Last evening, two members of my book group described their recent experience of looking into the night sky. They were each in the Southwest and in an area protected from lights. Their descriptions of the richness of the experience awakened in me the memory of sitting on the end of my dock at the cabin and being drawn into the vast expanse of the Milky Way.
I am lucky that there are so few lights around my cabin, and the night sky can glow with a deep, inviting splendor. On nights when there is no moon and no clouds, the night sky is magnificent.
Last evening, all three of us spoke of the feeling of being drawn up and into the night sky. For me, it has been the closest thing to the experience of being absorbed. The three dimensional aspect of the sky is highly inviting, and I remember having the feeling of leaving the ground and being in the midst of all the glowing, distant stars.
This is the same night sky that my ancestors saw and were drawn into. I suspect they had a similar experience of awe and attraction. Yet, it is also different. I am also reminded that it is not exactly the same night sky that must have enthralled ancient people.
Our sun and its planets rotate around the Milky Way once every 250 million years. Since its formation, our solar system has made that journey around the galaxy something like 18 times. So our position in the Milky Way has changed since the time of the first humans, and the view of our companion stars has shifted. But I suspect that the experience has changed little.
I am fortunate that I was able this morning to resurrect so vividly the memory of looking deeply and plunging into the night sky. Today, the enthralling, captivating memory became the focus of my concentration practice, and I once again was able to experience the wonder of the night sky stored in my memory. The awareness of the night sky became the object of my meditation, and the experience of absorption in its vastness flooded my heart.
It is relatively easy to remain focused on realities that seem close at hand. But there is another dimension hidden more deeply. Being able to focus on the night sky draws me into a reality that invites me into a place where there are no limits, where the possibilities are infinite. It is so good to have the experience of the night sky residing in my memory.