In Positively Newsworthy: The Little Things, our editors offer some reflections and positive thoughts on subjects that have recently moved them. Enjoy the Summer 2023 edition below!
1 The Blank State
The key to blissful manifestation
by Persephone Kianka
Recently, a spiritual concept I had never heard of, termed ‘the Blank State’ by manifestation coach Neyah, caught my attention and caused me to reflect on our mysterious relationship to this reality.
In my understanding, the Blank State is a state of pure consciousness where the ego and all its identifications cease to exist. According to Neyah, instant manifestation occurs when we are in this state; we can effortlessly be who we want and experience what we want because there are no limiting beliefs stopping us.
So, is the Blank State the same as practising mindfulness or being in a meditative state? I think so. However, something about the term itself is uniquely powerful, evoking our ability to be born anew in any moment, to create from scratch in the Eternal Present.
This Blank State is undoubtedly accessible through meditation — this is how Neyah advises us to enter it — however, I believe we also enter it naturally throughout our lives.
What if the experiences we love most as humans are so enjoyable because we experience them from the Blank State, as we truly are, without our past identifications weighing us down?
When we’re in love, for example, our mind effortlessly empties when we spend time with that one person. We want to be with them, create with them; we feel intensely alive like nothing else matters but the present moment.
The same goes for when we travel somewhere new and beautiful. Even looking out the window or walking to the shop can cause us to feel so much aliveness and wonder.
The question then is how can we feel the bliss of the Blank State in any moment, no matter where we are and what we’re facing? We have been conditioned to live in the mind, but with practice, we can continuously return to this state and reclaim it as our natural way of being.
2 Capturing The Little Moments
Our clumsy relationship to ephemerality
by Persephone Kianka
In April, I travelled to Vietnam for the first time to stay with my boyfriend and his family. So far, my days have been full of precious moments: riding a boat on a river full of lanterns in Hoi An, exploring the pagodas hidden in the spectacular Marble Mountains — vibrant scenes that can easily be shared with friends and family.
There have also been many more subtle but equally precious moments: walking the city streets early in the morning as the local students and workers begin their day on our way to eat ph?, enjoying coffee with my boyfriend’s parents as we try our best to overcome the language barrier — the smells, sounds, sights and feelings that are impossible to be captured as they are experienced.
How should we relate to these small precious moments that are gone as soon as we recognise their beauty? Should we try to communicate them to others? Through words, art, or photography? Should we keep them to ourselves? In memories, diary entries, or objects?
Should we let them go?
Of course, the present is all we truly have, and any record we keep of the past is really a new creation, as seen through the eyes of our current selves or others.
Throughout secondary school, I religiously wrote in my diary, wanting to capture every little moment I enjoyed with my friends and crushes. I wrote so many pages, painstakingly recording the mundane details that were precious to me at the time, that I don’t know if I’ll ever read them all. I enjoyed writing them, though, and when I got to college, I decided that I wanted to spend more time enjoying life without worrying about recording it all.
Since we don’t know what our future self wants, I believe we should aim to please our present selves, trusting that whether we mentally remember all the little moments, they are within us, shaping and guiding us as we move towards our next chapter.
