The Power of Emptiness – Ilie Cioara

The “void” or “psychological emptiness” is a strange phenomenon,
It appears spontaneously, in the pause between two thoughts;
As the old thought ends its course and disappears,
Its end is the gate, natural silence ensues.

Insist in being with it, as much as you can,
The mind is completely silent, we are attentive – a clear consciousness,
All meanings, boundaries disappear – us and the Infinite are “One”;
Practically, we have a new mind – always fresh.

Being in the pause – I become infinite!
It separates two worlds. I leave the limited world
And enter Boundlessness, through total melting;
The whole being is calm – a constant sparkle.

There is no time, no space – just everlasting Eternity;
I move in direct contact with life, in a permanent present.
I am Pure Energy, without motivations,
The simplicity of existence integrates us completely.

We really encounter Life only through this “now”,
Free from the old, we are able to embrace the new.
All this beauty vanishes, when another thought appears,
It comes from the knowing mind – an old recording.

Let it play its game, do not oppose any resistance,
Encounter it as it is, without any purpose;
It will certainly disappear, and “emptiness” ensues again,
Another opportunity to encounter it practically.

We find the real meaning of Life through this “void”,
It is a boundary line between the two worlds:
On the one side the limited, where the “ego” is the master;
On the other, the Infinite, where Love is the master.

Emptiness also separates Light from the darkness,
The permanent chaos through struggle, contradictions and conflicts,
From the harmonious being, equilibrium and joy;
The whole egocentrism perishes, by encountering the void.

Peace, divine order becomes our nature;
It changes our way of being, without effort or will,
Only through this psychological void, we become honest and humane,
The Purity of the Energy – makes titans out of pygmies.

Let this “psychological emptiness” be your guide
In everything you encounter on your spiritual path.
If it is not the starting point, we easily get deceived,
Only through emptiness – we become Love!

The “void” or “psychological emptiness” is a strange phenomenon, which appears spontaneously in the pause between two thoughts. First, the old thought ends its course and disappears. At its end lies the gate, where natural silence ensues.

Persistently try to identify with this “emptiness” and dwell in it for as long as possible, by becoming one with it. In this circumstance, the mind is completely silent. In a state of Attention, we are pure Consciousness. When we have no motivations or meanings, there are no limits. The Infinite and us are melting into “One”. In this state we have a new, fresh mind, which has no connection to the old mind.

In this state of “emptiness” or “psychological void” we notice that the whole being is perfectly calm and united with the Endless – manifesting itself as a spontaneous flash. Living in a real way outside time and space, we are constant Eternity, moving in direct contact with the movement of Life, in a perpetual present. By simply “being”, we attain “wholeness”; we have a pure Energy, without motivations.

The real encounter with Life can only happen in this perpetual “now”. When the old man disappears, we acquire the capacity to embrace the new, brought forth by the movement of Aliveness.

Life’s beauty disappears instantaneously the moment another thought, as a reaction of the mind, invades this present and muddles its meaning. In this case, allow the intruder to follow its course. Do not oppose any resistance. We are just a luminous dot – a simple witness on the screen of consciousness – in stillness, we just watch what is happening, without any purpose, goal or ideal.  When we encounter the intruder-thought in this manner, it disappears spontaneously, leaving the path open for the next moment.

The real meaning of Life is revealed to us only in the context of this “emptiness”, as a boundary line between the two dimensions. On the one side lies the limited world, where the personal “ego” is the master, on the other lies the Infinite, where Love and Beauty create a climate of boundless Happiness.

Similarly, this “emptiness” separates Light from the darkness. The chaos we frequently encounter within the limited mind, caused by disputes, contradictions and conflicting states, is replaced by a perfectly harmonious being, manifesting itself as Joy and unlimited Happiness. Only in this circumstance, egocentrism disappears by simply becoming conscious of it.

This “psychological nothingness” makes us honest and humane. It radically changes our whole being, without efforts, desires or imaginary states.  It represents the abyss, the tomb, where all the fragmented energies of the egoistic, obsessive and possessive structure disappear irreversibly.

Therefore, let us use it as starting point in each of our spiritual investigations. When “emptiness” is missing, any attempt of psychological progress can only result in deceitful imaginary states.

Let us remember that this attentive and lucid passiveness of the mind gives us the opportunity to encounter true Love and to identify with Divinity.

Each meeting with this “psychological Nothingness” is a true hammer blow to the structure of the “ego”, whose author and prisoner we are. Depending on the frequency of these blows, we will, one day, experience the phenomenon of Liberation.

This fortunate event appears as a complete surprise. It cannot be desired, imagined, nor expected as a result or merit of a psychosomatic activity pursuing a goal or an ideal.

-Ilie Cioara

From The Silence of the Mind.

This book is available from Amazon.

There are more postings from Ilie Cioara here.

You can read an interview about  the Romanian Sage, Ilie Cioara here.