The Great Gift of Nothingness

Death Valley I – Dimension

33” x 45” Mixed media on canvas 1984

This is the first studio painting done after the “Nothingness” experience.

(Its development is described in more detail at the beginning

of the “Artist Statement” on my art website.)

When the thought came, like a fresh breeze as I was out painting the landscape that day, little did I realize that one thought—a thought comprised of just two words—would have the power to change my whole approach to painting, and, more importantly, change my life. The words that I heard clearly in my mind, as everything else in me stood still as if startled and in awe of these two unexpected guests, simply said, “Imagine nothingness.” I immediately stopped painting and put my brush down. My mind began to clear as a deep stillness grew, becoming more peaceful, more all-encompassing. The deepest core of my sense of self rested in that nurturing stillness. A few moments passed and when I opened my eyes, I was startled to find myself looking out at a world bathed in brilliant light—a world filled with an intensity of life I had never experienced before—all arising from this contrast with nothingness. This sense of nothingness held in my mind became like a backdrop for this dynamic landscape. Curiously the awareness of both realities continued to exist as I finished the painting.

The beauty of all this is that this experience did not leave, though fading now and then. And that sense of a void or nothingness developed over time into a clear experience of two distinct realities—the more limited time/space dimension of physical forms held and permeated by the changeless dimension of this vast living void. And awareness could encompass both.

Much time has gone by since then and one of the biggest changes in my life is a growing appreciation for and awareness of God’s Presence (which some people prefer to call by other names.) At moments I can have very lucid experiences of God in and as all things, and I was delighted to discover that when I was focusing my attention on opening to deeper revelations of God’s presence and I would close my eyes and go into the Nothingness, God would be easily experienced there, in that deep changeless stillness. And all which arose within me as my eyes were closed was experienced with complete equanimity and with the deepest acceptance since all vibration—all manifestation, all living energy was seen as God.

And a particularly astounding part of this is that when I open my eyes, while still holding the Nothingness as a backdrop to this world in my mind, and look out upon this time/space dimension, because I am holding the perspective that all is God, and because of the contrast to Nothingness, all the forms are seen as incredible and so miraculous. They are seen as God manifesting—Divine Consciousness “playfully” dancing into form—Cause and effect are seen as one! And perhaps the most intimate and startling revelation of all is that my very physical existence—every cell and molecule, down to the DNA, down to the very center of my life and extending out and beyond to my vast formless, spiritual Self—everything I can call “myself”—it all is sensed as God!

Come play in this field of Divine Nothingness with me. Let’s find out how glorious It is and how big we are and how miraculous life is together!

Love and blessings,

Micah

Truth Is True

Downtown

55” x 80” Mixed media on canvas 2015

“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us ‘Universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.”

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 to April 18, 1955) was a German mathematician and physicist who developed the special and general theories of relativity. His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. In 1921, he won the Nobel Prize for physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect. In the following decade, he immigrated to the United States. In his later years, Einstein focused on unified field theory. With his passion for inquiry, Einstein is generally considered the most influential physicist of the 20th century.

As a physicist, Einstein had many discoveries, but he is perhaps best known for his theory of relativity and the equation E = mc2 . Einstein first proposed a special theory of relativity in 1905 in his paper, “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies,” taking physics in an electrifying new direction. By November 1915, Einstein completed the general theory of relativity. Einstein considered this theory the culmination of his life research.

He was convinced of the merits of general relativity because it allowed for a more accurate prediction of planetary orbits around the sun, which fell short in Isaac Newton’s theory, and for a more expansive, nuanced explanation of how gravitational forces worked. Einstein's assertions were affirmed via observations and measurements by British astronomers Sir Frank Dyson and Sir Arthur Eddington during the 1919 solar eclipse, and thus a global science icon was born.

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I started working on this week's blog about this painting, “Downtown” with Einstein’s quote when I was inspired to read my previous three blogs to get an overview and I quickly realized that I am saying the same thing over and over again. Yes, truth is true and it is that which I write about. It’s all about consciousness; it’s all about unity and wholeness, and a shift in who we think we are. I began to question the need to say anything more on my blogs. I think the quotes and paintings say what is mostly needed. So this will be my last scheduled weekly blog, but if at some point, though, I feel something needs to be said, well then I will post another blog.

Here is what I had written for this week’s blog: When Einstein mentions the human being experiences himself “as something separate from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness,” I know what he is talking about. I live it every day—this feeling of being unique, special, and very, very “separate.” Yes, I know it well—we all know it well—too well. We are mesmerized by it and walk about in a trance, asleep to the glory and the divine nature of our true Self.

Then Einstein mentions we are part of a whole, now, that is something very different. My attention turns in the direction of consciousness. It’s not a self-referential consciousness of the body, but a vast, spacious consciousness. And if I focus on it long enough, my awareness is lifted into this living field of wholeness. Soon I experience it as holding and permeating everything. It seems to be vast and endless. Its reality becomes much more alive and powerful than the physical dimension, yet I am still aware of the physical world and my body in it, though it is less predominant. It has faded slightly into the “background,” though the light of awareness shines on it too. And another shift often happens at his point. The boundaries of my body and sense of self grow “softer” and a unity—a oneness with others and with all things starts to dawn.

So I start to notice a divided attention growing, as I hold in awareness both, this vast field of unified, changeless consciousness, and my body in this physical time/space dimension of forms. Can life get any fuller than this?—two very distinct and different realities—under completely different laws coming together—dancing intimately together. How utterly miraculous, divine, and beyond comprehension!

Don’t forget about the free download of my award-winning illustrated book, “Tobe and the River Is.” It is a loving gift for you. And it may just give you something you have been looking for—waiting for.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Micah

Are Oxen Pulling Your Jet?

“I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness.”

Max Planck

Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (April 23, 1858 – October 4, 1947) was a German physicist who is widely regarded as one of the most significant scientists in history. He developed a simple but revolutionary concept that was to become the foundation of a new way of looking at the world, called quantum theory.

In 1900, to solve a vexing problem concerning the radiation emitted by a glowing body, he introduced the radical view that energy is transmitted not in the form of an unbroken (infinitely subdivisible) continuum, but in discrete, particle-like units. He called each such unit a quantum. This concept was not immediately accepted by physicists, but it ultimately changed the very foundations of physics.

In 1905, Albert Einstein used that concept to explain the photoelectric effect, and in 1913, Niels Bohr used the same idea to explain the structures of atoms. From then on, Planck's idea became central to all of physics. He received the Nobel Prize in 1918, and both Einstein and Bohr received the prize a few years later.

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I love it when I read a quote by one of the more creative, intuitive theoretical physicists and in their words, I see one of my paintings clearly reflected. How directly and with what amazing clarity the physicists often speak of my deepest experiences.

In regards to the above quote, one can literally perceive “matter as derivative from consciousness,” and it is our right to do so as living beings existing in this very dynamic time/space dimension—if we wish to. Why would we not want to explore the true power of our consciousness? One wise man likened it to having a small jet and taking the tires off of it and having it pulled by oxen to plow the field. What do we gain by holding to a more limited form of consciousness? How could that possibly benefit us, we who were created to wonder, to imagine, to explore, and expand? I do not think, as a human species, we have even come close to achieving our true potential in consciousness!

How then do we explore consciousness? For myself, I often begin by simply feeling the mood or the energy of the place I am in. By doing that I can feel my gaze softening as I look beyond objects to the intangible—the formless. A whole different realm of perception starts to open up. Now I am ready for the next step which is to go deeper to subtler levels of perception by seeing/sensing a changeless life in space. I keep asking myself, “What is here that is not changing. As I keep looking, I become quieter and my awareness heightens as my attention focuses on this changelessness. At first, it is revealed in the subtlest hint and then grows in awareness as the moments pass, becoming alive with beingness, an intelligence—and a “quiet” power (yet unequaled ultimately by any other power I have seen). I have been amazed at how powerful and all-inclusive this changelessness is.

As the experience unfolds, mysteriously, though it also seems very natural, my sense of self starts to lift from its state of body identification and expands into this changeless field of consciousness ever so gently. Accompanying this is the realization that the nature of the forms surrounding me has fundamentally changed. They are no longer seen as solid, but are now energetic—"holographic.” They are made of consciousness, and incredibly they are seen as effects—projections of this larger field of consciousness. These forms are literally like the forms in our dreams at night which only have the appearance of being solid until we awaken from the dream and see that they were merely energy patterns projected by our imaginative consciousness upon the field of consciousness. From this perspective of an expanded Self, we can see what Planck means when he says, “I regard matter as derivative from consciousness.” And more importantly—we can experience “matter as derivative from consciousness.” For some, this exploration and discovery into consciousness may at first seem unfamiliar, yet one will realize it is the foundation of one’s very being and there is nothing else one is more intimately connected with.

I would like to end this blog by pointing to the free download of my award-winning illustrated book, “Tobe and the River Is.” To give this gift during these financially challenging times, emotionally and financially, is a great privilege for me. https://www.perception4u.com/bookgift. The book is an entertaining story, yet beneath that and more importantly, it is a detailed road map on how to get to this living field of consciousness. Tobe, the main character, goes through the process of discovery as he learns to perceive consciousness (the River Is) and then to swim in it. The book was also written with the intent of helping people become more comfortable with states of consciousness that are more expansive, showing that the awakening of consciousness only magnifies the enjoyment and enrichment of life. It is this expanded, elevated consciousness that allows us to finally see all the miracles of existence around us. Being in that consciousness fills me with unfathomable peace and joy. And it brings with it strength and confidence because no longer are the oxen pulling the jet through a laborious field but I am aligning with my true potential. My being is simply expressing life as it was intended to.

Thank you for giving this post your attention and time.

Micah Sanger