The Darkness Review

A News Letter for Universal Tao Darkness Retreat Participants

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Read the Featured article 'Visionary Alchemy' by Minke de Vos

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Featuring Article:

Awakened Senses in Darkness

  contributed by Minke De Vos

Long, long night,

awake in the dark,

my body relaxes,

my spirit soars.

Marry the light,

love in the dark,

my heart opens,

my pearl glows.

I felt relieved as the lights were switched off one by one. I saw the rooms and rehearsed some common routes, to the bathroom and the meditation hall, like a dance routine. I was ready to let go of my planning mind and be present in the moment. Feeling my way with my fingers and toes I became more self aware and sensitive to my environment.

My senses were soothed by the rich softness of the dark. Taking a break from giving out energy through our eyes is badly needed in this time of computers and visual stimulus. My eyes soaked in the restful peace. My mind, heart and body became calmer and calmer.

We lose so much energy through talking and our senses, especially our eyes. In the dark and silence there are fewer holes in our buckets. Our spiritual energy increases. We prepare ourselves for receiving grace. When we close our eyes and look inside our alpha brain waves expand and take us deeper into the theta waves, our dreaming and unconscious material.

The first day we had just papaya with lime. It felt good to clean out and lighten up. Eating in the dark was a sensual pleasure. The outside support team served us so well.

Long periods of silence gave me the space to deepen my experience of the Kan & Li alchemical process. I was opening to the supreme mystery of the great unknown. My first vision was of a shipwreck under the sea. A treasure was awaiting me.

Master Chia’s guidance was well spaced, clear and light-hearted. He instructed us to put our inner water, orgasmic energy, below our inner fire of love and compassion, to “cook” our sexual essence into spirit power. We were cooking up steam, which gently opened up the meridians and psychic channels. We bathed in an internal steam bath. The “self-intercourse” practice, union of masculine and feminine energies, rippled into whole body blissful sensations. We transformed the material into the immaterial. “Love is immaterial yet real.”

I felt my “pearl” at my core and saw the planet earth spinning. When we focused on the “immortal fetus” I saw my “micro-being” as superwoman with a red body and a blue cape! Alchemical visions arose spontaneously and become my teachers. The language of the spirit is metaphor.

The toning and chanting nourished my soul. The gongs were tuned to the frequency of the sun, moon and ‘Ohm”, the earth. We attuned to there sound, which resonated everywhere. The room felt like a cathedral. My arms moved like a conductor. I let the sound chi move me. I felt free to move as I like as no one could see me!

Touch feels amazing in the dark! There was lots of space to massage myself and my friends. With no work calling me I was able to give and receive love with my full attention. Brushing my roommate’s hair was a sisterly and sensual delight!

On the last night before leaving I cried. I felt contained in the nest and my inner child felt like leaving home. Going out into the night the light of the stars was reassuring and I felt at peace with the “outer darkness”. My walking was wobbly like coming off a ship, but I quickly oriented myself.

The next day my body felt very relaxed. My aura reading was well balanced. My organs felt filled up with deep yin essence. Though, I felt glass-like and hungry for some grounding food.

Coming out of the darkroom into Tao Garden, the smiles seemed sweeter. The sun on my back was heavenly. The colors of the flowers greeted me with joy! I carried the peace of the darkness with me through the night and the day. The simple pleasures of life are enhanced. There are many paths to the top of the mountain and this one is paved with good feelings.

Minke de Vos

Senior Universal Tao Instructor

www.silentground.com

Testimonials by other participants in the Darkness Retreat, Feb. 2007, Tao Garden

 “I have more experience of the higher level practices to bring back to my students. The retreat cleared patterns so I came back fresh. I time-travelled into vivid experiences of the past and future. I was able to see conductivity in my karmic path. I remember being a little girl and my first impressions of life. I felt compassion for myself. A wormhole led into landscapes of past dreams and I left the rooms tidier than I found them.  It felt freeing. After the retreat I laid down under my blanket by the pool and watched the North Star and the Big Dipper. I felt part of the universe.”

Tiffany Fyans, Senior Chi Nei Tsang Instructor