist.
Inspired by the work and teachings of Prem Rawat, master storyteller and author of Hear Yourself, How to find peace in a noisy world.