In the first chapter of my grandmother’s book, The House Above the Trees, the young girl Hepatica follows a Wind Creature into the forest. Wanting to catch up with him, she walks along in the direction she saw him last. After a while, she realizes she isn’t getting anywhere. There’s a sort of curtain of sunshine that prevents her from getting into the “within the within of the forest.” She has to go around the edge of light, around the edge of her conscious thoughts, and let herself be enveloped by the forest itself. It’s only then that she’s able to see clairvoyantly. We can each of us get into that “within the within.” Seeing clairvoyantly means not seeing with your physical eyes, or your reasonable thinking, or your emotions. It means seeing clearly, and it uses your sense of knowing. It’s not looking out—it’s looking in and it’s looking from within at the same time. When I meditate, sometimes a sudden vision or phrase surfaces through my mantra as though through dim recesses of a forest. It may also happen when I’m walking and focusing entirely on my breath. Suddenly a vision or phrase appears at the same time that my surface awareness is still focused on my breath. (It’s sort of like throat singing—that remarkable style of singing two notes at the same time.) Those moments feel so clear, present, and lovely that even if the vision or phrase is not one I can interpret or understand, I feel connected, peaceful, even happy. The more we practice, the more easily we can slip into the mysterious world of clairvoyance. Let yourself go so deeply within yourself that all the surface noise of your thoughts disappear. Welcome what shows up–trust it. I hope you practice this way of slipping into your own clairvoyance whenever you can, whether walking in the woods, meditating, or just before you go to sleep. It’s healing, enlightening, and it feels so good.
