Beyond Myself: Substance is Emptiness, Emptiness is...

I have been going through a dark night recently. I'm still active in life, pushing onward and responding to the calls to teach, learn, offer value and create; I am committed. Although, there has been a decrease in blogging activity. I have been facing my own darkness, shadow work, you could say. But, through my personal struggles with attachment, karma, and pieces of myself awaiting awareness & growth, I am brought into the light through realization and connection. It is a blessing to be able to learn something; it validates the presence of difficulty. 

The most important catalysts for my inspiration arise from the goodness of others, and the ability to learn and envision change. All of that brings me real joy and excitement, which are very powerful tools. It's a lot harder to be depressed when you are truly inspired.

It's a joyful thing, for example, to know awesome people doing amazing work. I just got an email from Fifer about the launch of his new website for the charity he's begun for Tanzanian street children. They have some fantastic projects planned. One of them focuses on bringing these kids to the U.S. to study with acrobats and coaches. These visits would also feature cultural exchange with underprivileged children here. How cool is that? And if you've never been to a "less-developed" country it is hard to imagine the impact something like this can have. Cultural exchange is paramount in creating a sense of unity and understanding between folks.

I just saw the movie Tsotsi, which is about a former street child in South Africa. The film focuses on the title character's personal struggle and transformation as an adult, but illustrates the progression of his life from childhood. It's a brilliant movie because it really shows the power of connection, the detriment of alienation, and the potential of awakening a paralyzed heart. I'm totally into that. Art can achieve great intimacy in communicating the fundemental with such sincerity.

So, within the substance of life I find an expression of timeless emptiness: the essential heart & the spirit behind the manifest, luring me out of the small world of my senses and perceptions. It goes to show that is always worthwhile to keep immersing yourself in goodness & genius. Eventually, it has an effect and can tip the balance, bring you out of a limited context, and make you remember your own heart, possibility, & potential.



Footnote: The phrase: "substance is emptiness, emptiness is substance" comes from the Buddhist Heart Sutra, which is an amazing text you can read more about here on Jacqui's blog. I've also been deepening my awareness about it through a Ken Wilber/ David Deida exchange on Integral Naked, although, they are not speaking of the sutra specifically. Essentially, they talk about emptiness as masculine and substance as feminine. Substance itself includes the tangible stuff of life as well as emotions, thoughts, karma, and senses. Sometimes is it so hard to find liberation from "substance," or the material that we end up content in a realization of the void and illusory nature of all things, writing the "world" off as a falsehood. Of course, emptiness is substance as well, thus we must acknowledge the presence of the emptiness in the substance and can therefore access it through the material from a higher consciousness. The Heart Sutra is about seeing these intrinsic connections and not being confused in thinking that substance is king. That enables us to use the material (substance) as tools.