I walk out of the studio blowing warm moist air onto my freezing hands. I watch the breath of mist curl upwards, and I stop in my tracks.
The sun is utterly mesmerising.
It hangs like pure white flowing fire, against a silver, silky backdrop.
For a moment it looks like someone has hole-punched the sky, and God's eye was going to peer through the papery ceiling of the heavens and peek in on us.
We think of the sun as a spherical ball of fire hanging out, millions of miles away from the earth in the dark empty vacuum of space. Yet, right now, it is shaping my experience of this moment.
Stunning.
Beautiful.
My day is made.
It makes me realise how such a powerful force of nature can be construed to be a god. Selflessly pouring out its radiant life, touching the warm edges of the earth and bringing life to all it holds in balance with it.
This got me thinking about the nature of these heavenly spheres that “hang out” in space.
Why are they spherical? How is it that they form a perfect sphere?
How do spheres show up in nature?
I look around me.. I see spherical droplets of moisture on my hand. Beautiful glistening spheres of light.
I realise.. That which I am looking through, my eyes, those too are spherical.
Eyes, my eyes, your eyes, the very eyes with which we look at the moon, the sun, and droplets.. All the same shape. What does that say?
I wonder how closely our worlds are bound up in our way of seeing,
Like a dog chasing its tail.. A sphere sees a sphere.
If only we could really realise the eyes through which we are looking through.
We can turn this way of seeing to our cells. (I still find this challenging, my scientifically conditioned mind still needs an upgrade!) you see - just as I see planets as these separate balls of gas, I see cells as these separate balls of jelly, just floating around my body. I see them mechanically. Like batteries that power me, with their little bits of machinery that need to work and fire in order for me to be healthy.
But this is not the whole truth about cells. Cells grow, they emerge out of the substance that holds them together. You can't separate the cell from its environment…. they emerge out of that substance.
They flow out of it. (Watch this video to get a feel for what I mean:)
Planets, and stars .. the sun…. do the same…. They just take longer. They are created out of the very ocean of energies that surround them.
“The soul too, according to tradition has a round form. As the monk of Heisterback says, it is not only “like to the sphere of moon, but it is furnished on all sides with eyes.” C.G Jung - “Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious.
An interesting take on the soul. A sphere encapsulates a world. A way of being, and a way of seeing.
The very essence of You was also grown out of the unique symphony of light and dark energies that surround us.
You are not separate.. We are not separate… any more than a cell is separate from your skin.
Don't take your way of seeing for granted.
“For those who have ears.. Let them hear.”
For those who have eyes, let them see.
SoulScape Imaginal Practise: - Staring At The Sun
Stop for a moment and remind yourself.
You are SEEING.
You are actually.. Seeing.
Let the light soak in.
Notice the light and shadow and the colour that from your experience right now.
You are bathed in light. Your eyes are an aperture of meaning.
Your eyes are the centre for your attention around which a whole map of experience and meaning hangs.
You see with a certain quality.
The textures, the light, all bound up with the texture of meaning that you give it.
Only you see this way. We think we see the same way as everyone else, and thanks to the gift of language, we can share our experience.
Looking at the finer grain of how you see things is a beautiful way to live with more artistry.
You may even like to create a SoulScape inspired by the eyes through which you are looking at the world.
Paint your way of seeing.