"the Bardo" is a Tibetan Buddhist belief in the state of existence intermediate between two lives on earth: after death and before the next rebirth. It describes the experience of the usual way of life being suspended, in transition; any state that lies between two other states.
I am in the bardo.
In between
what was and what is yet to be.
The in between
The in between
Between.
Sometimes the in between is between new life and death,
The sweet perfection of an infant taking her first breath.
Or between the sun rise and sunset.
A place of living, aliveness, life.
This in between is between death and new life.
Here the exhale comes first.
All the stuff of physical experience is striped away.
Time, body, blood, you, me.
Extraneous.
Leaving only what is eternal,
The essence of being that relies
not at all on time, body, blood, you, me.
It begins with an exhale.
An exhale that simply arrives.
I don't consciously know death, but I remember crying myself to sleep as a child,
imagining nothingness.
Tears blur my vision,
I don't want to step into that spacious void!
I don't want to die again!
And yet, the breath has left and there is nothing left to resist.
When will I breathe again?
No need to wonder, let that fall away;
in this moment no breath is necessary.
No words.
Formless void.
Darkness
over the face of the deep.
Infinite potentiality
lying in quite repose.
Allness of
that which is.
And then the Divine urge that cannot be ignored says, "Receive new breath and be."
Rachel Sartori is an Embodiment and Wholeness Coach. She is kick-ass and heart-centered whether she is showing up as a workshop/retreat facilitator, a private coach, a writer or a speaker. Rachel invites you to exercise your soul, and participate in the healing of your own heart and the world around you. With Rachel, all is welcome, all the time.
Read: Exercise Your Soul: Ignite Healing and Wholeness in your Life and Live from the Inside Out
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