There was a song in the late 1970’s with a line that included the words of this post’s title. I can’t for the life of me remember the song or the artist, but those three words have rung in my mind repeatedly for decades. They would pop into my mind for no apparent reason, inexplicably having a powerful effect on me. A longing I couldn’t understand would permeate my heart with no way of fulfilling it. What was so significant about those words that they should be so powerful in my consciousness?
I know now that my unseen counsel was calling me again and again into the only place where I could find the answers, the understanding, I needed to deal effectively with what was appearing in life. The space between … the apparent emptiness between thoughts, emotions, and events, that no-thing realm that we have misconceived of as having no life. Perhaps there is a collective unconscious belief that to be in this space is to cease to exist and therefore a collective fear of it. That would explain my continued unconscious refusal to follow the simple guidance each time it came.The space between two breaths creates a gap, a pause. When we are conscious in that gap we experience it as having great depth, and something else. There is something there, not a thing really but an awareness, a sense of vital aliveness. It’s not tangible, yet it’s more real than anything we can touch, see, hear, or in any other way define. The space between two thoughts is filled with this same richness.If there is nothing in “the space between” but a sense of aliveness, what is the value of entering it? What could nothingness possibly contribute to life? Why would I want to spend time in empty space when there is so much to do that the hours in the day are never enough? Only surrendering the need to keep busy can answer those questions. Busy work is an avoidance pattern created in our subconscious mind when the present moment contains something we don’t know how to handle. Experience enough of such moments and you’ll develop a continuous need to be in motion. If continuous action fails to distract us from the moment our thoughts will run on auto-pilot rehashing old experiences and projecting them on the future. The gap becomes completely obscured and unavailable. All the while, the space between is where the understanding we need arises in our awareness.New ideas or understanding are not available in the context of old thoughts and beliefs. Similarly, the potential of our gifts, talents, and abilities cannot be realized while we are stuck in a cycle of repeating old behaviors. The space between cycles is the realm of new possibilities, new understanding, inspiration, and creativity. Have you ever experienced what is commonly called being in the zone? If so, you were in the gap between thoughts and old patterns. You were fully present in the moment and available to inspiration with access to abilities or wisdom that normally eludes you. Artists know the gap as the exhilarating experience of creative inspiration, as they bring something new into the world.The space between thoughts and movement is also where we discover by direct personal experience the truth of who/what we are. If we would live authentically, experience the full potential of life, it behooves us to know who we are, and that knowing can only come through direct experience. The experience and the knowing are in the gap. The expansion of life experience and joy that we long for flows out of that journey into the space between. In each moment of now, the space invites us into the infinite field of pure consciousness. If you accept the invitation, life can show you how rich and wonderful it really is.
About the Author: Jacqueline Stone shares the journey of awakening consciousness through her writing and the beauty of this world with photography. See more of Jacqueline's writing and photography at her website.
I know now that my unseen counsel was calling me again and again into the only place where I could find the answers, the understanding, I needed to deal effectively with what was appearing in life. The space between … the apparent emptiness between thoughts, emotions, and events, that no-thing realm that we have misconceived of as having no life. Perhaps there is a collective unconscious belief that to be in this space is to cease to exist and therefore a collective fear of it. That would explain my continued unconscious refusal to follow the simple guidance each time it came.The space between two breaths creates a gap, a pause. When we are conscious in that gap we experience it as having great depth, and something else. There is something there, not a thing really but an awareness, a sense of vital aliveness. It’s not tangible, yet it’s more real than anything we can touch, see, hear, or in any other way define. The space between two thoughts is filled with this same richness.If there is nothing in “the space between” but a sense of aliveness, what is the value of entering it? What could nothingness possibly contribute to life? Why would I want to spend time in empty space when there is so much to do that the hours in the day are never enough? Only surrendering the need to keep busy can answer those questions. Busy work is an avoidance pattern created in our subconscious mind when the present moment contains something we don’t know how to handle. Experience enough of such moments and you’ll develop a continuous need to be in motion. If continuous action fails to distract us from the moment our thoughts will run on auto-pilot rehashing old experiences and projecting them on the future. The gap becomes completely obscured and unavailable. All the while, the space between is where the understanding we need arises in our awareness.New ideas or understanding are not available in the context of old thoughts and beliefs. Similarly, the potential of our gifts, talents, and abilities cannot be realized while we are stuck in a cycle of repeating old behaviors. The space between cycles is the realm of new possibilities, new understanding, inspiration, and creativity. Have you ever experienced what is commonly called being in the zone? If so, you were in the gap between thoughts and old patterns. You were fully present in the moment and available to inspiration with access to abilities or wisdom that normally eludes you. Artists know the gap as the exhilarating experience of creative inspiration, as they bring something new into the world.The space between thoughts and movement is also where we discover by direct personal experience the truth of who/what we are. If we would live authentically, experience the full potential of life, it behooves us to know who we are, and that knowing can only come through direct experience. The experience and the knowing are in the gap. The expansion of life experience and joy that we long for flows out of that journey into the space between. In each moment of now, the space invites us into the infinite field of pure consciousness. If you accept the invitation, life can show you how rich and wonderful it really is.
About the Author: Jacqueline Stone shares the journey of awakening consciousness through her writing and the beauty of this world with photography. See more of Jacqueline's writing and photography at her website.
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