and turned into an infinite Void. Initially, while I still perceived, it seemed to me as if I held an infinite shawl knit from endless single loops and had pulled the proper string. In an instant the whole shawl lessened into a single thread and even that dissolved. In the same way the universe dissolved into its primal matter – divine Being, in which my human consciousness completely disappeared. Even this experience that lasted several days did not remain permanent, although it clearly stayed in the depth of my consciousness. Only several years later and after several submersions (samadhi), the trace of duality dissolved and never reappeared again. From this experience that happened in the early morning at summer equinox many years ago, nothing was ever lost nor was added; only some dependencies were gradually dissolved. This experience of Unity is alluded to in my poem, “Awakening“, and several other poems. Awakening Awakening in the morning To greet You As before, But although You are everywhere Nowhere can You be found. Your altar grew empty, The rose fragrance is gone, Everything else is empty. And still You grow through all like a Bodhi tree. You are not here as before, in my Heart – Since lo! There’s no heart any more Neither am I as before. Then I wished to die in Your embrace. There is no You and there is no me, And yet I have so much of You, That my last wish to feel Your embrace, Has withered away. In absolute certainty, That it’s always been this way, In the Beginning and for ever and ever. June 21, 1958 Note The article is an extract from the bookBeyond Time and Space, published by Avatar in Czech under the titleZa čas a prostor. Acknowledgement Published with the permission of Mr. Miloš Tomáš, the copyright owner. About the author RNDr. Míla Tomášová (1920–2001) was a Czech mystic and spiritual writer. In the book of essays and spiritual stories Beyond Time and Space the author portrays her spiritual experiences, experienced since her childhood, which gradually resulted into a permanent experience of Unity – God in everything. She worked professionally in the field of microbiology. After the fall of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia in 1989 she started to act publicly together with her husband JUDr. Eduard Tomáš. At the end of her life she wrote several spiritual books, either individually or together with her husband. Spirituality Studies 2 (1) Spring 2016 79
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