One night in long bygone times
I awoke confronted by other minds.
They pointed out towards otherworldly phenomena
With a will and representation of a place in Andromeda.
One kōan was presented: “Where do you begin?”
Unable to answer left me with the sense of chagrin.
Just how small a thought it could take
To fill a whole life in its wake.
“Where do I begin and where do I end?”
A simple enough question I could not comprehend.
A finger in the direction of distant nebula
Brought forth reminder of quote by Seneca.
‘Non est ad astra mollis e terris via’
Raised unease by conditioned necrophobia.
Do I start and finish at the border of my skin?
Is there not something more than what lies within?
Emotions, thoughts, consciousness are not contained
Inside the parameters of skull and brain.
As I gazed into the abyss oh so solemnly
So too the abyss gazed also unto me.
With little idea if my eyes were open or closed
What was once perceived external became internally exposed.
Mind at large extends far, far beyond
And by then I finally knew how to respond.
“Have you not the feeling of pointing into yourself
With your attention when you label impression ‘DMT Elf’?”
And in that moment the reference became referent
And in quick succession dispelled the revenant.
When morning star shun
This irrefutable insight begun.
How blue the sky it is!
As the earth and air bore witnesses.
Now if you ever start to feel you are going insane
For inner and outer space are one in the same.
Just remember: matter not for it does not mind
And mind not for it does not matter.
Empty is nature and full is its character
And in the end we are all Bodhisattva.
