So here we are, nervously and eagerly, anticipating what will happen next. We know the rhythm drives our nervous system and the specific posture we hold reliably opens the door to a specific neighborhood of what we call Alternate Reality. It’s hard to believe that a mere fifteen minutes can make a big difference in our lives. But wonder of wonders, stuff happens, often big stuff! …maybe even a sense of ecstatic communion with something larger than ourselves. In those mere fifteen minutes our brain waves reliably alter and this has been validated by research.  We also release endorphins for that signature feeling of well-being, blood pressure changes, energy rises and on and on our bodies naturally respond. We often emerge renewed, with eyes sparkling, cheeks glowing with awe, body energized and mind inspired.

All we need to do is witness the process.

And sometimes what we witness is like a movie – images flash across our mind’s eye,  galaxies may be born, evolution zips by and mythic storylines unfold.

Some never SEE but KNOW in ways that are congruent with their personal mind/body system:

Some hear verbal utterances or singing or musical instruments being played.

The more kinesthetic among us may feel meaningful sensations in/on their bodies.

Some detect scents wafting through the space we occupy.

Some only experience the darkness and that has importance, too.

Some shiver, quake and tremble, reminding me of the shaking medicine described by Bradford Keeney and experienced by the Quakers and Shakers in times before it was repressed.

For those of us who envision, it’s easy to acknowledge the truth of Black Elk’s statement, which I humbly paraphrase here: we enter the visionary world that supports the one we typically identify as REAL.

That idea of the invisible being embedded in the visible shouldn’t surprise us. But in our modern, urban world it usually does…

And because this is such an important concept, I’ll delve into it further next time.