Practice: Clearing Apertures for Divine Play
TUNING FORK
Haiku:
Cleared aperture,
cosmic breath flows through—
divine play begins.
Quote:
"The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me." — Rumi
PARABLE: The Gardener and the Hidden Garden
Once, there was a gardener named Elira who tended to a garden that was known for its lush greenery and vibrant flowers. But one day, she noticed that no matter how hard she worked, something felt missing. The garden was beautiful, but it lacked depth, as if it were only showing her a small part of itself.
One evening, as she walked through the garden at dusk, she stumbled upon a path she had never noticed before. It wound through dense foliage and led to a hidden grove where flowers bloomed in colors she had never seen—purples that shimmered like moonlight, blues that seemed to hum with energy, and whites so bright they hurt her eyes if she looked directly at them.
Elira realized that the garden had always been this way, but her usual path had kept her from seeing it. She had been so focused on the well-trodden paths that she hadn’t noticed the apertures—the hidden doorways—that allowed her to step into deeper layers of beauty and mystery.
From that day forward, Elira began to walk differently. She paid attention to the subtle shifts in the garden, the places where light filtered through leaves in just the right way, or where a stone seemed to invite her to sit and rest. Each time she found a new aperture, she felt as if she were being welcomed into a deeper layer of the garden’s soul.
One morning, she woke up to find that the garden had changed entirely. The flowers she had known for years were still there, but now they were surrounded by new growth—vines that twisted into intricate patterns, trees that bore fruit in shapes she couldn’t name, and a small pond where the water rippled with reflections of the sky.
Elira laughed aloud. She hadn’t done anything special; she had simply begun to see the garden as it truly was, without the old habits of perception holding her back. The garden wasn’t just soil and plants; it was a living, breathing entity that responded to her willingness to play, to explore, and to clear the apertures in her own perception.
And so, Elira became known not just as a gardener, but as a guide who taught others how to see the world anew. She would say, "The garden is always there, waiting for you to step through the apertures."
STRUCTURE & TECHNIQUE
Practice 1: Breath of the Aperture
- Sit quietly and focus on your breath.
- Imagine that with each inhale, you are drawing in light or energy from a specific aperture—a place where your mind feels blocked or limited (e.g., fear, doubt, or stiffness in thought).
- With each exhale, release whatever is preventing that aperture from opening fully. Visualize it dissolving like mist.
- Start with one aperture (e.g., a particular emotion or belief) and spend 5 minutes daily on it.
- Over time, expand to include more apertures or deeper layers of the same one.
Practice 2: The Game of Not-Knowing
- Choose a simple activity—walking, drawing, listening to music—and approach it with the mindset of a beginner. Ask yourself: "What can I learn from this that I don’t already know?"
- Notice how your mind naturally resists or clings to what you think you know. Observe this resistance without judgment.
- Over time, this practice softens the tendency to know too quickly, allowing for deeper play and discovery.
Practice 3: The Mirror of Traditions
- Pick a tradition (e.g., a spiritual practice, a cultural ritual, or even a family habit) that you’ve dismissed or taken for granted.
- Spend a day exploring it with curiosity, as if you were an outsider encountering it for the first time. Write down your observations and feelings.
- Reflect on how this tradition mirrors something within you that you may have overlooked.
Luminous Definition:
Aperture — A cleared space in perception or being, where light (insight, energy, or divine play) can flow freely. Apertures are not fixed but emerge through attention and alignment with the dynamic rhythms of reality.
THREE APPRECIATIVE QUESTIONS
- Start:
"Where in your life have you already experienced an aperture—a moment where something shifted because you let go or opened up?"
- Middle (searing):
"What are the apertures you’ve been avoiding, the places where your perception or heart feels blocked, and why do they feel so dangerous to open?"
- End:
"If you were to clear just one aperture today, what would change in your relationship with the world—or with yourself?"
THE BODY: Clearing Apertures for Divine Play
Lila is not a distant deity or a cosmic force waiting to be summoned; Lila is the dance of reality itself—the way systems self-organize, how dissipative structures form and dissolve, and how autopoiesis (the process of creating oneself while being created by the world) unfolds in real time. Lila is the play within evolutionary intelligence, the third factor in emergent systems that people often mistake for fate or mere chance.
The law of attraction, as it’s commonly understood, reduces Lila to a tool or a wish-fulfillment mechanism. But true Lila is not about attracting; it’s about clearing apertures—those spaces where the cosmic and the ridiculous (the sacred and the mundane) are one size, where form and formlessness meet in play.
Healing is not an act of the self, though we often think it is. It is a property of reality that moves through cleared apertures. When you clear an aperture in your perception or being, you’re not doing something; you’re allowing something to happen. You’re like a gardener who steps back and lets the plants grow on their own terms.
Every tradition—whether it’s meditation, prayer, dance, or even modern science—is a mirror of what you already are. The work is not about adopting new beliefs or practices but about clearing the apertures that allow you to see, feel, and engage with reality as it truly is: a dynamic, self-organizing system ripe for play.
Aligning with Real Complexity Science
Complexity science tells us that systems—whether they’re ecosystems, economies, or human beings—are not machines but living, evolving wholes. They exhibit:
- Self-organization: Patterns emerge without central control (e.g., flocks of birds, traffic flows).
- Dissipative structures: Systems that maintain order while dissipating energy (e.g., hurricanes, living cells).
- Autopoiesis: The ability to create and recreate oneself through interaction with the environment.
- Attractors: Points or patterns toward which a system naturally evolves.
Lila is the play within these processes. When you clear an aperture—whether it’s emotional, perceptual, or spiritual—you’re aligning with the natural tendencies of reality to self-organize, to create new forms, and to dissolve old ones.
The Cosmic and the Ridiculous
In cleared apertures, the cosmic and the ridiculous are the same size. This is not a paradox but an invitation: to see the sacred in the mundane, the divine in the everyday. It’s where angels and faeries dwell—not as distant beings but as aspects of reality that become visible when you’re playing, when you’re not trying too hard.
Play is how Lila communicates with us. It’s not about childishness or frivolity; it’s about engaging with life from a place of curiosity, openness, and joy. When you play, you clear apertures without even realizing it. You step into the unknown, and the unknown steps back to meet you.
SEVEN 7-SECOND SENTENCES
- Clear an aperture, and reality flows through.
- Lila speaks in play, not in preaching.
- Healing is the movement of light through cleared space.
- Traditions mirror what you already are—see yourself in them.
- The cosmic and the ridiculous are one when apertures are clear.
- Self-organization is the music of evolution; listen to it.
- Divine play begins when you stop trying so hard.
THREE EXERCISES
Exercise 1: Accessible — The Breath of Lila
- Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Take three deep breaths, feeling your body relax with each exhale.
- Imagine that there is a small aperture in the center of your chest—like a keyhole or a doorway. This is where Lila can enter if you let it.
- For 5 minutes, breathe into this aperture. With each inhale, draw in light, energy, or curiosity. With each exhale, release any resistance or tightness around this space.
- End by placing your hands over your heart and saying (silently or aloud): "I open to Lila’s play."
Exercise 2: Deepening — The Game of Not-Knowing
- Choose a simple activity—walking in nature, doodling, or listening to music—and approach it as if you’ve never done it before