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    The theme for today is Space.
    Which is a follow-up to Base.
     
    To relax is to fall into a base.
    To relax deeply one might fall into Ground,
    called, being "grounded"
    And under that, earth
    and within and around it,
    a sense of space
    mixed
    with the solid of rock
    and the tissue of living creatures
    and the lively music
    of gaze and language.
     
    These are metaphors, but also real
    in that you can find them all around and always present.
     
    Gravity is a "real metaphor"
    from which we can learn a lot.
     
    When space is more complete, it can become emptiness.
     
    How does this abstract-sounding idea matter?
    Space is a basis (base) for other experience?
    The freedom and quality of mind
    both of the contents
    and the quality of what appears
    in self, environment, and relationships.
     
    It's like milk to all the flavors of yogurt
    like air and water for a plant
    the canvas on which a painting appears.
     
    When you feel more aware / sensitive / creative
    that is an expression of the space
    in which those activities occur.
     
    Yet it comes and goes
    for sometimes mysterious reasons.
     
    Maybe if we are more aware of it
    we can influence it
    like watering a plant
    or having the kitchen well-set-up
    too cook a meal.
     
    What is space, as experience?
    Leaving aside the stories we tell ourselves or others
    when thinking about it.
     
    What might we notice, approaching it?
     
    What happens when one relaxes?
    Naturally
     
    A sense of space
    then a movement, a stretch, a yawn;
    the feeling after that is
    relaxed again
    but with a bit more space.
     
    Body knows space better than mind.
    Toes and elbows and back of neck
    have stories to tell
     
    and so do the appearances in one's environment
    and relationships.
     
    There are some hints and signs
    in states of consciousness
    where mind resonates with space
    Hypnagogia
    A slow release of liberated images
    Synasthesia
    the opening of the doorway between senses
    that weren't that separate to begin with
     
    Common aspects of sleep or meditation
    you might find them in the waking state
    with attention and relaxation
    mixed into experience at a deeper level.
     
    I noticed this once
    on a meditation retreat
    in a storefront school in Oakland, Cal.
    right next to a stop light and bus stop.
    Bus engines and boom boxes
    coexisted with the space of meditation.
     
    Sometimes though meditation starts
    with a feeling of resistance
    having forgotten the deliciousness of space
     
    If you know this
    you can spend time
    with a dual awareness
    space
    and something that fills it
    or seems to get in the way.
     
    This is standing "in the gap"
    between being and non-being
     
    What is it like
    for the sense of Self
    when you enter that space?
     
    When is it,
    that you have more Space
    or less
    in your body/mind,
    environment,
    and relationships?
     
     
     
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