A reflection on the inner stillness that frees us from self-rejection and restores our capacity to love. Drawing on Jesus’ teaching of the Shema and contrasting the Western vision of wholeness with the Zen ideal of self-effacement, this meditation explores awareness as a natural state — a flight of the spirit in peace and light.
Awe and altered states are not the private preserve of mystics. They are common human experiences, celebrated by poets across the centuries. The real work is not chasing “special states,” but learning to live more honestly in the here and now.