Falling into G-d's Hands

There is a prayer called takhanun which is a supplication for forgiveness. In Takhanun there is a quote from King David in the Bible. In the story from which the quote is taken, King David had done something wrong and was realizing that he would have to face the consequences of his actions. In his plea for mercy, he prays that he should “fall into God’s hands for His mercy is abundant, but let me not fall into the hands of humans.”

On the surface, it seems he is saying that he should receive his punishment as an “act of God”- like sickness or something- since God is likely to be merciful, rather than receive his punishment from people, who are likely to be harsher. But hidden within this duality is the hint of an underlying non-duality: that rather his prayer is to be aware of whatever happens to him as an expression of God, regardless of what form it comes in. In this sense, the verse is referring to an absolute relationship with Reality, where your consiousness is an open field within which this moment unfolds. Good, bad, indifferent- they are all passing experiences in the unbroken oneness of being that you are, that everything is.

How do you open to this relationship? Simply by remembering to relax into Reality as it is, rather than resist it. But this doesn’t mean powerlessness; it doesn’t mean resignation. To go into this further, I’ve prepared a little video on the subject. My eight-year-old son Eidan taught me some tricks on the computer, so this video has a few more bells and whistles. Enjoy!