The Space Between
“The human eye always sees twice in the one look: the thing and the emptiness. The conviction that each individual is separate and utterly alone makes us blind to that subtle world that dwells between things.” - John O’Donohue, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace
Let’s switch gears this month and take a look at the subtle, invisible world that John O’Donohue speaks of above. Patrick Shen calls this “the other half of things.” In his book, Come of Age, Stephen Jenkinson talks about the fabric of life, the warp and weft of the world. The warp is the visible design (what we see) and the weft is the not visible threads, the fundament that holds everything together.
There are many things that affect our experience of life that we can’t see with the naked eye - sounds, smells, thoughts, and emotions, to name a few. For this week, let’s look at another form of invisibility, the space which exists between things and the air that moves through it.
Space
”When we pay attention to the spaces between the things of the world, whole new perceptions come into our awareness. Looking into the branches and trunks, between the things of the world, is a fundamental practice for opening our attentional focus, for stretching ourselves beyond our predominant view, our habits, our fearful projections. Opening like this, we experience a kind of spaciousness. We see a new coherence, a new wholeness.” ~ Laura Sewall, Sight and Sensibility
I started looking at the space between things while practicing Miksang contemplative photography and it transformed the way I see. Uta Barth is a master at photographing this experience. She became interested in the background information of a scene - that which surrounds, brackets, and creates a container for a subject.
“I want to make images purely of light, negative space, volumes of space, slow time.” ~ Uta Barth
In her series Ground, she flips the figure/ground relationship completely. By focusing the camera on the unoccupied foreground (the space in front of her), and blurring the scene, she eliminates any subject. The camera is pointed at an empty volume, creating impressions of space. If you find this as fascinating as I do, you can try it for yourself. Instructions are in the Practice section. The image above is one of mine, taken in my office. However, you don’t have to photograph at all. Just bring your awareness to the space between things as you go about your day and see if it helps you to see the invisible threads that tie everything together.
Air & Breath
Air moves through space and is also something that’s not seen with the eye, although we feel its effects - whether cool or warm, blowing or still, polluted or refreshing. It’s always moving and changing, swirling around everything without discrimination. As you read these words, your body is breathing in the oxygen from the air around you and then breathing out carbon dioxide. Air is so omnipresent that it’s easy to take it for granted.
I live near a large lake, so it tends to be windier than other places. In the summer, the warm breeze is a welcome respite from the heat. In the winter, I often have to brace myself for the biting cold wind as I walk outdoors. I tend to take note of the direction the air is moving and how the temperature changes depending on which direction I’m walking. I notice the effects of the wind, especially on trees and water and clouds. It’s led to many photographic opportunities using movement.
Like light, we depend on the air we breathe to live. Noticing your breath is a great way to bring yourself back to the present. Taking deep breaths, through your nose not your mouth, is a way to calm your nervous system.
Practice
Your practice is simple this week. Just notice the space between things and the air that moves through it. Here are some ideas for practice.
Notice the space between things.
Make a photograph where space is the main subject. See Uta Bath’s work on Ground. If you have a non-smartphone camera, set it to manual focus and dial it in to macro level. Set your aperture as open as possible, the lower number the better. That’s how I did the image above. If you have a smartphone, I suggest using an app like Camera+, set it to the macro setting and don’t press the screen to focus.
Do some star-gazing. There’s nothing like looking at the night sky to be aware of the immensity of space.
Notice the quality of the air - its movement, temperature, effects - and your breath.
Make a photograph where air is the main subject? Note that this is different from space. We should be able to tell what the air is like from the photograph. You can use intentional camera movement or use a long shutter speed. I used the Slow Shutter app on my phone to create the image above.
Close your eyes and feel the air on your face and the rest of your body. Open your mouth and taste the air. Take note of its quality - movement, temperature and effects. What do you smell in the air? How does this noticing change your experience?
Focus on your breath.
Meditate with a focus on the breath.
Breathe deeply in and out several times and notice how that makes you feel.
Be grateful for your breath.
What do you see more clearly when you’re aware of air and space and breath?
Resources
The Meaning of Air - Boyce Upholt via Emergence Magazine
On Breathing with James Nestor and Terry Gross