Bardo.

བར་དོ་
Tibetan: bardo
English: intermediate state, in-between, gap

The bardo is a commonly used term to refer to the gap between lives, that in-between state where one life has ended and the other has yet to begin. 

The bardo is often a terrifying state. 

We don't feel comfortable there.  We are propelled by all of our past actions and intentions, but we have lost our previous form.  We have yet to take a new form, so we feel as though we have lost our ground. 

Our mind grasps after illusory appearances, hoping to find something that sticks, something that we can become.  We yearn for form. 

We yearn for what is next.

Fundamentally, this is the mind grasping at experience.  Fixating on identity, we suffer in the bardo. 

This experience is similar to one's practice in meditation.  In meditation we experience all of our past thoughts, actions and feelings.  We experience fixation on our body, its sensations and pain.  The practice is to learn to let go.  To let them be as they are. 

As thoughts and emotions arise, we recognize them as the play of the mind and learn to relax.  As appearances entice us, we learn to let them fall away.  As hope and doubt stir, we rest in ease and contentment. 

This helps us maintain freedom in the bardo.  We can abide there, timelessly, content and at peace. 

And at some point we will see a form unfold in which we can make an impact, be generous, benefit others and fulfill our intention. 

At that moment we enter the bardo of becoming and we take on a new life. 

At that moment we arise from our meditation.