There is power in Ma.
When I lived in Tokyo, I was always mezmorised when walking down a busy street that was bustling with people moving to-and-fro, like a turbulent yet calm ocean.
No-one ever bumped into me, or looked me in the eyes, or bothered me in any way, even though I was surrounded by so many moving, busy bodies.
I would experience a calmness, a sense of being alone and undisturbed.
The sense was an intentional spacing between bodies and movements, a ‘communitas’ in shared agreement.
This is Ma.
Ma exists both temporally and spatially.
Empty space
Negative space
Silent space
Pregnant pause
Slow time
Moments in-between
Ma permeates throughout Japanese culture and society and is evident everywhere.
All over the world too.
Right now.
In you.
Try this observation now to experience Ma.
Find a moment to relax.
Be in a comfortable position and bring your awareness to your breath.
Stay with your normal, relaxed breath. Don’t change it, just notice.
Breathing in, breathing out. Connect with that rhythm for a few breaths.
Now, notice the short, still moments in-between the in-breath and the outbreath.
And again, in-between the out-breath and the in-breath.
Spend 30 seconds noticing these moments of pause. Of silence. Of stillness. Of spaciousness.
What do you notice?