Today,
We're going to reflect on the vastness of our consciousness.
The purpose of this meditation is to develop shunyata.
Shunyata is a Buddhist term meaning complete openness,
The open dimension of our being,
A completely wide open heart and mind.
In this meditation,
We will first stretch our minds with huge vast concepts so that we can see the staggering immensity that our minds can hold.
Then we will let all of that go so we can experience just how expansive and open our mind can be.
Begin by settling in,
Whether you're sitting or lying down.
Just let your body relax.
Let your breath move in and out smooth and easy.
Let's begin right here on earth.
From where you're sitting now,
The farthest point you could possibly travel without leaving the planet is about 12,
500 miles away,
Halfway around the globe.
At the average speed of a passenger jet,
That journey would take just under 22 hours.
That's one full day of flying just to get to the opposite side of the earth.
But earth is only the beginning.
Let's look up.
Take a look at the moon if you're lucky enough to be able to see it or envision it in your mind's eye.
The moon is our closest companion in space.
It's about 239,
000 miles away.
If you took a commercial airliner,
It would take more than 17 days of nonstop flying to reach the moon.
Now,
Let's stretch our awareness further.
You may be lucky enough to see Mars,
A red spark in the night sky.
Mars is about 34 million miles away at its closest approach.
At airplane speed,
That's a journey of almost seven years.
The sun is 93 million miles away.
Flying there on a commercial airliner would take over 18 years.
But the sun's light,
It reaches us in 8 minutes and 20 seconds.
The sun is enormous.
You could fit over 1 million earths inside it.
And yet,
It is just one average star among billions.
Let's stretch our awareness further still.
The edge of our solar system is about 9 billion miles from earth.
Light from that distance takes about 16 hours to reach us.
But our consciousness is capable of traveling even further.
The closest star to us after the sun is Proxima Centauri.
It's 4.
24 light years away.
That's about 25 trillion miles.
If you tried to fly there in a commercial airplane,
You'd be in the air for over 5 million years.
Even our fastest spacecraft would need over 17,
000 years to get to Proxima Centauri.
Light speeding through space at 186,
000 miles per second takes a little over four years to get here from there.
But Proxima Centauri and earth are both right next to each other in a tiny corner of our galaxy,
The Milky Way.
At the center of our Milky Way galaxy is a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A.
It lies 27,
000 light years from earth.
That's over 158 quadrillion miles.
At airplane speed,
It would take over 3 billion years.
To reach the center of the Milky Way.
And the light from Sagittarius A began its trip to earth before humans ever made cities or tools or stories.
And yet,
Our minds are capable of holding that fact.
Even the Milky Way itself,
Stretching 100,
000 light years across,
Fits into your awareness in an instant.
And beyond the Milky Way are galaxies beyond counting.
The edge of the observable universe is about 46.
5 billion light years away.
Let's come closer again,
Back to the night sky you can actually see.
There's Polaris,
The North Star.
It's a steady beacon you may be able to see in the northern sky.
Polaris is 433 light years away.
The light reaching your eyes tonight from the North Star began its journey when Galileo first looked through a telescope.
Now pause.
Let all of this land in your awareness.
The stars.
The distances.
The time.
The scale.
And come home to this simple fact.
Your body is small.
Your life is brief.
And yet,
Your mind can stretch across galaxies.
Looking at the North Star,
Its light reaches out to us across 400 light years of space,
Over 2 quadrillion miles.
And our consciousness reaches back to it.
We can reach out and hold the North Star across all that distance in the palm of our awareness.
Let that realization settle.
And then,
Gently,
Without effort,
Let it all go.
Let the light years dissolve.
Let the stars fade.
Let the time and space drift away.
What's left?
Stillness.
Silence.
Openness.
The space of the mind itself.
Quiet.
Empty.
Vast.
Rest in that space.
If a thought arises,
See how much room the thought has to move in to grow inside your mind,
And how little space the thought occupies as it drifts across the vast openness of your consciousness.
Stay as long as you like.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes and go about your day,
Trying to keep an awareness of this vast,
Empty consciousness that stays open for you,
No matter how many thoughts occupy you today.
