Meditation

Form and Formlessness

The nature of being human includes both form and formlessness. While they are not one and the same, neither are they two separate aspects of our being. Such a dynamic may be understood through the phrase “not one, not two" (from Jesuit Priest and psychotherapist the late Anthony de Mello). In line with such an understanding, we know ourselves to be unique individuals in our own right seeking self-realisation while at the same time, we know that we each share in the one heartbeat of Life Itself.

Form
Our form comprises our unique Selfhood which includes our bodies, minds, personalities, daily lived experience, and particular Story of meaning, i.e., our current "understanding of how the world came into being and our place within it" (Thomas Berry).

Formlessness
The formless ground of all being is not an observable object, or for that matter, a definable concept. Even so, we need some understanding of the term as an entry point for engagement. The following images and understandings may be of benefit:

Image 1:

In a similar vein to “that subtle something” of a forest, our formlessness is indefinable, and yet when experienced we can say, "I know that quality within me." One way of naming such a quality is "a deep open state of awareness" (Richard Moss). Such a deep open state of awareness enables us to be present to ourselves in our world beyond words, judgments, concepts, and beyond a particular Story.

More images for formlessness:

• a resting place within, even in times of great turmoil in our lives. A resting place, not by way of an escape mechanism, but rather as a gentle, courageous holding place.

• The "beingness" of human being (Parker Palmer).

• The unscripted part of ourselves.

• The deeper rhythms of Life itself.

• Our inner-orientating reference point, comprising the dynamic energies of faith, hope, love, and collective wisdom.

• The sunrise image. The sun appears to rise above the visible horizon . . . silently . . . peacefully . . . heralding the beginning of a new day. Each day is unique in itself. Each day is unscripted and yet full of possibility. Each day flows from the one before and flows into the one that follows. In a similar way to the image of the sunrise, formlessness holds within it the experience of both new beginnings and continuity.

Qualities within formlessnesss are "stillness and presence" (Richard Moss).

• Stillness – Continually re-turning our minds to the beginning of ourselves. Re-turning to the unscripted part of ourselves; the still ‘I am-ness’ within our being.

• Presence – The stillness is not experienced as an empty void. Rather as a dynamic ever-flowing energy of loving kindness, creativity, joy, trust, compassion, forgiveness, gratitude, wisdom, and the possibility of personal transformation.

In light of the above images and understandings, formlessness is not a goal to be pursued, but rather a quality within us which is grounded in our bodies and finds expression in our daily living.

A contemplative practice

The practice of stillness meditation opens the way for us to experience formlessness. Stillness meditation allows us to drop beneath our current experience of form with its resultant thoughts, feelings and actions. When we drop beneath our experience of form we can experience formlessness.

Stillness meditation practices may include: walking meditation, listening to music, a formal meditation practice, centering prayer, engaging in the creative arts, or simply being with nature.

Resources

Parker Palmer, Hidden Wholeness: the journey toward an undivided life

Richard Moss, The Mandala of Being: discovering the power of awareness

Rory McEntee & Adam Bucko, The New Monasticism: an interspiritual manifesto for contemplative living

Anthony de Mello, www.demellospirituality.com

Thomas Keating, www.centeringprayer.com