The Tao of the O?

Verse 14

Look for it, and it can't be seen.
Listen for it, and it can't be heard.
Grasp for it, and it can't be caught.
These three cannot be further described,
so we treat them as The One.

Its highest is not bright.
Its depths are not dark.
Unending, unnameable, it returns to nothingness.
Formless forms, and imageless images,
subtle, beyond all understanding.

Approach it and you will not see a beginning;
follow it and there will be no end.
When we grasp the Tao of the ancient ones,
we can use it to direct our life today.
To know the ancient origin of Tao:
this is the beginning of Wisdom.
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When I meditate on the first few stanzas of this verse, I get a mental image of my body floating in a vast empty space. The space can be dark or light, and it can be furnished with anything that I can imagine; it spreads out in all directions with no beginning or end. It can have any temperature, or no temperature at all. It can be a place of peace, or a place of indescribable terror. Since it can be anything, or nothing, how would I describe it?

The one word that comes to mind as a descriptor is presence. We have all experienced a level of presence at some time. You know that feeling? It is like you are truly there; nothing else is in your consciousness except for pure awareness. I can experience it when I am sitting in nature. I can experience it when I am sitting with a friend, and our sharing hearts and minds are open, and we just look into each others eyes. I especially can experience it when I have an orgasm. Talk about pure awareness! I can't even imagine thinking about tomorrow's tasks or worrying about something I said yesterday, when I am in the midst of the bliss of an orgasm.

This space of presence doesn't seem to typically be something that I can achieve with direct efforting (well, maybe except for that orgasm!) The more I work at it, the more I start getting into my head, and thus farther from its blissful state; like the verse says, Grasp for it, and it can't be caught. In some ways it seems like a gift of grace. But I also know that I can work to create space within myself that is available for this gift; as I shine light on my shadows and heal their origins, I empty my being and give myself more opportunities for manifestation.

The shadow work seems endless. Sometimes I think, Aren't I done yet? How much more can still be in there? But I have happily discovered that my commitment to continually peel the onion layers is enough to create dynamic shifts; I don't have to have completed all of the work to reap significant benefits. Simply being in the process can bring magic. Approach it and you will not see a beginning; follow it and there will be no end. I can just jump in and swim with the mysteries; while laughing, crying and bellowing, there will be perfection just in this beingness.