Seeking ‘Sacred Emptiness’
On a whim last summer I bought a book called The Heart of Listening: A Visionary Approach to Craniosacral Work by Hugh Milne. I picked it because the cover art (by artist Alex Grey) drew me in. The swirling reds and yellows, the line of fire through the head, the energy meridians - it just looked cool! I felt a certain attraction to this book inside as well. I found his philosophy (covering much more than just Craniosacral Therapy) to be intriguing and applicable to my life and my work.
One of the concepts Milne introduced me to is what he calls “sacred emptiness”. At first I recoiled at the thought - emptiness sounded so desolate, cold and lonely. On the contrary, he describes “sacred emptiness” as a place you can visit (or perhaps help a client/patient visit) where they may experience peace and quiet and can tap into their higher self. This “sacred emptiness”, he suggests, can only be accessed through something like craniosacral or meditation. He shares that helping someone tap into “sacred emptiness” may be the highest form of service to them. The great thing is you can access “sacred emptiness” yourself any time, as I have learned.
Since reading about this, I have been focused on this “sacred emptiness” in my meditation practice. I have been meditating for years - never very “successfully”. I never thought I was very good at it. I could never make time for it consistently, and was constantly swatting away intrusive thoughts through my practice. Recently, however, I have made an effort to mediate on a daily basis (sitting in bed right before sleep - when my daughter is down, dishes are done and I have taken my supplements and brushed my teeth!). Creating a time to meditate in my day has been revelatory for me - as has focus on this mantra of “sacred emptiness”. I simply think of this phrase as I breathe in and out and see what happens. If I’m lucky, I start to feel that “floaty” lightness of a good meditation session and begin to deeply relax. I let my body float in this space for as long as it wants and then, also as Milne suggests, I finish my practice by grounding. My grounding practice is simply envisioning a long taproot extending from my tailbone down, down, down into the Earth.
If you have a meditation practice of any kind, I would love to hear about it. Meditation is one of the most effective ways we know of to reduce cortisol and, especially these days, we all could use more relief from that stress hormone.
Dr. Katie
