Navigating the Void

“The eternal void is filled with infinite possibilities.” ~ Laozi.

In our last blog, we discussed how a drop of rainwater returning home to the ocean is similar to the soul’s journey after death. When a raindrop lands on the surface of the ocean, it loses its individuality and becomes one with the entire ocean. In the same way, it is said that when we pass away from this world, we enter into the void where our individual souls merge with the One. But, what exactly is the void? And how can you best navigate it so that you can easily become one with the whole?  

An experience of the void is an experience of absolutely nothing at all. It is complete emptiness- like the state of the universe before the Big Bang exploded onto the scene. Imagine nothing whatsoever expanding out from a central point towards infinity in all directions. Also imagine there is no time. Time is a dimension of the physical universe and since, by definition, there is nothing physical in the void, time does not exist there. 

What is it like to enter the void? It can be very disorienting at first. Your conscious awareness has been operating inside your physical body for your entire life, and suddenly being unbound from the physical plane can be terrifying. It’s like jumping out of a plane without a parachute, only there is no ground below you to fall towards. Also, you are not just falling downwards, but in all directions at once. You can hold on tight for as long as you want, but there is really nothing to hold on to. Besides, holding on inside the void is like desperately clinging to a paddle after your boat has already drifted over the waterfall. Eventually you stop resisting and, in the ultimate act of faith, you let go.

This is when a powerful epiphany takes place. Because, even in the absolute emptiness of the void, your consciousness remains at the center of your experience. You remain the silent witness, the presence inside the abyss, the awareness that's taking this experience in. What's more, since there is nothing else for your mind to focus its attention on, it becomes the subject of its own inquiry. This leads to perhaps the highest realization of all,

“Oh my God… I am it!” 

This is the point when the raindrop becomes the ocean, so to speak. The duality between you, the experiencer, and that which you are experiencing disappears. The next thing you know, you are not just in the eternal void, you are the eternal void. It's like getting turned inside out- all self-created boundaries dissolve, all paradoxes resolve, and you merge into unity with all that is. Of course, since an experience of the void is really an experience of yourself, everyone's journey to oneness is going to be different. However, in the end, we will all need to release the basic struggle inside our own being before we can experience infinite bliss for the rest of eternity.