Got it? Good.

Now imagine your goose sitting in a bottle that’s got a big wide bowl (big enough for your goose to be comfortable). But notice also that the bottle has a long skinny neck with a narrow opening—about the size around of a silver dollar. So your goose is trapped but okay. Comfortable, with plenty of air.

Got all that?

Okay. Now consider this:  How can you get your goose out of that bottle without hurting the goose or breaking the bottle? While you’re thinking about it I’ll tell you a story.

By the Way, This Is A “Naked Aha!” Kind of Story

Which way is up?

I say it’s north. Everybody knows the North Pole is up.

Or so it seemed to me, until I found out about the secret button. The discovery occurred on a little Canadian island on Lake Huron. Far up.

While deep cleaning the log cabin where my husband and I regularly used to spend August, we found a compass. It was among some stuff that maybe hadn’t been touched since 1947.

With all due respect to the Chinese, who have valued them since 2634 B.C., I’ve always thought compasses stupid. The silly things always point to N no matter which direction you aim them. This one seemed no better.

“You push the button,” Fred said. “That releases the magnet.”

“I know, I know.” I brushed him off as though he were a pesky gnat.

But the truth was I didn’t know. And inside me a light flashed far more brilliant than the North Star. “My, God,” I thought. “There’s a button.”

I pushed the button. The pointer sprang to life and turned direction. And I turned with it and knew true north for the first time.

Taking the Leap into Present Time

A Naked Aha! is a natural everyday mind popper that’s virginal–as in no mind-altering chemicals. It’s a light bulb flashing on. It’s an open space, a sudden shift in perception, and a leap into present time all rolled into one. In the presence of a Naked Aha! you don’t totally know how you know, but you do know you know something new.

For instance, notice your experience as you read the following instruction for getting that goose out of the bottle:

Say “poof!”

And guess what?

No goose. No bottle.

You made it up.

Let me know if your mind popped open just now. Let me know if you experienced the kind of coming into Presence that we’re talking about here.