FLIGHT – explorations of reality

Knowledge always deceives.
It always limits the Truth,
every concept and image does.
From cage to cage the caravan moves,
but I give thanks,
for at each divine juncture
my wings expand
and I
touch Him more
intimately.

Meister Eckhart

Several kilometers above the earth, I’m sealed in a metal tube along with another hundred humans.  I’d say we are soaring through the heavens, yet nearly everyone near a window has closed the shade, hiding any visual reference to signs that we are actually in the sky, i.e., natural light and glimpses of the clouds and perhaps mountains, canyons and rivers.

Normally, I am in a window seat and one of the few passengers who leaves the shade up, especially when flying in daylight.  It is more than a preference, it has to do with my sensitivity to the humanness of my body and her innate need for natural light to regulate overall well-being.   On this trip, I am in a middle seat, and consequently more aware that I am experiencing a human-constructed reality.

Those around me seem absorbed in micro-realities.  Most have their heads bowed toward their digital devices, taking in a myriad of concepts, stories and images.  A couple in the row behind me are debating about which of the airline’s manufactured food boxes is the better choice.  And in the row in front of me, perhaps ironically, there is an avid discussion among the three people about their favorite reality television shows.

I feel grateful to have a few moments to be suspended in flight.  It stirs deep appreciation for all the sages, prophets, saints and indigenous elders who have compassionately invited humans to beware of becoming humancentric.  They have warned of our becoming enamored with our human-ness and sliding into a sense of isolation and numbness to the harm of others through lying and violence.  Instead, they have graciously encouraged humanity to foster our innate power for reverence, and celebration of all life.   They remind us that the knowledge and reality we seek is not fluency in language and information; it is the wordless brilliance of divine spirit hidden within us and every granule of life.

Soon, I will disembark from this plane and once again walk on the earth.  Before I do so, I will look up, down, and around.  And, I will recall the timeless wisdom that as a human I walk within a greater reality where there is interdependence with the elements, planets, and all earthly forms, including other humans.   Together, we have the discipline, willpower and courage to be an expression of the greater reality in thought, word and gesture. I hope you will join me.

Practice
This short practice supports awareness of life experiences shaping our sense of self.

Prepare –

• Find a quiet area where you can comfortably sit.  Please clear this space of all digital devices, including smart watches.  For the one you are using, please close all apps and set the device to airplane mode.
• Before sitting, take a few moments to gently squeeze your hands, arms and shoulders.  Perhaps gently stroke your face, scalp, torso and thighs.  If you wish, invite any movement or sound in any way your body instinctually wants to move or express.
• When you are ready, come to a comfortable seated position.  If you are in a chair or on a bench, invite the soles of your feet to rest on the floor or earth beneath you.

Practice –

• Open your palms in front of your body as though you were carrying flower blossoms in each palm.  Invite relaxation in your fingers and wrists.
  • Then, softly observe your hands while consider all that they have done and touched in your lifetime.
    • Please note:  If for any reason you feel extreme discomfort in doing this or any of the following parts of this practice, please discontinue this practice.
  • If comfortable, allow yourself to feel that in this moment all your touch-experiences are filling your palms with loving appreciation and gratefulness for your having gifted them with your touch.  Perhaps include the invisible, e.g., the air and space around you.
  • Pause, allowing your palms to rest wherever they feel comfortable, e.g. in your lap.
    • Invite awareness to the feeling of who you would be without these billions of touch-sensations.
    • If you wish, invite the feeling of the sense of who you are arising from these forms of communing with existence through touch.
    • Then, imagine that the predominate touch-sensations you have had are with digital devices and metallic and plastic objects.  Invite an awareness of what your sense of self is with these forms of touch sensations.
  • If you wish, extend this practice to your other sense organs:  nose; mouth, including your tongue; eyes; ears; and, touch your feet and the rest of your skin.  You might also wish to extend it to your inner organs, e.g., your lungs.
    • With each of these, consider the elements of space, air, fire, water and earth.
    • Perhaps consider the sensory traits associated with each of these elements, i.e., space with hearing; air with textures; water with flavors; fire with light/darkness, colors and shapes; and earth with smells.
    • Then, perhaps consider human-created simulations of these, e.g., artificial flavoring, colors, sounds (e.g., robotic voices).

Transition back into your day –

• Take a moment with your hands.
  • Gently caress your hands in any way that feels comfortable for you.
  • Thank your hands.
  • Then, hold your palms together in a prayer position acknowledging the connection of touch to shaping who you are.
  • If you wish, acknowledge the power you have within you to choose what and how you intentionally touch.
  • Note:  If you have extended this practice to other sense organs, e.g., ears, please consider following these steps for that sense.
• Sit quietly for a few moments.
• When you feel ready, return to your day.

This poem appears in Mala of the Heart:  108 Sacred Poems, page 35, edited by Ravi Nathwani and Kate Vogt and published by New World Library.  Photo is by Emilio Garcia.  H E A R T H is posted each new and full moon.  KateVogt©2025.