Mirrors of Mind

The storm passes. No longer does the roof serve as a drum-skin expressing the musical pattern of raindrops. There is deafening stillness to the air that screams into my ears. This stillness is in marked contrast to the whirling sound of easterly winds that thundered violently against the vulnerable wood siding of my house just a few hours ago. Nature is such a reckless drunkard. She whirls violently through the land and changes the landscape forever. Then, suddenly, She reveals the peace of eternity. Nature contains peace and war within Herself. She is much like human beings. She is not an "either/or" Woman. She is "both/and."

I emerge from the depths of these thoughts and inspect the front driveway to see if any damage has been done by the storm. Leaves hide the dirt path leading to the main road. Nature has generated a brand new world from within Herself. The violence of death is birth. With a sigh, I wander to the back of the house where my gaze falls upon a hazy ocean. The sea forks around the tip of this island upon which I live, wrapping Her legs around the land as if She were a woman enwrapping a man. Land and Sea make love. Love reigns as King on my island. I notice at the land's edge the dark clouds marking the end to the ten hour storm that created high winds, icy rain, and snow in various parts of Maine. This ravishing storm appears to be heading out to sea. I notice dark lines of gray clouds falling into the sea. It appears the sky is returning to the sea, via rain, the waters She had borrowed to create the weather that recreated my driveway. Life is circular. The skies absorb the waters of the sea and ultimately return them to their original home. Does the water originate in the sea, or in the sky? The answer to this question is a definite, "yes."

The dark-gray mist that falls from the clouds marking the end to this storm appears to me as a skirt hiding the mysteries of Nature. I know for a fact that beyond this gray skirt lays blue skies and the infinite expanse of space. Reflecting the same process, a woman ice skater dances across the stage wearing a skirt that reveals and conceals her sacred anatomy. Nature has a habit of hiding and revealing Herself. I often think this is the true meaning of belly dancing and striptease. Nature is such a tease. When shall we truly know our Source of Origin? The sky is blue overhead. The Heavens enwrap my being as the sea enwraps the island upon which I live. My gaze turns inward as I begin to meditate on the unity of mind and weather. When I feel depressed I refer to my state as being low just as the weather people describe a stormy area as a low-pressure zone. I often describe this state of mind as being "in a cloud." My blue skies do not cease to exist during these times. They are clouded over by thoughts.

When I go beyond my haze, infinity opens Her gates. There is no beginning or end to me. Nature and I are revealed as one. She is my Essence. This is why She is called Nature. Nature is MY Nature. The revelations of Nature are my revelations. When I surrender all my definitions of self and become naked in my essence, then I become the stripper and Her role in Creation is elevated to a sacredness that is beyond the professions of Priest, Preacher, and Teacher. "The high is revealed as low and the low as high," the wise ones say.

There is a deep profoundness that overtakes my Soul when I realize my unity with Nature. In Her I see myself. Indeed, She is my revelation. I gaze upon the blue skies and the stars in the blackness of space and become cognizant that I am Nature gazing upon Herself. Is it I who is awakening to myself as Nature, or is it She that awakens to Herself as Burl? Is there any distinction between the two awakenings? The answer to the question is a definite "yes."

Upon death this body will disintegrate into the dust and become the Earth. Has this body and this being ever been anything other than the body of Nature? I dissolve my being into the high skies of Mother Nature and die to myself. It is at this point that I realize "I am She" and know my eternity. One needs to die to get to Heaven. Nature is womb and tomb. In Her eyes, which are my eyes, womb and tomb are not two. Death is birth.

Infant researchers Mahler and Neumann refer to the relationship of infant to mother as a dual unity. This mystical idea signifies that the mother acts as the child's self in infancy. She simultaneously contains the child's self and is his self. Perhaps this is why Nature means Essence? Who is it that I gaze upon when I ponder the sea and sky if not my Self? Enlightenment is the adult return to infancy. "Be ye as babes at the Mother's breast," Lord Jesus tells us in the New Testament. There is no other way into Heaven.

11 Nov 2002

When Eternity shines Her timeless light
Space realizes She is spaceless
The moon shines Her beams upon us
Knowing all these realizations of eons are one

25 Dec 2003

Burl Hall's Web Site is:
KISSING SOPHIA
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/1257/