Meditating in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Acrylic on Canvas, 36″ x 48″

Down at the bottom, on the rock, there is chaos in every direction, the whole churning noise of the world moving fast and loud above. And there, in the middle of it, someone sits down to meditate anyway, while friends nearby bring water, keep watch, simply stay close. This is Stage One, the work of Rebellious Qi, the energy in us that wants to rise, resist, spin out, and override everything else if we let it.

The world will not pause its chaos so you can find stillness. You have to find it inside the chaos, sitting right there in the middle of everything happening at once, the way the Alchemists once entered the caves not to escape the world but to finally meet themselves within it. The meditator here isn’t causing the disorder, and isn’t fully shielded from it either. They are simply doing the harder thing, staying seated, staying soft, while the noise moves through and around them instead of through their nervous system. Jaye painted what it looks like to begin the work exactly where you are, chaos and all, with people who have your back and care enough to bring you water and snacks while you do it.

The Contemplation: Sit with the piece and notice the chaos closest to you right now, the noise you can’t pause or escape. Ask what it might feel like to meditate inside it instead of waiting for it to quiet down first.