Today's meditation drew me in from the very beginning with a strange yet new energy. I began in a familiar sitting position, regulating my breathing, but soon, at the call of an unknown voice, I stood. My hands clasped together felt like hands held by my inner essence and subject, and my gaze extending out the window wasn't simply gazing at the scenery outside, but rather a journey along a deep inner forest path. The wind and light streaming through the window seemed both the reality surrounding me and an intangible symbol. At that moment, I asked my essence, "What do you want?" But no clear answer came. Instead, in the knots of my heart that were now faintly visible, I saw the assumptions that had long bound me. What I had taken for granted, what I believed defined me, peeled away like a layer of skin, exposing the ground beneath. It felt both subtle and distinct, like a single leaf falling away, or like an old shadow fading under the moonlight.