The Void
By A.H. Almaas
"Since our interest here is the nature of the mind, we will
concern ourselves more with a person's inner perception of himself
than with external changes. A person whose "weak" self-image
is dissolving sees and
feels that he is "stronger," more capable, freer. His
direct sense of himself, his inner experience, is of greater relaxation
and decreased tension, both mental and physical. As a result, especially
when this change of self-image is accreted, he feels his body and
mind are more comfortable, bigger, roomier, more expanded. The dissolution
of a self-boundary then usually involves, sooner or later, a sense
of expansion, of experiencing oneself as more spacious." (pg.
18)
"Our evidence suggests that the more the rigid boundaries of
he self are made porous and dissolved, the clearer and sharper becomes
the experience of the mind as space. The experience of one's self
and one's mind as open, pure, spacious, and empty clear space, becomes
increasingly available. The experience is pleasant and freeing,
bringing lightheartedness and a clear joy. In the experience of
spaciousness and openness, one experiences the absence of emotional
heaviness and the release of the sense of burden. There is mental
clarity and lucidity of perception. All the senses become sharper,
as if cleansed and rejuvenated. The body feels light, relaxed, agile,
and buoyant.” (pg. 23)
"…the process of ego development is a process of bounding
space, of building frozen boundaries in the openness of the mind.
It is the carving of structure out of space, and the resulting psychic
structure then is simply a structuralized space. This explains
very clearly why when self-boundaries
are dissolved, space appears. What happens is the structuralization
is dissolved, the boundaries are "thawed." When the structure
is thawed, the nature of the mind with no structure is revealed,
and this is space" (pg. 36)
"We have seen that the formation of self-representations
is a process of freezing boundaries in the emptiness of the mind.
In contrast, the pearl beyond price, the personal aspect of essence,
is a sense of personal identity that does not depend on self-representation,
and hence, does not depend on the existence or the defending of
boundaries in open space. In fact, its development comes about through
the undoing of these identifications. The culmination of the elimination
of identifications is the birth of the pearl beyond price, or the
discovery of one's own essential person-hood, one's personal nature
that does not depend on the past. This is an aspect of Being that
is not understood or appreciated until it is experienced. When it
manifests, one cannot but be filled with wonder at the majesty,
beauty, and richness of essence." (pg. 81)
"When the genital
hole is allowed and understood, space arises. Space eliminates
our defenses, our identification with personality. Then essence
unfolds and flowers in its various beautiful manifestations. Filling
and bathing our sexual area, this essence allows us to feel routed
and grounded in this beauty, this certainty, and this preciousness.
Our sexuality is our relatedness,
our grounding in Being. Essence is no more an idea, a concept, a
feeling. It becomes our grounding in pleasure. We experience our
nature as pure, unadulterated pleasure and preciousness." (pg.
107)
"However, as one goes deeper into freeing the mind form self-boundaries,
and as essence is awakened and developed, it becomes important and
even necessary to distinguish between the various kinds of space.
Here, the various grades or levels of space will be seen to be connected
to different depths and subtleties of the sense of self or separate
identity. As the boundaries of the self become subtler and more
fundamental, space becomes deeper and more powerful in its annihilating
influence. This process continues until one is able to experience
reality with no boundaries at all, with no sense of separate identity
whatsoever, with no sense of individual experience. Although this
might sound fantastic, undesirable, or even frightening, it remains
none the less the objective spiritual (essential) development. This
development is reached by some individuals, and it is experienced
as the freest and most positive condition possible. It is equated
with liberation and enlightenment." (pg. 154)
