The other day I was reading one of the creation accounts in the Hebrew Bible and was struck in a new way by the formlessness from which all else originated. Once light was introduced, time began, as there was now day and night. This meant the world of form became structured and binary, but also more diverse. More categories of creation developed over time. Everything made from the same energy, but that energy appears in different densities and forms.
But that formlessness was essential because that was all there was. And so it is that that formlessness remains part of our essence. Formlessness is the inner stillness of our being. There is something necessary about form in this life experience, which could be to simply help us remember the formless and expansive essence that is our birthright as created beings. It’s similar to how struggle can make us appreciate peace, for example.
This is wonderful, because it has the potential to change our relationship to form. In living from a formless essence, form loses its power over us. We no longer need to be invested in attachments we are conditioned to believe we need. As formed beings, we can transcend form. That doesn’t mean we escape it, rather we live from a place beyond form, time and even words within a world of form. This is a place of freedom!
I once listened to Eckhart Tolle speak about being in a room. What defines the room? We have a tendency to think that a room consists of four walls, a floor and ceiling, and perhaps some furniture. But when we focus on the form alone, we miss that what the room mostly consists of is space. Space is the essence of the room. Form makes it functional in a world of form.
Form can also manifest as thoughts, emotions and even words. We tend to over-identify with these as well, instead of seeing them as temporary forms which also offer an invitation to remember our formlessness and to live from a place of expansiveness.
Form and practicality are intertwined in a necessary way for life in this realm. Form can also be beautiful. It is not something to judge or demonize. As with anything, we have the opportunity to allow it to support our soul consciousness rather than to simply develop and feed attachments to it.
If you don’t know where to begin, start with form. Look at something near you. A plant, a piece of fruit, perhaps a chair. Take a moment to really be present with it. As you are present to it, you may also begin to notice a stillness about it. In noticing the stillness, you are beginning to be in touch with that which is beyond the form. What allows you to be present to this stillness is that the stillness is connecting to the stillness inside of you. Now you are not relating to the object from one form to another, but awareness of stillness from inner stillness. Follow that stillness inside of you. Now be present there. Practice this as much as you can. Then your relationship to form will begin to shift. You will understand a deeper truth about the world we live in. <<——- Click to see more!