As a kid, (in the late 1950's) I experienced "endless summers" - as if summer would never end - I was suspended in timelessness. Suddenly, in my 60's, time flashes by silently. Starting sitting meditation, at times we agonizingly wait for the bell to end the sitting, sometimes with sweat & tears pouring from us. Later, at times, an hour feels like less than a minute, and a few days of meditation are the gentlest blink of an eye. Linear time? - a subjective fantasy - not to be reified - only smile & wonder
How would I do THIS - were this one act to last forever - stretching into infinity? What attitude, what posture, what love, how much would I devote to THIS one split second in TIME - if this millisecond lasted for ALL ETERNITY?
"good poets remind us that heaven abides in that which surrounds us." Christopher Martin
"... some thirty million Americans - maintain some type of spiritual belief and practice, even though they no longer feel at home in a church, synagogue, or mosque. These are the famous 'spiritual but not religious,' philosophically the fastest-growing demographic in the US. Generally, they're educated, liberal, and open-minded, with a deep sense of connection to the Earth and a belief that there's more to life than what appears on the surface. ... contemplatives of different faiths often have more in common with each other than they do with practitioners of their own religion. It comes down to how much we personify or solidify the absolute - whether it's a supreme being who passes judgment on us or an open expanse of love and awareness. In their experience of God, Thomas Merton, Rumi, and Martin Buber had more in common with the Buddha (and each other) than with most practitioners of their own faith. The difference is that meditation is the very essence of Buddhism, not just the practice of a rarified elite of mystics. It's fair to say that Buddhism is the most contemplative of the world's major religions, which is a reflection of its basic nontheism. Buddhism is about realization and experience, not institutions or divine authority. This makes it especially suited to those who consider themselves spiritual but not religious." Melvin McCleod, Shambhala Sun, November 2013
