The most incredible thing to perceive, grasp and finally realise in the process of self-discovery is that the highest truth is nothing. Of course, to the mind this is ridiculous and likely to be dismissed as nonsense or the utterance of a crank. And yet many people, at some point in their lives, enter this remarkable state of being, perhaps only fleetingly; and it will never be forgotten due to the reality of the moment illuminating the nucleus of the mind. Naturally it’s a tremendously uplifting, creative and joyous state.
What happens in such a state is that the mind is stilled, and becomes obedient and receptive to the absence of any need to assert itself through any mental activity. Nothing, which is space devoid of form, is the guardian of the higher states of knowledge. The impediment or barrier to enter and realise these higher states is the corruption of the world that has been gathered in time since birth. This is my ‘self’, the something that has to be reduced to nothing; for the “corruptible cannot enter the incorruptible.” This is an enormous undertaking since, in most adult bodies, the self is similar to a concrete block full of opinions and attitudes – and driven by the force of innumerable desires. The spiritual process is negation: the conscious surrender to the impersonal mystery of life and the gradual detachment from the need for any object or image to provide a reflection of God or reality.
I’ve loved the purity of space ever since I can recall. As a boy I was often occupied looking into nothing and used to marvel at the lights and shimmering patterns, either in the dark or with my hands clasped over my eyes. The perception in the young is often remarkably vivid and true, but without necessarily grasping its significance. I now know that what I perceived was an aspect of eternity, which is quite natural in some children still energetically connected to the source of their origins. It’s only with the experience and burden of living that the boy or girl’s innocent vision of the inner realm is covered over – and eventually forgotten as they grow up and take over from the last generation to become absorbed in the busy-ness of the world.
So nothing but the truth can break the spell that captivates the dreamer of this extraordinary existence. And the truth is nothing, or diminishing degrees of nothing. Science pursues the elusive nothing point; but it will never reach it in a way that can be demonstrated externally. All motion implies a position in space and time. This includes the movement of scientist’s mind when he calculates his theories. However hard he tries to reduce his formulations of existence and matter to nothing, there will always be an atom-sized gap due to the movement of his intelligence. The stillness of the mind determines the significance of space and consequently the clarity through which knowledge or ideas are perceived. Real knowledge is purified space and retains an imprint of the original idea. When people are dedicated to a particular interest or subject that inspires their creativity, and they give their time and energy in pursuit of their aspirations, the attention is focused on that one idea. This focus, which is really an aspect of love, connects the intellect of the individual to the original idea in the divine mind. With the idea activated there is the possibility of realising a greater truth or creativity through the release of original knowledge.
The spiritual challenge is to realise the idea that is the reality behind the body. An idea is a complete identity and retains its character as an unknowable aspect of God in the higher realms of mind. Just as ideas influence our world in the changing trends and social behaviour of each successive generation, so does the individual man or woman respond to the changing tones and frequencies that emanate from the source of the inner realm.
The distance in time that separates an individual from realising the idea of his life determines, in evolutionary terms, the degree of attachment to the ignorance of the world. Just how far this is, nobody knows. The only pointer is the quality of the external living life and the absence of emotional negativity. The extraordinary power of nothing is that it manifests in time to provide the harmonious circumstances that are needed to enjoy life. The reduction of the meddling mind’s obsession with its likes and dislikes – and choices that were always problematical in the end – negates the downside of existence. Matter as circumstance and events, to harmonise and work for good, requires space to gravitate to where it’s needed. “As within, so without”, as the old saying goes. To the degree that my personal space is cleared, nothing but the truth is able to guide my life and provide my person with bounty and the abundance of life.
Lance Kelly 2012