the kingdom of heaven

The Tao gives birth to One.
One gives birth to Two.
Two gives birth to Three.
Three gives birth to all things.

All things have their backs to the female
and stand facing the male.
When male and female combine,
all things achieve harmony.

Ordinary men hate solitude.
But the Master makes use of it,
embracing his aloneness, realizing
he is one with the whole universe.
--  Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 42, Tao Te Ching

Suspended in infinite space, I gazed at the warm glow of Earth.

My body was Dark Infinity and my face was Earth Light.

I condensed to human form.

"They have names for that these days, you know," said Lao Tzu.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Some call it an OBE, an out of the body experience," he said.

"Others call it Cosmic Consciousness," said Jesus.

"What do you call it?" I asked.

"I call it the kingdom of heaven," said Jesus.

"I call it reality," said Lao Tzu.

They looked at each other and smiled.

"Why do not others experience this?" I asked.

"Many do," said Jesus.

"Others fall into the illusion that they are inside their body," said Lao Tzu.

"Ugh!" I said. "They think they are meat walking."

"Or meat dreaming," said Lao Tzu.

"They are drunk," said Jesus. "One day they will sober up."

I began laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Lao Tzu.

"That the drunkest people on earth think they are the most sober and sane," I said.

"They are the most dangerous," said Lao Tzu.

"Yes," said Jesus. "It makes one want to both laugh and cry."

"That reminds me, Jesus," I said. "Do you know the shortest verse in the Bible?"

He grinned and said, "Tell me."

I said, "Jesus wept."