The Awareness of One

This morning I entered into the awareness of the One.

At precisely seven thirty, my friend and I descended into the womblike basement of the Washington Center for Consciousness Studies on Swann Street NW.

A flashlight escorted us to the soft pillowed area that was to be our meditation corner for the next hour.

A Hindu musical mantra streamed into our consciousness.

The voice of the leader penetrated the physical space.

She spoke of the unity of our being in the field of our awareness. She asked us to sense the energy surrounding and connecting us to each other.

Then silence. More silence. Deep silence.

A burning sensation reached my heart and illuminated an emotion I had politely tucked away inside my closed memory box..

Inside my being, a flame glimmered. My mind was still, but my body was busy interpreting the details of my excursion into my own awareness.

Then a familiar voice and melody saturated my soul. One into One. One becomes One. Echad B’Echad. A Hebrew Kirtan version of the Shema by my colleague, Yofiyah grounded me. Suddenly safe, I offered a smile inside this cavern of solitude. I even giggled. I swayed with the music of my Jewish renewal roots.

I opened my eyes and caught a glimpse of the One smiling back at me.