Speaking to Stones

People tend to use their preconceived notions to define their worldly experiences; far more than using what the world presents to them, to inform their conceptual notions.

I feel an emotional connection to the rocks as well as the lichen, the fire as well as the seedling, the soil as well as the worms, the air as well as pollen, the water as well as the tadpoles, the planet as well as the people and the stars as well as our own life giving sun. I can perceive, sense and comprehend the consciousness that is shared between all living things. That I'm less assured that consciousness, or more subtle awareness, is being shared with the elements, celestial bodies and even the void of space, is evidence of my short comings, not theirs.

Many great masters have confirmed what I feel in my bones, as I walk upon rock, formed from the bones of species, now extinct. That everyone and everything - past, present and future - are all part of one grand unfolding. That we, as individuals, and as a species, are but toppling dominoes, in the string of causality.

I have a little more difficulty embodying a full understanding that all of existence is wholly insubstantial and is perpetually manifested, only, by the blessing of consciousness. Again, mea culpa. But the roots of understanding continue to burrow ever deeper the more time I spend steeping in silence – and speaking to stones.