#44 The Fullness of Emptiness
In 1993 NASA made repairs and upgrades to the Hubble Telescope. This allowed NASA in Christmas 1995 to perform an experiment in determining the nature of the universe in its earliest stages.
NASA directed the Hubble Telescope to take photos of the same small section of deep space over the course of 10 days. The program was entitled Hubble Deep Space – North. This resulted in 342 exposures, some exposures lasting only a few hours. The images, when compiled, revealed hundreds of galaxies that weren’t visible in the emptiness of the dark region of space.
Upon this success, NASA expanded the idea. In 1996 NASA began the Hubble Deep Space – South program, which provided similar results.
NASA began the Hubble Ultra Deep Field program in 2004, using an upgraded camera installed during a service mission in 2002. The Hubble would take repeated photos of the same “empty” spot in the sky for years, and the photos compiled. Since many of the galaxies in this seemingly empty section of space were so old their light was no longer readily visible, the Hubble needed to be upgraded again, this time fitted with an infrared camera. This became what is known as HUDF – Infrared. The Hubble Ultra Deep Field – Infrared, which exposed 3000 galaxies.
In 2012, after replacing the Hubble camera with an ultraviolet camera, NASA launched the XDF program, the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field. It was produced by instructing the Hubble to take photos of the same empty space in the sky for 10 years, resulting in 10,000 galaxies.
NASA finished photographing its Frontier Field photographs in 2017 and are compiling them into final imaging.
These galaxies are made visible only because scientists can order the Hubble to take a photo of the exact same “empty” section of space during the part of each regular orbit that faces this spot. Since most satellites travel around the earth at around 17,500 mph, the camera must focus on that one spot each time it moves to the side of the earth facing that section of space. Each day it takes one photo, which is exposed for only a few hours.
While moving so quickly, the Hubble can focus on a single, seemingly vacant section of the heavens for a short time each day and allow details to come into view.
Humans can perform the same miraculous feat.
Often, the longer we look at something, the more we see. By focusing on things we would normally overlook, we solve big conundrums. It is said that Einstein kept several similar suits in his closet so he wouldn’t have to think much about what he would wear each day. He could focus more intently on the problem at hand.
Like the Hubble, no matter how fast we move through our lives, we need to stop each day to focus on nothing so we can see the bigger picture.
Napoleon Hill wrote “Think and Grow Rich” one of the first and likely one of the most successful books on prosperity and abundance ever written. Hill was flat broke when he wrote it, however. After he and his editor agreed on the final product, one last piece remained. The title. Hill thought for months on what he would name his masterpiece and had trouble deciding which of the nearly one-hundred titles would be forever linked to this seminal work.
At long last, Hill’s editor call to inform him that time was up. If he did not hear from Hill by 8:00am, he would call the book “Use Your Noodle to get the Kaboodle.” This infuriated Hill, and so he doubled his efforts. Finally, at bedtime, Hill yelled to the heavens, “I will have a title by morning, for I will not allow my book to be named so ridiculously.” He then promptly went to bed.
At 3:30 in the morning, he bolted from bed. The title was clear and certain.
“Think and Grow Rich.”
And history is witness.
Sometimes when we remain still and think of nothing for a while, amazing solutions come to us. We can solve huge problems. Ideas form, pieces fall into place, details emerge, and things come into focus.
Each day, no matter how fast we race through life, we must take a moment to focus on nothing. We direct our awareness to only what is happening in the now, at this moment. We need not even achieve hypervigilance, but merely stare into empty space, and wait for details to morph into a cohesive reality.
Begin my focusing on the breath. It is not necessary to hold the breath, lengthen it, or count it. We simply must be aware of how the breath feels as it moves through the body. We direct our breath to the Dan Tien, a space 2 inches below the belly button and in the center of the body, directly in front of the spine. As we breathe in through our nose and across the top of the sinuses, our breath fills that space. Our belly expands gently, moving away from us. As we release the breath and empty the lungs, our belly moves softly towards the spine again.
This calms the Vagus Nerve, which pulls us from that “fight or flight” reaction and allows our blood pressure to return to normal range.
Then we scan our bodies to look for pockets of stress or tension. Start at the crown of the head and go to the bottoms of the feet. If you find places of tension, release them by tightening the muscles in the area, or imagining breathing white colored air in that place. The energy of the air breaks the tension free, and it rides out on the exhale, which has now become black because of carrying away the tension.
As the body relaxes, thoughts, feelings, and emotions will run through the movie screen of your mind. It is important to simply observe these thoughts and feelings. Observe them without attachment or judgment. Treat them like a leaf floating down a stream. The leaf enters your awareness, and you observe the leaf. You can no more jump on the leaf and ride it to any destination than you can jump on your thoughts and ride them to any conclusion. Simply go back to thinking about the breath filling the belly.
Meditation is not the act of having no thoughts, for that is impossible. The brain conjures 70,000 thoughts per day. Nor is it an act of driving thoughts from the mind, for this is an action. It is simply finding peace in the gap between the thoughts.
A man went to see a guru about meditation. “When will I know when I have arrived?” He asked. The guru responded, “When you can meditate and think not of the blue elephant.”
Take time each day to focus on nothing.
Stare into empty space.
See what develops.
Weeg
Joe “Weeg” Weigant is an empowerment coach who specializes in combining different bodywork and energy work modalities (Reiki, Acupressure, Tuning Forks, Massage, Reflexology, Sound/Vibration Therapy) to release trauma, reset the autonomic nervous system, and balance the energy systems of the body. This begins the healing process in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of our lives. Weeg sells herbal products by Nature’s Sunshine and Pure Herbs Ltd. and is a Representative for Juice Plus. Weeg teaches Karate and Tai Chi, Reiki Certification, as well as seminars and workshops in metaphysical and spiritual matters. Weeg is available for sessions at Tri State Holistic Wellness by appointment only.
Contact by text 812.568.5356, or Facebook Messenger to set an appointment.