In the West, few, if any, enlightenment teachers (Advaita Vedanta, Non-Dualism, etc.) provide a practical way to cross the Void–the gulf between Ego Consciousness and Enlightened Awareness.

This is no fault of theirs. The teachers listed above can only teach what they know–what they have experienced. Since most of today’s enlightened teachers “stumbled” upon enlightenment, they have little, if anything, to say about a way across the chasm separating them from their students.

But there is a practical and teachable way to cross the expanse, and–though I mostly found it by accident–the path follows traditional and ancient teachings…

Crossing the Void

The Bridge across the Void, from Ego to Enlightenment, is simply this: Feel and imagine the Divine Within. With repetitive practice, you will quickly begin to think of yourself as a Divine Being. In both Hinduism and Buddhism, this practice entails visualizing yourself as any of a number of deities. In Buddhism, students imagine themselves to be one of the dhyani-buddhas. In Hinduism, these deities are called ishtadevas.

Here in the West though, thinking of yourself as God, Christ, or Allah will practically get you stoned in some parts of the country. This powerful taboo may explain why some teachers, even if they are aware of this stage of consciousness, avoid talking about it.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Take my own awakening for example…

What Happened To Me

About two years ago, quite unexpectedly, I had a powerful recollection of a past life (see The Implications of the Soul). This memory, rather than strengthening my ego (“I’m special–I had a past life!”), served to weaken it. For me, what was important about past live was that they implied future lives. Once I firmly believed that I would not “die” upon my death, death became unimportant. This life became unimportant. My ego story became unimportant. Because of these insights, my ego weakened dramatically.

In other words, I had begun to think of myself as Divine. I had begun to think of myself as a Soul and not as a Human.

(Note: If you don’t believe in reincarnation, please continue reading. There are other methods mentioned below that can help you feel the “Divine Within.”)

Though I truly felt myself to be a Soul (divine), the ego, while much weaker, still held tenaciously onto my consciousness.

It was only after I once again became really serious about my spiritual growth–after a period of neglect and after putting all other “projects” to bed–that the magic of awakening started to happen.

As part of “getting serious,” I started reading books on transpersonal psychology, focusing on how enlightened people experience the world (specifically Jenny Wade’s Changes of Mind ). In essence, I was visualizing how it feels to be enlightened–ie: imagining the Divine Within.

Within days, Nature–quite literally–took Her course in the form of “magical connections” with deer, birds, and my ultimate meditation teacher: the Sitting Frog.

Soon I felt wave after wave of alternating Oneness and Separation. As I sought to stabilize this Awakening, a meditation, almost like a vision, came to me–a meditation that allowed me to reliably “slide back into” the enlightened state. If you look at this meditation, you will see that there are many “Divine” aspects to it (breathing the World into existence, breathing Light and Love into objects, ….).

My ego gradually dissolved over the course of about three weeks, until finally–and painfully–it dropped away altogether during my Dark Night of the Soul.

Conclusion

If you are a seeker of enlightenment–of lasting inner peace–and even if you don’t believe in either past lives or the Divine, you can still cross the Void between the Ego and the Witness by diligently visualizing (and ultimately feeling) how enlightened people experience their surroundings and their lives.

This is the level that Christ operated from–of Light and Love radiating outward from his core. You don’t have to believe in Christ to fantasize how He felt–just visualize it, feel it, and act it. Soon your ego will weaken. (Just don’t fall prey to ego inflation, ie: “I’m God!”).

Getting in touch with the Divine Within is the first step on the Bridge across the Void. Once you take that step, once the ego weakens sufficiently, it is much easier to drop the ego. Once that begins to happen, powerful waves of energy will quickly wash away the last vestiges of your old self. Washing away the ego. Washing away the Soul. Washing away everything you ever knew about yourself. Washing away all sorrow, suffering, and illusion. From that moment forward, your life will never be the same.

• Location: Boondocked at Valley River Mall, Eugene, OR

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Thank-you. Wayne

See Also: Enlightenment, Passion

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