I adore this more than words can say. The characterization of the self as a planet moving through space, with the scars of impact craters clearly visible yet equally clearly not compromising the integrity of the whole (my interpretation of the actual statement) is so apt, and so perfect for me.
Perhaps this is because I have had a life-long passion for astronomy - I was in our local Young Astronauts club as a pre-teen, placed as a national finalist in one of their competitions, and our club leader was one of my favorite teachers (who just so happened to be our state's selected Teacher in Space and was one of the finalists in that competition which would have seen her on the Challenger mission had she been the final selectee rather than Christa McAuliffe). I used to be her student helper after that, setting up tables for her during public engagements; she had a hard time using one arm since it was handcuffed to a heavy and unwieldy NASA briefcase containing a few lunar rock samples she would display as talking points to help generate interest in the space program. Those rocks fascinated me, and much of the time as she talked, wearing her NASA jumpsuit, I would imagine the journey those rocks had been on over the æons. I spent evenings outside with my telescope. I started learning astrophotography (my parental allowance never was large enough to get the motorized drive mount necessary for really good planetary photos, alas, but I got very good at star trails!), and in college, I took all the astronomy and physics and chemistry and Earth Sciences courses I could, with dreams of becoming an astrophysicist. I had, by that point, mastered the Space Shuttle simulator computer game and memorized NASA's Space Shuttle operator's manual. That path, however, turned out to not be mine. I continue to keep up with the research, though.
I find it striking that despite my deep and abiding interest in this area, I have never before linked it to my meditative practice. Even stranger still when I note that in all my time practicing, both with Insight Timer and without, the abundance of references to space, stars, void, darkness, "space music," the Solfeggio frequencies and Schumann resonances, the elements - why did this connection never make itself known to me in this way? I have for years known and told people that they are made up of the stuff of stars, that they ARE stardust and have been the light of a sun before and will be again...this is the light I see I them, sometimes dim, sometimes blindingly bright, but always present.
I am so grateful for this practice. Beyond grateful. It has touched me in a very profound way, one that will rest in my heart, spirit, and mind for the rest of my days. It feels like a circle is now closed and complete - one of many, but deeply satisfying nonetheless. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I see the blazing starlight within you. 🤲🏻❤️🤲🏻
