The greatest miracle is the discovery that all is miraculous. And the nature of the miraculous is utter simplicity. ...The ground for any kind of growth and cultivation is prepared by lying fallow.
—Henry Miller
Be Still And Dance
I spent many hours in the Meditation Hall during the two years I lived and worked at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. During those early, often chilly, morning hours I would sit and reduce my breathing and pulse to keep time with the crashing of the ocean waves behind me. Life was is so simple. I didn’t know what was going on in the rest of the world and it didn’t really matter. It was easy living my life and it felt as if I had all the time in the world to myself.
In the seven years since leaving Esalen, it has been more difficult to find this inner peace and solitude in the world. Relationships, work, merely having to interact with more of the world takes a toll on my solitude. It no longer just occurs. I have to schedule it around the lives of those with whom I work and live. And when I have moments of solitude, it is difficult to settle into that space of just “being.” Being open to all of life without judgment. Being accepting of “what is” without passing it through the filters of my brain.
Today, the fish in the pond were totally still and appeared to be moving at the same time. Their stillness reminded me to slow down, to “be still and dance.” Amazingly enough I found that space of quiet calm and solitude instantly. There was no ocean, no Meditation Hall but I was here in the solitude of my own body. A three dimensional being, living in multiple dimensions. This is what each of us is. This is what life is. I just have to lie fallow every once and a while and prepare for sowing.
Dormant but still dancing.
Photo Credit: Esalen Meditation Hall, SEPhillips, Digital Image, 2001.