I love this. It reminds me of the Chinese style of painting where the negative space hints at what is supposed to be there. This lets me fill the spaces with whatever I want, and makes for a very compelling interaction with this artwork. Thanks for the inspiration, please post more!

I really love this. Looks so textured I thought it was paint at first!

I think what you experienced is a sense of awe and I don’t think it’s strange at all. I think it’s wonderful and restorative. For example, authors like Brooke McAlary talk about how it can rejuvenate us and help ease climate anxiety.

When it comes to death, let’s just say circumstances made me aware of my impending non-existence since I was a kid. It’s shocking at first, the idea that someday you would stop existing. Over time I came to see death as part of life. Living beings make up less than 0.1^1000% of matter in the universe (stat is just to make a point), and of that small percent, we somehow have the chance to be self-aware and sentient. Maybe this can’t last forever, but I’m just grateful to be on the ride.

Because of my love of life, I think I wouldn’t look at my death. I know it’s coming, but I’d rather spend my time living life with my loved ones and favourite passions. My life philosophy is to savour my time, and the good and bad experiences that come with it, so I’d do the same if I knew my death was coming soon. I probably would think about my death only to enhance my gratitude for the experiences I’ve had.

What about you?

Thank you for sharing this. I’m so glad to hear that others care about these ideas too.

I think meditating every night for the last 3 months has allowed me to get to what you might term a secular form of “The Sublime”. What I have observed is a gradual development of the ability to detach from human culture as you call it, in short bursts, throughout the day. The more I meditate, the more aware I am of the space between my environment and my reactions. In short, I can just exist. I believe this is one way to experience “reality” without all the cultural influences clouding it. Not sure if I’d call it an objective reality, but at least it’s one different from the usual culturally motivated one. Maybe it’s a different facet of reality.

Anyway, I’m happy to report that while in this state during the day, I often experience profound gratitude for being able to breathe, eat, sleep and experience the world. Gratitude is definitely heightened during and after my daily meditation practices, as well as feelings of forgiveness, benevolence and wishing other living beings well. There are also feelings that are quote unquote “unpleasant”, like despair, rage, terror and the like. I see all of these as part of the experience of being alive, something that non-living things cannot sense, so I count them as blessings and am interested in immersing in them fully. Overall, seems like the trend is towards being calmer, more deliberate with my choices, more comfortable with myself and accepting situations and others as they are.

Hopefully, the more I meditate, the more space I have to discern “reality” from cultural pressures. Well, at least insofar my senses and cultural background allows me to. What about you? Anything you do to trigger this state?