And now, imagine that all the other living things are also lit up and have spokes and are connected energetically with each other. All the animals, all the trees, the sea creatures, the plants, even the minerals in the earth are suffused with energy and are part of this Net.
Play around with the image of the Net a little bit. Can you feel how “it is the ocean and you are the wave”? Can you lean back into the Net and feel supported by it — by all of life? See if you can pull on the Net a little bit. Give it a tug and pull some of the energy of the Net into you. Do you feel it? Feel the energy of the Net come into your body. Feel your connectedness to all things. Can you imagine that as you connect with the Net, your inner radiance gets dialed up?
I love to imagine you, all lit up from within, connected to all the other lit-up elements of the Net. Some things you are connected to directly, and others may seem far away, but we are all part of one perfect whole.
Notice that no matter how brightly you shine, you don’t take anything away from the Net. The Net of energy is in constant motion, and it is all equally yours and not yours. This is how we know that nothing ever goes away, and nothing is ever wasted — because it is all part of the Net. The Net is an imagining of the first law of thermodynamics: energy can be converted from one form into another, but it cannot be created or destroyed. In other words, you can’t break the Net. You can’t destroy it. You can’t push it too hard. It is much, much bigger than you are. And still you are an essential part of it.
We are just one expression of this energy on this planet. The energy of the Net is eternal; it is the alpha and the omega. We are an expression of the Divine. We are cocreating reality with the Net. We are the hands and feet of God.
If you like, you may close the meditation now by breathing 4:7:8 a few times and bring yourself back to current time and space. Please keep the image of the Net in your mind, though, because we have more to explore.
You cannot be separate from this Net. You cannot be separate from this web of energy. The entire Net is your legacy: the gift that has been handed to you and that you, in turn, pass on. In other words, you cannot be separate from God. You may sometimes feel like you are, but that’s you doing that to you. And it’s as false as believing that the sun disappears when it’s raining. The sun is still there, above the clouds. The Net knows that you are never not a part of it.
Part of your work is to stop arguing with that divine energy that is trying to express itself through you. Stop believing that maybe it’s not right, or it’s not yours, or you’re too much this or you’re not enough that. You are everything. You are, literally, made of stardust. As Neil deGrasse Tyson said in the first episode of The Universe, “Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high-mass stars. . . . We are all connected. To each other, biologically, to the earth, chemically, and to the rest of the universe, atomically. . . .We are in the universe, and the universe is in us.”*
Accept the energy. Plug into the energy of the cosmos. Let it heal you. Let it come through you to heal others. Let God express God’s self through you exactly as you are right now. This begins right now. And this has been happening the whole time. You’re just tapping into it with a bit more consciousness and deliberation.
You can see in your mind’s eye how the activity of this Net can defy logic, expectation, and conventional wisdom. If everything is interconnected, no wonder quantum leaps are possible. No wonder people and events can arrive in our lives suddenly and unannounced. And no wonder once-in-a-lifetime opportunities come around every single day.
In my heart of hearts, what I really believe about God, what I believe God is, is that Net. I don’t perceive God as a moral force. I don’t believe that the Net cares, really, what we do, any more than nature cares what we do. There are laws of cause and effect, certainly, and those pertain to both nature and the Net. We, the people, care. We, the people in your community, would rather that you not covet our neighbor’s wife or cheat or steal or dishonor your parents. But as far as the Net is concerned, you are fine. You are forgiven. You are valuable. You are essential. You are loved, and you are love.
God is the Benevolent Hum.
I imagine the Net makes a sound that I call the Benevolent Hum. It’s the song the universe sings. It might sound like Om. And this humming energy, this creation, is moving — breath moving, cells dividing, things coming into form and leaving form, water to steam to clouds to rain to water. Being born and dying. It’s an infinite cycle. And we are fortunate enough to be present in this form in this moment. What a blessing.
So when I say God, or the Net, that’s what I mean.
LITTLE CHANGES ACTION STEP: Right now, make some 5-Minute Art expressing one moment from your life when you felt connected to the Net, to that which is bigger than you, to the beauty, grace, and mystery of life. (Need a suggestion? Write two short paragraphs about a powerful encounter you’ve had with nature, describing both what you experienced and what it meant to you.)
* The Universe, produced by Matt Hickey, History Channel, 2007.
4.
IF YOU’RE GOING TO STAY CONNECTED to the Net and to the center of yourself, you’re going to have to start taking better care of yourself.
Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish. In fact, it’s the opposite of selfish. When you spend all your time giving to others and you’re tired, stressed out, overwhelmed, and exhausted, you are no fun to be around. In fact, making the rest of us deal with you when you are a humorless wreck is really quite selfish of you. (I’m kidding. We love you.)
On the other hand, when you are rested, fed, meditated, walked, cuddled, and creatively satisfied, you bring your best self to the world. You have more to give, and you give more freely. You think more clearly, and you don’t sweat the small stuff.
Here are some behaviors that my existing and former clients have demonstrated that, to me, indicated an imbalance in the whole “taking care of you” thing:
1. Sharon refused to go to the doctor, even though she’d been feeling lousy for a while. (It turned out she had severe anemia, which is easily treated but can be life-threatening if ignored.)
When you are rested, fed, meditated, walked, cuddled, and creatively satisfied, you bring your best self to the world.
2. Diana always works through lunch. Doesn’t everybody? (Nope.)
3. Jason couldn’t help saying yes every time someone asked a favor of him. He had always just assumed that owning a truck meant that he was automatically obligated to help people move.
4. Nancy tolerated long, energy-draining phone calls from “friends” who just wanted to complain.
5. Risa made long, energy-draining calls to her friends just to complain.
6. Claire would buy new clothes for the kids but not for herself.
7. Belinda would go shopping to buy new clothes