Often it is what we hear which turn our attention to its source to notice it. But there are some experiences which can only be seen and cannot be heard !
A juvenile Magpie robin was aphonic while making a bod call, which is how it is often in its initiation to bird calling practice. There was an Indian Golden Oriole perched hidden in a cluster of branches of a tree in our garden. I noticed it accidentally. Its stillness escaped my attention initially. A cluster of rose buds in the corner of the garden hidden behind the jasmine bush was another sight that I almost missed during the morning walk. Later in the day, the candle in our dining table was subsumed by the brightness of the mid-day, till the electricity went off for a short while, when its luminance stood out !
Seeing, noticing, observing, beholding and engaging are different stages of seeing. We normally see what we are normally fond of or are familiar with. It is our mind that processes what we see. Our mind connects what we see with our earlier experiences and memory.
What happens when we see something about which our mind or memory is not tuned to or familiar with! Those sights might escape our attention. The psychoanalysts use a term 'sleep walking' to such a state of being not present to many sights that are visually before us.
It is the physical sight that gives us vision. The vision is both physical and transcendental.
In the ebook, Spirituality and the awakening self-the sacred journey of transformation, David G. Benner refers to the body-centred self (p89-90) ! "The body provides such a substantial framework for the self that many never move beyond the body-self that should be simply the first stage of human unfolding. But it is the first stage for all of us, and important residuals of this way of organising self remain in all of us for the rest of our life. To be human is to be embodied... We are our bodies just as we are our minds, souls and spirits. We are not, however reducible to any of these expressions of Self. But if the self is ever to soften its attachment to the body and trust its more ethereal nature, it must first embrace its rootedness in the body".
The aphonic Magpie robin, the silent Golden Oriole, the cluster of rose buds and a lighted candle were all physical realities, were seen and noticed. They have a physical dimension and expression. It is the sight of the eyes that brought those realities into a plane of awareness of the happenings in the environment. My body processed it physically and emotionally.
What might be the transcendental dimension of these realities? A juvenile Magpie robin is on its developmental journey! The Golden Oriole is on its journey for courtship. The rose buds would bring colour, fragrance and nectar when flowers are formed. The lighted candle brings us to an awareness of the eternal light, God, who is present with us to show us the path!
Our body processes the signals that we receive through what we see, hear and sense. The fashion world focusses on the material body projecting costumes, appearance, style, and body embodiment of self! This happens through the fusion of mind and body, disregarding the aspirations and longing of human spirit and soul !
The body provides the gateway to enter into the true self which is an integration of mind, spirit and soul!
What we see or hear or sense have a larger purpose than their physical presence but an inner resonance of meaning or a metaphor!
This is what would make human life sacred because life is larger than just the physical body!
Our human experiences are all about discovering the depth of our being (Self), through finding meaning of life lived individually and collectively!
Each of us is called to spend our life time on earth as pathfinders of living integrated lives in our body housing our mind, spirit and soul!
M.C.Mathew ( text and photo)
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