Empty space. An experiment

HOME: a space created by walls, a ceiling and floors, with windows and views and doors opening into other rooms, the garden, a staircase, the street. Within the space: Stuff. Furniture, books, lamps, artwork, photographs, souvenirs, carpets, plants, your dog and so on. Plus a lot of dust.

A lot of visible, tangible matter that can be broken down into smaller parts, such as panels, nails or screws, or further: into tiny crystals and organic cells, and even further: into mere vibration. Bits and pieces of “stuff”. In between: Invisible space. Space inside the cabinet, the wineglass, the lightbulb. Space inside space. In short, “home” is space with stuff in it. It is unique to the people who live in it. And there is always more (invisible) space than stuff.

YOU, that’s an alive entity of specific physical dimensions, uniquely yours. Your physical appearance can be broken down into body parts, then: into tiny invisible cells consisting of even tinier molecules and atoms, and even further: into mere vibration. According to quantum physics, there is much more space than matter within a molecule. Within your body: physical functions, controlled or automatic, such as your digestion or breath. When you breathe in, you are breathing more space into the given space of your lungs. So, they expand. Ah! Space is expandable.

Also, within you, invisibly present and very important: your so-called identity. It is made up of your unique story, formed by memories, family history, education, knowledge, social status, job, hobbies, visions, meaning. Then, your beliefs: formed by you or others (like family, friends, job environment, media). Then, there is love and other so-called feelings. Then, there is your mind with its endless stream of thoughts. All kinds of emotions and thoughts moving inside of you, all day long. Except when you meditate (if you’re lucky). Basically, you are never empty. But, if we think in terms of quantum physics, and even if your clever mind tries to convince you of the contrary: There is always more space than “stuff” inside of you.

What a potential …

What is the common denominator for both your home and you? Now, that’s easy. It’s YOU. You fill your physical space with the stuff that’s in it. Just like YOU fill your body and mind with the stuff that’s in it. Even if you think your mom did it: It was your decision to keep her stuff inside of you.

When you dream without knowing that you are dreaming, you are totally absorbed in the dream story. A story so real as if you weren’t dreaming. Only when you wake up you know that the story was “just a dream”.

Since a little “Zen moment” never hurts, let’s experiment: What if the objects in the space around us were nothing but a dream?

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” Albert Einstein