Once again, I had arrived at my sanctuary. I rested quite comfortably for a moment while sitting within my alabaster gazebo on its marble bench. I became aware of a steadily increasing elevation in my spirit as I sat quietly absorbing the warmth and the purity of this magnificent atmosphere. An indescribable peace flowed throughout my being as I rested, gathering my thoughts. Now, I could get a sense of the vast distance surrounding me by listening to the diminishing volume of bird song echoing from points far beyond these gazebo walls. And in listening, I became intrigued as to what lay beyond the stability of my arrival point.
From my seated vantage, I realized that all doorways had one step between the floor and the ground outside, and for a moment the rough texture of this stone retained my attention. Rising from my seat, I noticed how this material sparkled with a divinely bright light that fell upon it from beyond. I noticed the intimacy of a deep soul touching warmth as well, by merely gazing upon these various patches of light. From each step at each doorway, a little dirt pathway originated. Each one being bordered by the daintiest of naturalized flowers and grasses which I observed bowing and dipping in the soft breeze.
I lifted my gaze from the landing of the doorway directly before me, and looked outward. There, I had noticed a narrow pathway with the most discrete evidence that it had ever been tread upon. As I stepped from the gazebo and upon the path, I noticed that it lay before me in more or less, a direction leading away and curving to the left as it began to rise with the soft inclination of a little hill.
As I begin to walk this particular pathway, Andrew comes to meet me, and then we begin to walk beside each other. A casual conversation ensued. I felt like I was being given some kind of "royal" treatment, or at the very least, a privileged tour. Andrew spoke of my sanctuary as if it were a special gift to me. He told me that it would have wonderful healing properties capable of energizing my spirit should I feel too overwhelmed by the earth plane negativity which must on occasion, be experienced. And as we strolled along the winding little dirt pathway, I found myself being lead towards a small woodland, perhaps a stone's throw in girth. While I focused my attention on the path ahead of me, I passed a tall upright bush in which I sensed a bit of movement. But in training my spiritual eyes to behave like physical eyes so that I might bring to these pages some modicum of definition, I chose to ignore the lone shrub for the time being and instead, observe this tall semi spherical secluded area which grew right up to the rocky outcrop of a nearby mountain face.
As we approached the woodland, I could tell that the understory appeared to be an outlining grove of sumac-like shrubs varying between knee high to just above my head. Upon stepping into the woods, the growth began to look more like aspens gaining more height and density, the deeper we progressed. The path remained perhaps five feet in width throughout, but as we walked inward, it curved - softly at first - then more tightly towards the left. Suddenly, we were within a hollow and I stood observing a mound of rock several feet wide, which was more or less in the shape of a basin. Curious, I approached the thing and at once noticed that there was a bowl of naturally shaped rock just above ground level - perhaps three to four foot wide and two to three feet back, forming a cute crescent shaped pool where spring water trickled down the mound and collected.
I remember turning towards Andrew again, who was standing to my right and a little behind me, and observed on his face a smile that from where I stood was one of mutual approval. He gestured a nod towards me to encourage a closer observation of this secluded, and wholly naturalized looking spring - complete with lichens growing on the rocky surfaces, and mosses dangling over the bowl which were collecting tiny droplets of water on their fronds and allowing them to drip delicately into the pool. So I turned once again and knelt down at the edge.
I paused for a long while on my knees, admiring all of the delicate beauty. It was present in the tiny fronds of moss, and in the intricately grooved and grainy texture of rock - which reminded me of some kind of ancient volcanic effluence never actually ever physically seen. I can't remember being surrounded by such a profound amount of serenity before. As the sound of water burbled, shafts of light fell through the canopy of trees and brightly colored bird life flitted to and fro as if to welcome me to this newly discovered private part of my sanctuary.
For a moment, I gazed down intently at the ripples on the surface of the pool where each little droplet fell, and then just beneath the sparkle of the water, something else caught my eye. Beneath the glistening surface was a little school of several fish that I immediately recognized as "Neolibis ansorghii" - which certainly, would hold little or no interest to the reader, but to me, was of personal significance (it was merely a species from the Congo River basin which I could never acquire from any suppliers contacted during the days of my home aquarist interests). In having only encountered these fascinating creatures upon a colored image in an old encyclopedia of tropical fishes, I felt privileged to watch them in the water just an arm's length away; their scales glistening with a rainbow iridescence that no photograph could ever do justice to.
After observing the pool and its little treasures, Andrew encouraged me to take a drink from the water. He indicated that to drink from this pristine fountain on continuous occasions, would quench my "lustful thirsts" in the physical world. I accepted this invitation with a deep respect for its connotations, realizing that lust is one of the "seven deadly sins" against God. Leaning forward I reached out to gather a drink, pausing only for the moment to gaze upon my own face reflecting on the water. Then I cupped my hands and took a scoop, dissolving my reflection into dozens of concentric ripples which danced back and forth in the basin.
In the span of today's meditation, an unfortunate consequence was soon realized. My physical body was becoming fatigued due to the dramatic expense of energy required in maintaining the exploration of my sanctuary. But Andrew gave me encouragement with the explanation that as one continues to exercise, the energy sacrifice becomes lessened, and remaining in the meditative state can eventually be lengthened towards more practical durations. I suppose one could say that I felt a certain amount of 'regret' when I came to this conclusion, because my interest was thoroughly aroused by now. And though I wanted to venture further, it seemed more sensible to return to physical consciousness and end the meditation.
From my seated vantage, I realized that all doorways had one step between the floor and the ground outside, and for a moment the rough texture of this stone retained my attention. Rising from my seat, I noticed how this material sparkled with a divinely bright light that fell upon it from beyond. I noticed the intimacy of a deep soul touching warmth as well, by merely gazing upon these various patches of light. From each step at each doorway, a little dirt pathway originated. Each one being bordered by the daintiest of naturalized flowers and grasses which I observed bowing and dipping in the soft breeze.
I lifted my gaze from the landing of the doorway directly before me, and looked outward. There, I had noticed a narrow pathway with the most discrete evidence that it had ever been tread upon. As I stepped from the gazebo and upon the path, I noticed that it lay before me in more or less, a direction leading away and curving to the left as it began to rise with the soft inclination of a little hill.
As I begin to walk this particular pathway, Andrew comes to meet me, and then we begin to walk beside each other. A casual conversation ensued. I felt like I was being given some kind of "royal" treatment, or at the very least, a privileged tour. Andrew spoke of my sanctuary as if it were a special gift to me. He told me that it would have wonderful healing properties capable of energizing my spirit should I feel too overwhelmed by the earth plane negativity which must on occasion, be experienced. And as we strolled along the winding little dirt pathway, I found myself being lead towards a small woodland, perhaps a stone's throw in girth. While I focused my attention on the path ahead of me, I passed a tall upright bush in which I sensed a bit of movement. But in training my spiritual eyes to behave like physical eyes so that I might bring to these pages some modicum of definition, I chose to ignore the lone shrub for the time being and instead, observe this tall semi spherical secluded area which grew right up to the rocky outcrop of a nearby mountain face.
As we approached the woodland, I could tell that the understory appeared to be an outlining grove of sumac-like shrubs varying between knee high to just above my head. Upon stepping into the woods, the growth began to look more like aspens gaining more height and density, the deeper we progressed. The path remained perhaps five feet in width throughout, but as we walked inward, it curved - softly at first - then more tightly towards the left. Suddenly, we were within a hollow and I stood observing a mound of rock several feet wide, which was more or less in the shape of a basin. Curious, I approached the thing and at once noticed that there was a bowl of naturally shaped rock just above ground level - perhaps three to four foot wide and two to three feet back, forming a cute crescent shaped pool where spring water trickled down the mound and collected.
I remember turning towards Andrew again, who was standing to my right and a little behind me, and observed on his face a smile that from where I stood was one of mutual approval. He gestured a nod towards me to encourage a closer observation of this secluded, and wholly naturalized looking spring - complete with lichens growing on the rocky surfaces, and mosses dangling over the bowl which were collecting tiny droplets of water on their fronds and allowing them to drip delicately into the pool. So I turned once again and knelt down at the edge.
I paused for a long while on my knees, admiring all of the delicate beauty. It was present in the tiny fronds of moss, and in the intricately grooved and grainy texture of rock - which reminded me of some kind of ancient volcanic effluence never actually ever physically seen. I can't remember being surrounded by such a profound amount of serenity before. As the sound of water burbled, shafts of light fell through the canopy of trees and brightly colored bird life flitted to and fro as if to welcome me to this newly discovered private part of my sanctuary.
For a moment, I gazed down intently at the ripples on the surface of the pool where each little droplet fell, and then just beneath the sparkle of the water, something else caught my eye. Beneath the glistening surface was a little school of several fish that I immediately recognized as "Neolibis ansorghii" - which certainly, would hold little or no interest to the reader, but to me, was of personal significance (it was merely a species from the Congo River basin which I could never acquire from any suppliers contacted during the days of my home aquarist interests). In having only encountered these fascinating creatures upon a colored image in an old encyclopedia of tropical fishes, I felt privileged to watch them in the water just an arm's length away; their scales glistening with a rainbow iridescence that no photograph could ever do justice to.
After observing the pool and its little treasures, Andrew encouraged me to take a drink from the water. He indicated that to drink from this pristine fountain on continuous occasions, would quench my "lustful thirsts" in the physical world. I accepted this invitation with a deep respect for its connotations, realizing that lust is one of the "seven deadly sins" against God. Leaning forward I reached out to gather a drink, pausing only for the moment to gaze upon my own face reflecting on the water. Then I cupped my hands and took a scoop, dissolving my reflection into dozens of concentric ripples which danced back and forth in the basin.
In the span of today's meditation, an unfortunate consequence was soon realized. My physical body was becoming fatigued due to the dramatic expense of energy required in maintaining the exploration of my sanctuary. But Andrew gave me encouragement with the explanation that as one continues to exercise, the energy sacrifice becomes lessened, and remaining in the meditative state can eventually be lengthened towards more practical durations. I suppose one could say that I felt a certain amount of 'regret' when I came to this conclusion, because my interest was thoroughly aroused by now. And though I wanted to venture further, it seemed more sensible to return to physical consciousness and end the meditation.