Nicole's Summary

Early in the week, as I was offering my "self" up in meditation, an image came - of many, many black birds (maybe crows?) flying out of my chest towards the sky. Since this experience I have noticed that my writing and experiences have been lighter, happier and free-er, presence has 'been' more spontaneously and frequently. I have also found that I can "live" and fully experience emotions, yet somewhere, remain untouched. Complete immersion in the emotion, yet not lost in it.

I have also been contemplating a question that until now has seemed surreal, faked - but I finally "got it", though I still have no answer... "From whom do these birds fly?" In my meditations, I've been playing with offering different parts of my body - yet never touching 'me' or 'I' - this seemed somewhat ridiculous so I stopped.

I notice that my end of day summaries seem to be filled with joy, wonder and energy - and I feel like I'm getting closer to understanding the 'secret' behind the moment - I am experiencing the benefits of presence in Now and also, more deeply understanding and seeing the suffering that comes with living for/in the future.