Thursday 10/15/09

It is midnight and the night of the new moon. The skies are clear, so every faint star normally hidden by the light of the moon is showing face. "The heavens declare the glory of God...", I wonder how many nights skies this ancient poet witnessed. I think I am beginning to understand what he was talking about. Tonight's heavens are a dazzling display of glistering diamonds bespeckling the dusky lavender ink of twilight's unbounded easel- it is a sight we all too often fail to catch as most of us are immersed in our various dreamlands during this time. Speaking of dreamlands, I just came from a most extraordinary journey. I had taken a 3 hour nap this afternoon so I gave up trying to go to sleep and began meditating. I am not good enough to control my thoughts right away yet, and normally I patiently let them fly about until they exhaust themselves, and only then can I begin to rein them in. As I lay flat on my back, breath deep and controlled, I spontaneously began to concentrate on my body. I started right down with my pinky toe, moving up the foot, heel, ankle, calf, knee, etc. pondering the miracle of each these parts and the role they play in the greater functioning of the body as a unit. I felt an overwhelming gratefulness to each part as they carry on their daily tasks, most of the time unnoticed and taken for granted. Its hard to imagine what it would be like without our current design-if our toes were fused, or if we didn't have elbows-and as I probed the flesh of my face and traced the contours of my brow, I was thankful for this housing unit of my spirit. Anyways, as my thoughts gradually moved up the body I slipped into a deep trance-like relaxation, and all thinking ceased. Who knows how many minutes this lasted, but it seemed like an eternity. I never felt my self drift into sleep, and it was as if I was given a third person tour to the very essence of my being. I am not even able to explain what that means. I can't remember much, but it was a long and exhausting journey through the universe into a realm incomprehensible to my waking mind. Strange dream indeed. I came back to this reality drenched in sweat. I hope I am lucky enough to go back sometime to wherever I was for that hour, for it was far different than anything I have ever experienced.  Anyways. Enough ramblings. I am gonna go take this watch on deck and soak in some starshine.