Hands in prayer, the mala weave
in front of the index finger.
I open my hands, weave the
finger, erect the mount Meru,
form the four continents.

This has been my favorite mudra
ever since I've learned it twenty
some years ago. I just started
using it again. 

It's a powerful mudra, it
represent the mandala of the
universe. A mandala created with
my fingers and hands. It comes
back at an interesting time,
while developing the thousand
suns meditation.

Expanding the mind as far as the
universe goes, and contracting it
as small as the smallest
particle. Creating a relation
between both extremes. Connecting
all the suns of the universe to
all the particle in the human
body. What better than a mudra
that represent the offering of
the universe.

I find it important to juxtapose
the understanding of the world
with our spiritual practices.
It might feel too modern to
include our present view of the
universe in meditation, but I
think this has been the case
forever. We have been trying to
understand the world we live in
and at the same time created a
symbolic, mystical understanding
that we weaved into spiritual
practices. The elements, the
stars and the planets, the sounds
and vibration, lights,
emotions...

I like how Taoist meditation can
be quite anatomical. It used to
gross me out when thinking about
my liver while meditation! Having
a clear view of reality and using
that in meditation aligns the
vibration of the mind to what is.

We don't know everything, but we
have a better understanding of
the universe. We know stars are
suns spread out in a vast ocean
of emptiness. Similarly, we have
a clearer idea of cells, proteins,
particles and sub-atomic
particles.

For instance we understand the
process of breathing better,
where a few hundred years ago, it
seems like breathing was giving
us life and purifying us, but we
didn't know how. We didn't need
to know how, but the fact that we
know now add to the visualization
of the air coming into the body,
the clearing of the blood, the
exhaling of the CO2. The
massaging of the vagus nerve
through deep breathing and how it
affect our whole nervous system.

Knowledge and science can take us
away from our exploration of the
self, but I think it can be used
to bring clarity and creativity
to our meditations. There are so
many weird thing about the
universe, which I find inspiring.
Science breaks in so many ways
too, which prove that we don't
really know what the fuck is
going on. Why not bring it all
together at the table?