The Rain Rock.

On the creek flats, hidden by the tall grasses, is a large rock. It stands waist high and takes the shape of an egg lying on its side, half buried in the ground. This rock sits on a nexus of energy lines and one day, as I walked passed, it called.

I walked in amongst the tall grasses and stood beside it, facing east towards the front of the land. Reaching out, I gently place a hand upon it, feeling the rough texture of its surface under my fingers. Slowly and respectfully I stepped up onto it, moving towards the high point at the back. Here I could sit comfortably and tuck my feet underneath me.

Stillness fell as I sat down cross-legged, looking across the open field, the faintest of breezes rustling the tops of the whitish grasses on the flats. With the sensations of the bush washing over me, I let my gaze drift down to the darkness under the trees that stood along the creek bank and then up to the line of hill that rolled along the horizon line.

Overhead hung a blanket of low dark cloud. This grey patchwork was slowly moving sideways across the sky, softening the light and hushing the bush. Yet a hum ran through the land, a sense of anticipation, of expectancy.

As my gaze drifted down to the foreground I noticed a small gum tree that was growing beside the rock, right in front of where I was sitting. This tree intrigued me. It seemed to have popped out of the ground not long ago, yet was already taller than my outstretched hand when standing on the rock. I had been a little perturbed at its closeness to the rock when it had first appeared, yet could only assume that it was meant to be. Still, I was curious to discover any interplay of energies.

Looking past the small gum, I could see another gum, a large sentinel tree, standing on the creek bank, directly in line with where I was sitting. Several times, when photographing the creek, a blur had appeared on photographs taken near this large white gum. At first I had assumed that the film had been over-exposed but when flicking through the photos one day I noticed that pictures, taken from different positions and at different times, all showed a similar discolouration near where this gum tree stood. I had tried to pinpoint the place where the energy manifested. There was a little patch of low grass growing there, a different colour and height to the surrounding grasses.

It was exquisite sitting there on the rock. The soft breeze that connected the land to the patterned sky seemed to drift through me. It was peaceful and utterly still. The low thick clouds dimmed the landscape, forming a low ceiling and muting the vibrations of the outside world. Looking along the line of the two trees, I half closed my eyes in meditation.

I was drifting into the space between worlds, slowly sinking through the layers of consciousness, when a drop of water landed on my arm. For a moment curiosity overcame meditation and I opened my eyes to see that the light had dimmed even more, the heavy clouds having grown darker and lower, yet I could see no sign of rain falling.

Then against the dry whitish grasses of the field, the tiniest flecks could be seen drifting down. They lingered in the air, floating and swaying, as if unwilling to touch the earth. Unfelt and barely seen, these tiny drops slowly gathered, thickening in the air, until a fine misty haze was spreading over the fields.

With eyes open, still immersed in meditation, I sat perched on the rock, gazing over the fields at the gentle falling rain. Not a sound was heard. Neither thought nor birdcall broke the stillness.

My meditation deepened, as did the rain. The drops grew larger, and more frequent. A light rain began to fall. I could feel the land opening up, the earlier sense of anticipation and expectancy giving way to a joyous welcome of the rains.

The rain grew heavier until it fell in steady sheets. I noticed that I wasn’t feeling wet or chilled and wondered if my senses had been suspended, for I could feel neither the rock beneath, nor the rain upon me. I glanced down and saw that my legs, tucked up underneath, were dry and so were my arms! It was only the outer corners of my shoulders that were getting wet. For the rain was falling straight down out of the sky, pulled down as if by a great magnet. And my hat was taking the brunt of the rain, while I sat dry under the little halo of its protection. I felt like I was sitting in a cocoon, gently suspended above the fields, protected against the elements.

The meditation began to expand – the inner world flowing into the outer, the outer world blending with the inner, the differentiating line between the two fading…

Until there was no difference between eyes open or closed. Each had merged with the other. Inseparable. And in that stillness, the thread of joy that had opened as the land had embraced the rain, grew stronger. It became a vibrating force, connecting the land and sky …

The meditation, the rain, and the connecting force all became inextricably linked together. The deeper I slipped through the layers of meditation, the heavier it rained, and greater became the connection.

In that moment - within the framework of inseparable connection – an image, an idea, a concept arose.

The words ‘Determination … Regeneration … Growth’ appeared, echoing as the connection deepened.

To be shown creation – of a rock/plant/animal, and the keen determination for that life to grow, to flourish, to continue. And how, as this life force expanded, it began to weave a web upon the fabric of nature, to reach out and touch the world – connecting, enhancing, communicating. Finally to gradually diminish, and ebb back into the basic elements.

Growth. Regeneration. Determination.

Encapsulating One Concept.

Where did these ideas originate? I saw them within myself, yet they were outside as well. I saw them within creation – yet they were within the connection too. But they did not appear to originate, nor solely exist, in either. It was impossible to determine their origin, for they were like the softest zephyr drifting by, gently wafting within reach and then disappearing at the slightest gesture.

With it came the realisation that co-creating occurs when the link between Humanity and Nature is pure, unrestrained. Perhaps not so much a co-creating, as a blending into Oneness - of Intent.

My beliefs in co-creating were going through a rapid change! And within that connection, equally shared, the rain grew heavier and heavier, beating a loud staccato rhythm on the ground, until it thundered down.