"The Space Between"

Lunel has a new TATOO -- and several people have asked about it.

This Kanji symbol has been a talisman I have carried with me for about 20 years, on a small inscribed agate.  When asked “what does it mean” I fumble for words – there are SO many meanings to me.  Kanji symbols are beautiful calligraphy that has been adopted from Chinese characters and is used in modern Japanese writing. 

For me “The Space Between” represents the true state of the Universe – which is always in an in-between state whether that is matter and energy as they change from one to the other, or light functioning both as wave and particle. In the vast reaches of space, unseen Dark Matter (between all the stars) is now understood to be the "stuff" that actually “holds” the universe together.  And, at the smallest quantum level even the smallest sub-atomic particles are surrounded by mysterious space. 

The symbol touches on that which is "between" is and is not.  Although referred to by many names, The Space Between is a common theme in many ancient mystical teachings from Tao to Zen, and from Christian mysticism to Sufism .  Neither "this" nor "that" but simply I AM.

On a personal level, it means consciously living in the “nowness” of things because we exist neither in the past or the future.  For almost two years now, we have lived in “the space between” Eureka and the Big Island of Hawaii.  Our home is located in a area that has the Hawaiian “place name” of Keahialaka which has a similar meaning for it is referred to as a "space" where the land folded together to create a dark shady spot that supposedly kept King Kamehameha safe.