"Contemplative life flows in a circular pattern: awe provokes introspection,
which invokes awe. Maybe you're making dinner and you step outside to snip
chives from the kitchen garden just as the harvest moon is rising over the
easterslopes. She is full and golden, like one of those pregnant women who
radiate from within. Suddenly you cannot bear the beauty. Scissors suspended in
your hand, tears pooling at the corners of your eyes, you nearly quit breathing.
Your gaze softens, and the edges of your individual identity fade. You are
absorbed into the heart of the moon. It feels natural, and there is no other
place youd rather be. But the onions are burning, and so you turn away and cut
your herbs and go back inside. You resume stirring the sauce and setting the
table.
This is not the first time you have disappeared into something
beautiful."
Mirabai Starr shares more in this excerpt from her book, "Wild Mercy."
