SPACE
Just as no sound can exist without silence, nothing can exist without no-thing, without the
empty space that enables it to be. Every physical object or body has come out of nothing, is
surrounded by nothing, and will eventually return to nothing. Not only that, but even inside
every physical body there is far more "nothing" than "something." Physicists tell us that the
solidity of matter is an illusion. Even seemingly solid matter, including your physical body, is
nearly 100 percent empty space - so vast are the distances between the atoms compared to
their size. What is more, even inside every atom there is mostly empty space. What is left is
more like a vibrational frequency than particles of solid matter, more like a musical note.
Buddhists have known that for over 2,500 years. "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form,"
states the Heart Sutra, one of the best known ancient Buddhist texts. The essence of all things
is emptiness.
The Unmanifested is not only present in this world as silence; it also pervades the entire
physical universe as space - from within and without. This is just as easy to miss 'as silence.
Everybody pays attention to the things in space, but who pays attention to space itself?
Space has no "existence." "To exist" literally means "to stand out."
You cannot understand space because it doesn't stand out. Although in itself it has no existence, it enables
everything else to exist. Silence has no existence either, nor does the Unmanifested.
So what happens if you withdraw attention from the objects in space and become aware
of space itself? What is the essence of this room? The furniture, pictures, and so on are in the
room, but they are not the room. The floor, walls, and ceiling define the boundary of the
room, but they are not the room either. So what is the essence of the room? Space, of course,
empty space. There would be no "room" without it. Since space is "nothing," we can say that
what is not there is more important than what is there. So become aware of the space that is
all around you. Don't think about it. Feel it, as it were. Pay attention to "nothing."
As you do that, a shift in consciousness takes place inside you. Here is why.
The inner equivalent to objects in space such as furniture, walls, and so on are your mind objects:
thoughts, emotions, and the objects of the senses. And the inner equivalent of space is the
consciousness that enables your mind objects to be, just as space allows all things to be. So if
you withdraw attention from things - objects in space - you automatically withdraw attention
from your mind objects as well. In other words: You cannot think and be aware of space - or
of silence, for that matter. By becoming aware of the empty space around you, you
simultaneously become aware of the space of no-mind, of pure consciousness: the
Unmanifested. This is how the contemplation of space can become a portal for you.
Space and silence are two aspects of the same thing, the same nothing. They are an
externalization of inner space and inner silence, which is stillness: the infinitely creative
womb of all existence. Most humans are completely unconscious of this dimension. There is
no inner space, no stillness. They are out of balance. In other words, they know the world, or
think they do, but they don't know God. They identify exclusively with their own physical
and psychological form, unconscious of essence. And because every form is highly unstable,
they live in fear. This fear causes a deep misperception of themselves and of other humans, a
distortion in their vision of the world.
If some cosmic convulsion brought about the end of our world, the Unmanifested would
remain totally unaffected by this. A Course in Miracles expresses this truth poignantly.
"Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God."
If you remain in conscious connection with the Unmanifested, you value, love, and
deeply respect the manifested and every life form in it as an expression of the One Life
beyond form. You also know that every form is destined to dissolve again and that ultimately
nothing out here matters all that much. You have "overcome the world," in the words of
Jesus, or, as the Buddha put it, you have "crossed over to the other shore."
