Spaciousness – Boundless – Vastness…

Spaciousness – Boundless – Vastness… what do these words mean?

Space or openness is the infinite quality of our minds as it is relates to our True Nature. Many of us can acknowledge that during meditation and in daily life practice, countless thoughts race through our minds. Imagine the space required to create and field all those thoughts. How about memories? What about useful daily skills and dreams? The brain seems small, yet the mind seems vast. Settle into that spacious vision of our True Nature, visualizing it as a vast area of space. How about the night sky? The stars we see at night are actually neighborhood stars within a small snapshot of our Milky Way galaxy. The stars we see with the naked eye are really only a handful as compared to the billions of stars within our galaxy. Some of these stars are light years away (millions upon millions of miles). Then there are billions of galaxies beyond our Milky Way galaxy. The Cosmos is vast, maybe infinite. Much like the Cosmos, our True Nature is also vast and shares qualities that are infinite. In fact, there is this basic feeling that somehow it is all connected. Words can’t describe this relationship, only that it feels familiar and there is a connective feeling associated with it all. Just as the immensity of the Universe boggles our mind, the same character or value can be associated with our spacious True Nature. Further, the boundless characteristics of the Cosmos and our true nature can be compared to the mind. When you think of your mind and all its processes and capabilities, can you put your finger on its size and borders? Does the mind have an edge or boundary? Where does the mind begin and where does it end? It makes one wonder if the mind is also infinite in nature especially when we consider that all things are relative.

When ancient civilizations looked up into the night sky, it was concluded that what you see is all that exists. This was an era when it was collectively thought that the world was still flat. Do you see how this is a primitive and close minded view of our surroundings? Even today, people walk around with the same closed-minded perceptions all of which breeds stress, fear and anxiety. Ignorance, religious dogma and racism could be examples of modern close-minded behavior. If there are boundaries in our mind, we can feel pressured and claustrophobic, especially when challenges arise. Still when we find space and settle into the vastness of our true nature, there is a fundamental confidence actualized. Imagine trying to count every grain of sand on Earth. It is impossible, right? Still, there is faith that all this sand exists on our worlds beaches and deserts. Though it is impossible to quantify the many grains of sand on Earth, we know they exist. It may be an indefinable value, but it still is a value. It is something we can count on and there is a spacious and comforting quality about that; knowing it simply exists and there is nothing we need to do about it. Many times in life, there is very little we can count on; home prices and the stock market will continue to fluctuate. Love can be fleeting as can good friends. We as humans even age and eventually die. Still, one thing is constant: The spacious vision of our True Nature that exists within us all. Find space for everything and you will find it is unending in its capacity. Think of your mind as a spacious, boundless tool where anything is possible. Further, look to your surrounding environment for inspiration as it relates to space: A cloudless sky, the moon, an open field or even a tall building; being mindful of space on many aesthetic levels breeds clarity – connect to the confidence that you are surrounded by space.

John C. Bader

www.responsiveuniverse.com