Saturday Morning Epiphany

One with Existence

This morning after Robert left for work, I sat in the living room with my coffee, looking out my front window. 

Although I saw nothing spectacular there, nothing actually drawing my attention, I was suddenly aware that I was aware of nothing.

 In the prevailing silence, I realized something significant.

The wind was blowing my wind chimes and I could hear them tinkling. The canvas awning over the patio gently rippled and I could see the fronds of the fern on the glass table swaying.

 It was mesmerizing and I had a sense that I was floating and it seemed so real. I felt I was the wind, even though I knew I was only a witness to it. In the quiet, the wind and my awareness of it had become one, and everything moving in the wind had also blended with me.

It suddenly became clear to me. Everything and everyone is connected through awareness. We are a part of all things, even though they do not define us. We can sense our thoughts and feelings, just like the wind, but we are not those either, only a silent witness to them. We feel pain, sorrow, anger, doubt, happiness and joy, and those still are not who we are.

Spontaneously and naturally, these things all arise on their own within our awareness. It is important we recognize and validate their passing as part of our growth.

Even though I knew these things, I learned again that no one thing, or feeling, or feature of the universe is separate from the whole. The real me, my true self, is a part of the whole of existence.

That was profound.



"A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write." ~CJ Heck

Defining True Beauty

"Oh, that's so beautiful!" This is what we say, or think, when we watch the sun set over the ocean, see a spectacular view, a flower garden in full bloom, or even a good-looking man or woman.

But, where does our appreciation of that beauty originate? Where does our ability come from to understand what beauty is? It's in our own consciousness.

The essence of who and what we are is beauty. That can't be found in the sunset, a face, or a view. Those only awaken the essence of beauty within our own spirit. It's something we sense within ourselves.  It emerges in our character as virtue, and in our life as care. What is virtue, anyway, but love in action?

Can beauty be defined with regard to people? Sure it can. There are two types of beauty, physical and spiritual. Physical beauty is subjective. We want to like what we see in our mirror. It can be bought through plastic surgery, cosmetics, clothes and so on, if you have the money. Physical attractiveness is appealing to the senses, but it's a fake beauty, based on society's superficial standards. 

I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to look and feel our best. Everyone does something for beauty, but that isn't true beauty.

Spiritual beauty is true beauty, because it comes from within the heart and the soul of a person. When someone has a beautiful soul, their presence can be sensed by others.

Spiritual beauty comes through awareness and from knowing there is a higher power who gives us the strength and confidence we need to live the best life we can. With it comes peace, confidence, and inner happiness. Spiritual beauty gives us an inner glow that others are drawn to, because they also sense and  feel the awareness and beauty.

Feeling good spiritually has other benefits, too.  It makes us want to take care of ourselves and our health, which, in turn, is good for our overall physical appearance. We gain inner balance by knowing who we are, and knowing we are beautiful, spiritually. As a result, we attract spiritual people into our lives, people who love the whole of us:  our mind, our body, and our soul.

The next time you say, "Oh, that's so beautiful!"  Remember, you speak of yourself.  It is you who are beautiful. You always were. You always will be.

Now that's beauty ...


"A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write." ~CJ Heck