"At the center of our being is a point of nothingness, which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point, a spark, which belongs entirely to God.
It's like a pure diamond, blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody!
I have no program to seize this. It is only given. But the Gate of Heaven is everywhere!"
Now give yourself the treat of testing Merton's words. Go here. Watch. Listen. You may find yourself drawn to that very point of nothingness. I did.
Another exquisite example.
Addendum (12/26/09) - A more complete quote of Merton's on Nothingness:
"At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal, from which God disposes of our lives, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our mind or the brutalities of our will. This little point of nothingness and of absolute poverty is the pure glory of God in us. It is, so to speak, His name written in us. As our poverty, as our indigence, as our dependence, as our son-ship, it is like a pure diamond blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody. And if we could see it we would see these billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely. I have no program for this seeing; is it only given. But the Gate of Heaven is everywhere."
[Quoted by Kallistos Ware from Merton's Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander]
And I just came across this comment (of my own) to Lux Umbra Dei:
What amazes me (literally blows me away!) is their similarity to the first post of this blog.I've also read widely in many traditions. They're all pointing at the same vanishing point. This is all that really matters to me. But the "vanishing point" is also within all of us... and like the heart of reality.
