......the fertile pause

Yogis,

Everything in life follows a cycle. First there is the initial creation.  A birth. Something appears where ‘nothing’ stood before it. Followed by a time of rising, growth and expansion, until it reaches a peak, at which point it begins to descend.  To decay, contract and eventually exist no longer. Something becomes nothing. A death.

Our own life follows this pattern, and at this point I am pretty sure (but who knows) that I am on the other side of the peak. The houses we build, the outfits we buy, technology (think 8 track tape), and the seasons. All come from nothing and return there once again.

In the cycle of the seasons, winter is related to the element of earth. Earth signifies the beginning. That mysterious spark from which all things arise from nothing. Also the end, where everything once again returns.  Ashes….to ashes. 

At this time of year we are again on the other side of the peak. The summer high point is past and we are falling into winter. You can watch out the window how with each day the leaves, flowers and temperature drop. Downward pulling. Everything becoming darker, quieter and stiller. Until some small moment in time where we reach the end. The death.

And then there is a pause……..

And in the next moment the birth begins. The ground begins to awaken, something stirs within the seeds and the tree roots sense a shift. Nature knows. We won’t see evidence of it for quite some time, and we are not subtle enough to sense this pause. This gap. But it is there. 

This pause exists at that moment where low tide moves aside to give way to the incoming tide. When the dark of the new moon pauses before birthing a new waxing moon. Even in our thoughts. That thought we have been carrying like a backpack all day is suddenly there no longer and a brief silence exists before the next thought rushes in. From where does this new thought arise?

How can we, like the trees, tap into this magnificent space from which all new things come? The best path is through the breath.

The energy of an inhale rises from our pelvic floor, lifting and filling us until it reaches a peak. It then turns and begins its descent. With the exhale we become heavier, quieter, more relaxed and finally empty. Nothing. Then there is a pause. It’s always there. From this pause a new inhale, a new thought, a new way of being is born.

This pause goes by many names.  The void, the gap, the space between thoughts, the sea of pure potential.  Close your eyes and notice it. It contains nothing as it is the eternal silence. Yet it contains the potential for absolutely everything. It is the earth within us.

What is it that you want in your life? What do you want to create, feel, be, do? It all exists in this fertile soil of the gap between breaths. Be quiet and tap in.  

Befriend your breath.

‘Honor the space between no longer and not yet’
               ~Nancy Levin

Pausing,
SARAH