Dust, Light and the Space Between
- Lauri Stern
- Sep 14
- 3 min read
(I am creating shorter blog posts here with an invitation to head to my new Substack to read more expanded versions there)
Two beings rise from the same dust, one reaching, one ascending.The darker figure appears grounded, dense, crumbling as he stretches outward.The lighter form seems untethered, dissolving into radiance, slipping beyond the reach of his outstretched hand.
What do you see?
Is the darker form releasing what was never his to hold, or grasping desperately for what he fears to lose?Is this the story of letting go, or of clinging so tightly that the very act of holding brings disintegration?
Perhaps this is death — the body bowing to spirit, the earth watching skyward.Perhaps it is awakening — the soul remembering its wings.Perhaps it is both.
The beauty of imagery like this is that it resists a single answer. It asks us to bring meaning to it. And often, the meaning we see reflects the moment we are living.
The Familiar Darkness
The darker figure may symbolize the part of us that knows only the familiar — our patterns, our comforts, our shadows. The things that keep us rooted but also keep us small. Darkness, after all, can feel safe. We know its edges. We know its weight. Yet sometimes the very heaviness that grounds us is also what holds us back from soaring.
The Call of Lightness
The lighter figure may symbolize transcendence — whether that’s the release of death, the lift of spiritual awakening, or simply the moment we choose not to be bound by fear anymore. She rises, dissolves, and expands. She becomes more than form. She becomes freedom.
And between them? A question. A reaching. A longing.
Feeling the Image Through the Chakras
Rather than only analyzing this image with the mind, let the body guide your interpretation. Each energy center — each chakra — has something to say when you gaze at it:
❤️ Root (Muladhara) — Do you feel fear of loss or the comfort of being anchored? Where does your sense of safety come from?
🧡 Sacral (Svadhisthana) — Does the image stir longing, creativity, or the sweet ache of surrender?
💛 Solar Plexus (Manipura) — Does your power feel stronger when you try to control, or when you let go?
💚 Heart (Anahata) — Do you feel grief, love, or release rising in your chest? Can you hold both pain and compassion here?
💙 Throat (Vishuddha) — What cries to be spoken? And what is best left unspoken, carried only in silence?
💜 Third Eye (Ajna) — Is this vision about endings, beginnings, or the illusion of separation between the two?
🤍 Crown (Sahasrara) — What mystery stirs as you imagine what it means to ascend, dissolve, or expand into something greater?
The Invitation
This image does not tell us what to believe. It does not offer a neat conclusion. Instead, it awakens curiosity, stirring the places within us where we cling and the places where we are ready to fly.
So I leave you with the questions that linger long after the image fades:
What part of you is reaching, grasping, refusing to let go?
What part of you is rising, dissolving, longing to be free?
And most importantly: what do you feel in your body as you gaze upon this moment suspended in dust and light?
Because perhaps the true meaning is not in the image at all. Perhaps it is in the way it moves something within you.
To read an expanded version of this post, please head to my new Substack! I would be grateful for your subscriptoin there as well!
Thank you for reading and namaste!
xo Lauri
©Lauri Stern - Custom Designed Wellness
Permissions: No part of my publications may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without prior consent from Custom Designed Wellness or Lauri Stern.
You must not:
Publish material from this website without prior written consent.
Sell or rent materials from this website.
Reproduce, duplicate, download, create derivatives, copy, or otherwise exploit material on this website for any purpose.
Redistribute any content from this website, including onto another website.
Requests for permission should be directed to lauri@customdesignedwellness.com
Comments