A Verification Tale

The following story was written by a friend and fellow student, Guinevere, of the Northern California Center

Genie reached over to the nightstand and hit the bar on her old alarm clock, “Got it!” With great satisfaction, she stopped it a few seconds before the uncompromising ring.

She verified that it took exactly 44 minutes from her home to the platform of the commuter train to New York City. She added another 15 minutes for that special time she prized, a few moments for herself that were in such sharp contrast to the rest of the day, the unpredictable life of a journalist.

She poured coffee into her favorite cup and headed for the balcony to wait patiently for what had become her morning ritual: to sit and watch the sun rise over the lake, progressing from faint pink to ever brighter shade, to ultimate brilliance of the sun. She remembered when she was a child, she believed the sun rose out of the water, and her mother had come quietly and gently whispered, “It is magic!” Genie had verified that on certain mornings she experienced that ‘magic.’ It was not the effort to be present to the moment, rather the result – a Presence may just appear, a state existing by itself, for itself. This morning, a bank of mist rose unexpectedly from the lake. For the moment, she was disappointed, but she had verified that the sun would come again tomorrow, and if not, some future day.

She arrived in New York, weaving her way through crowds of people, each one impatient to reach their final destination. How different from the “quiet being there” she experienced earlier by the lake. Then she recalled an idea she had wanted to remember, “I found my Self in a crowd.” It was from the writings of Goethe. She made the effort to focus her attention, someone bumped into her, jarred her, and she experienced Presence, the same state as this morning. This is amazing, she thought, it is not restricted to quiet moments, no need to sit on a cushion in meditation. It was here, now, on the busy streets of Manhattan! Throughout the day, she was able to verify the existence of that certain something, not an idea, not an emotion – although it was and is emotional. This state remained the same – consistent and reliable – whereas what she observed was different under different circumstances.

She verified that this entity was not a substitute for thought, feelings, sensations, but an addition to …

A new journey had begun, she thought. I wonder where it will lead me.

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Surat Sunrise, India