Be BIG in your nothingness

and feel our true CONNECTION

We all have a huge opportunity right now - a grand invitation to lean into the spiritual growth we desire, and to demonstrate the growth and maturity we believe we have achieved. My recent post about being “nothing” was about relinquishing our attachments and identities which actually appear to separate us, and opening up the space in which to realize our connection with everything…we all share the very same “nothingness” beneath all of our identities and labels.

With an important-feeling election right around the corner, tensions are extra high and you may be feeling worry and fear about a lot of possible future outcomes. This is of course “future-fear” focused on anticipated surface events, and all this worry and fear is evidence of being out of alignment spiritually. Feeling that you hold the superior position or view is more evidence of this imbalance. It’s impossible not to observe how all this worry, fear and sense of superiority translates into divisive behavior between people, and pulls us out of any ability to be fully present.

I invite us to imagine for a moment what might be possible if we could all remember our equal field of nothingness, beneath or beyond all this clever intellectualizing and immature emotional indulgence. I know - this is not easy to grasp, or to embrace. We have been well-trained to see our separateness, and to feel judgment of our fellow humans because of this. This perception of division keeps us all unhappy and stressed, because our true nature is one of love and cooperation, and deep down we never forget this essential truth.

I recently saw something on a youtube channel which was formed by two Canadian men with the purpose of exploring human connection. They decided it would be a valuable social experiment to attend both a Trump rally and a Harris rally (they of course have no vote in the U.S. elections), with the intention of making a friend at each rally. They would invite this new friend to spend the next day with them, just getting to know each other. At the end of the day they would pop the big question: “Would you be willing to spend a day getting to know someone from the other side?”

They were successful in meeting a person from each political rally who was open to meeting and spending time with someone from the other rally. This show was created in 3 parts, and part 3 has not yet been released, where they get the two strangers together to see how they navigate their different tribal alignments.

What do you imagine might happen? Of course, this will depend on the character of the people chosen. Will they be mature enough to listen to each other respectfully and with genuine curiosity and goodwill? Will they politely pretend to care what the other thinks? Will they get embroiled in a heated debate, or triggered into an ugly argument? Will they be friends at the end of the day? Would you have agreed to participate in this challenge? If so, what would your intention be going into the meetup day, and how do you imagine you would handle yourself? How might you respond if you went in with the purest of intentions, but then the other person said all the things that make you feel crazy inside?

This IS the spiritual journey. It’s about being 100% willing to look at all of our shadows - those parts of ourselves we don’t accept - and realize that we all share these hidden rejected parts. As we reintegrate our own selves, we grow our capacity to embrace others with their shadow parts as well. As we connect with our divine spark beyond our human weaknesses and misperceptions, we soften toward ourselves. And as we soften toward ourselves, we soften toward others. When we know our own divinity, we know the divinity in all of life - even in the people with opinions and beliefs we think we cannot live amongst!

So what do I mean to be BIG in your nothingness? I mean to practice relinquishing your identities and titles and affiliations so that you can get a glimpse of the incredible expansiveness of the field of nothingness that connects us all - beneath the surface dramas of earthly life - all of the time. We cannot be separate or divided, we only temporarily imagine that this is so. It’s a false perception, and one that causes most, if not all, of our suffering!

I invite you to close your eyes and imagine stepping into an expansive, open, empty field where there are no expectations, no rules, no threat, and no fear. It’s just an open space. You see one innocent deer emerge into the field, appearing to have a limp. She looks at you. Do you feel curious? Unassuming? Does compassion and love well up in your heart? Do you approach the injured deer respectfully, to see if you can be of help? Do you reach deep inside yourself for ways to communicate with this other being who speaks a different language? Are you suddenly fully present to the moment, forgetting everything else and just wanting to connect with the deer?

Unless you went to the field with the intention of shooting a deer, your heart would open to this fellow being, and all the more so when you realized her injury. This is our true nature! If, instead, it was a full-grown lion who emerged into the field with a limp and a growl, you might wisely back away, but you would still wish you could help. I propose that we all want (however consciously or unconsciously) to return to living in kindness, love and harmony from our true nature.

One tip I can offer, is that each time before you step out into a ‘field’ in which you might encounter other humans who appear different than you, pause to do a brief self-inquiry. Ask yourself this: “What vibration am I carrying with me? What vibration does my higher Self want me to carry with me? What can I do before I approach the field, to be sure that I bring only pure intentions and positive vibrations with me?

You may still end up feeling triggered by someone’s comments or behavior - for most of us, growing up spiritually is a lifelong journey - but with this practice you will gradually be able to maintain more and more emotional poise in formerly triggering situations. When you check your own vibration and take responsibility for raising it, you also give others the best chance of showing up well.

I really mean it when I say we have an amazing, awe-some opportunity RIGHT NOW while tensions and divisiveness are higher than ever and all around us, to commit to this practice. You will be healing yourself, and doing your part to heal the world. IF you are feeling any resistance to what I am sharing, ask yourself why? What are you holding onto? What is in the way of you opening your heart, and being curious instead of critical, angry or righteous about other humans having a different perspective?

This promises to be a big week ahead. I hope you will choose to meet it by being BIG in your nothingness, and remembering that what your highest Self really wants is to end the suffering of perceived division by sowing the seeds of true connection. Let’s choose to focus on healing, rather than on ‘winning.’