One Moment

It was one of those moments of Presence that come unannounced. I stood in an art gallery in Asheville, North Carolina after a day of solitude, wandering the streets, stores, coffee shops and bistros. An outward facing day matched by inward facing awareness.  

The day before I had been captivated by a movie, At Eternity’s Gate, a reflective study of Vincent Van Gogh. Over and over again poignant vignettes paint the portrait of his life. Perhaps it was that which set the scene within my psyche, priming me for this moment.  

I was lost in the silent reverie of a beautiful abstract painting when I turned and glanced upward across the gallery to see a brilliantly painted mobile reflecting light that cascaded in through a window. Undetectable air movements caused the suspended shapes to move as if of their own accord. The glossy, bright colors presented a myriad of impressions as the angles shifted in the light.

I was mesmerized as I moved slowly toward the piece. The world faded away. There was only movement, and with it, endless reflections of color and light.

Awareness came. And with it a still small voice.

Spirit unseeable…acts upon everything…no exception…no exclusion. 

There is no way of knowing how long the mobile and I hung in Silence. Joy arose beneath my breastbone. The mobile, the Silence and Joy, and Awareness, all one.

I could not stay in the moment for very long. It was too profound. The reverie broke. The mobile continued to move ever so slightly. The sounds of the gallery returned as I looked around. Nothing had changed, yet everything was different.

Seeing True™

“Everything belongs.” Richard Rohr 

Nothing is lost. Nothing can be lost. 

Seeing True™ in Action 

While a sense of separation may be an essential element in the material world, the mystics across the ages and traditions tell us that there is only One, that it is all a matter of perception, and that our perception is altered by what we experience.

For those of us who do not have the experience of Oneness, how can we find our way? Many masters propose that the way to the experience can be facilitated by the slow and steady process of examining every appearance of separation. As we investigate with our minds each and every appearance, letting go over and over again, connection comes.

Journaling can be an excellent tool too. Each time you become aware of an annoyance, a frustration, a disappointment, or anything that does not bear peace, consider writing down the circumstances in a brief form, then the perceptions or beliefs with which you are seeing and feeling. Ask yourself if there are alternative possibilities. Write down as many as seem plausible. Notice how the experience is altered. Make note of the changes.

Years ago my first spiritual mentor told me that through this process a day would come when we would realize we had been altered in significant ways. And that altering would change our experience.