The State of Being

Now we shall speak about the foundation of all - being. All creation is contained within the dimensionless sphere of primordial absence, the original void that constitutes the ground of being. Being is indeed the secret of existence and the unseen source of creation.

Although not an active principle, in the absence of being, not even the slightest movement in existence can take place. Without being, nothing can be and nothing can become. This infinite space of immobile reality upon which all universes dwell cannot be fathomed by the mind or the senses, yet it is the very womb of creation, the bottomless depth of the universal I am.

To Be

What does it truly mean to be? Although 'being' is one of the most commonly used and seemingly uncomplicated terms in the language of spirituality, very few truly understand its profound significance. It is far more than non-involvement or passive abidance in the moment. It is the timeless beyond itself, the inmost sphere of pure existence that contains the totality of creation.

Being is found beneath the flow of time; it is the very source of this moment. It exists beyond the three-dimensional world of perception, beyond mind and consciousness. It is the black hole of existence through which creation manifests, the primordial emptiness from which consciousness arises in the instantaneousness of each now. It is only through the grace of being that we can transcend our separate self and realize oneness.

To experience being, one has to surrender vertically into the inner plane of rest and absorption. Unlike ordinary relaxation, which is experienced by the mind and body, being is felt through another apparatus, the inner body of the soul. If the energy body of being is not awakened, one is at most capable of experiencing a weak and insignificant connection to the now, and only in rare moments of complete restfulness and ease. But when one is open to the gravity of the now, being links the soul with the unmanifested reality of the source.

Through awareness we become present beyond the mind, but we cannot merge. It is being that enables us to achieve true absorption in reality. To be is to dwell within the now - and the now is the portal leading to the dimension of pure being, the place within time through which we are transported into the timeless.

Where am I?

The question, 'where am I?', though generally overlooked, is no less important than the primal question, 'who am I?' To get clarity on where we actually are, we need to enter the dimension of our abidance in the non-perceptual ground of all-that-is. The question 'who am I?' points to the soul; the question 'where am I?', to being, the primordial source from which the soul manifests. The vastness of the unfathomable depths within which we are who we are can only be discovered through existential surrender into the void of the beyond.

The Secret Dimension of the Now

Being is the very essence of the vertical dimension of the now. But when and where is the now? The abode of the now bears no relation to phenomenal existence; it lies beyond spatial and temporal points of reference. Though here is now, the now is not here; it cannot be found in space, time or consciousness. It can only be discovered by diving into the inner realm, the source of creation. To enter the now is not a matter of mental contemplation or enquiry, but a function of meditation and surrender.

What we commonly call the present moment is not of the now, but of the past - it is the now ever-receding from the observer. Ordinary consciousness can only relate to the now through the observer's recognition of the immediate past; the checking intelligence requires temporal distance from any experience in order to register it. We call this passing now the present moment, yet it is already behind us. An unawakened human cannot actually experience the immediate. His highest expression of mindfulness is awareness of the immediate past. He does not know the now.

To enter the dimension of the now, and to experience the now in the now, we need to move beyond the inherent duality of experiencer and experience. Our consciousness has to enter the vertical dimension of the source to become one with the now as it manifests from beyond the now, as the now, in each now of creation. The experiencer of time must merge with the root of time in order to establish himself in the state prior to time so that he can witness the now before it becomes the present moment.

Being is the connective space between consciousness and the now through which consciousness surrenders to, and progressively fuses with the source. In the natural state of being, consciousness is inseparable from both the now and its source. The ultimate observer of the now knows the now through his own absence within the presence of the unmanifested.

That which enters the domain of the now is our very soul, in the heart of which lies the inborn knowledge of the timeless. To know the now is to dwell within the now, to purely experience the taste of being that arises from our unity with the universal source. To embody the now, our existence has to be absorbed into the vertical plane of reality - the supreme depth of being.

The Vertical Reality

How can we know the vertical reality while locked in the world of appearances? Until we awaken our pure subjectivity and enter the realm of objectless existence we simply cannot. Since it is through consciousness that we recognize the phenomenal world, to know prior to the known, we first need to turn consciousness back upon itself - we need to withdraw our sense of identity from the horizontal plane of time, space and mind by awakening pure awareness. The moment consciousness becomes self-conscious, the original knowledge, I am, is recollected, and we meet the primordial point of reality through which we can discover our abiding place within the vertical reality of the now.

From whence does the sense of I am originate? Upon what does consciousness dwell? It is often assumed that because consciousness is the original source of all creation, it does not require a dwelling place within existence. However, even though consciousness is the source of creation, it is not the source of itself; consciousness manifests out of the original now, which is prior to it.

Unless we gain a degree of mastery over the art of letting go, we will never access the source of consciousness. To let go is to release our whole existence into the vertical dimension and descend with the pull of gravity into the secret space of the bottomless now. Though unseen and intangible, only by the grace of the vertical reality does creation have a place within which to abide.

Surrender into Being

Being exists beyond polarities, but if we relate it to the time-dimension, we could say that its opposite is becoming. In fact, it is only from the viewpoint of our human reality that being and becoming are seen as opposites, for we are unable to integrate them into our existence as one. Becoming occurs within the reality of space, time and consciousness, whereas being is the fundamental ground of pure isness upon which the movement of creation takes place. Because the soul participates in both of these dimensions, she is subject to both being and becoming, and bridges them through her own existence. In the natural state, there is a precise equilibrium between her essence, which abides in being, and her human aspect, which is constantly becoming. However, when attention is fully identified with objects, the soul gets lost in becoming and surfaces out of being. Excessive involvement in the outer world exteriorizes our consciousness from the now, disconnecting us from our ancient abidance in the source.

Most creatures are naturally, though unconsciously, connected to being. But humans have become uprooted from this sacred ground. The very make-up of the horizontally inclined mind and its mission to serve the personal will are in conflict with the nature of surrender. When the movement of the mind overpowers our internal calm and stillness, we lose our intrinsic connection to the inner plane and are pulled away from the now; we defy the gravitational pull of being by fueling the outward movement of our energy and consciousness. The only way to reactivate our lost quality of being is through the conscious practice of surrender and meditation. In meditation, we open to reality by pacifying the activity of the mind, maintaining our presence and continuously letting go. In the very simple act of sitting in the now, the natural opening and deepening of being takes place, allowing us to return to the state of inner rest. Meditation is none other than the timeless act of sitting in being.

Our experience of being is deepened in meditation, but it is not by any active effort on our part. In meditation, therefore, we do not do anything in order to reach being, but rather undo all that opposes the non-activity of the absolute. It is the natural pull from the gravity of the now, not our relative exertion, which makes absorption into being possible.

Although our intention to surrender can be seen as the deepest expression of our free will, the state of surrender cannot be reached through any act of will. In truth we can do nothing but get out of the way. The more we try to do anything, the more we disturb the natural process of surrender. Initially, we do not sit in surrender itself, but sit in being with the intention to surrender, as all elements contrary to surrender - energetic resistance, the inability to reach absorption, mechanical thinking and excessive self-consciousness - gradually loosen their grip. In time, the power of the now pulls us into the condition of pure rest so we can embody the state of surrender. By yielding to the emptiness of the being, the soul moves into the dimension of repose and stillness.

As we have mentioned, being should not be confused with common relaxation. Relaxation points to who is abiding, whereas being points to where we abide. The experience of being is far beyond any ordinary experience of restfulness - it is an entirely new dimension of abidance in reality. Being is the absolute unconditional repose of existence as it is. One cannot truly relax within the confines of oneself, since the separate self by nature exists in a condition of primal tension. For a human being to reach supreme relaxation, he must merge with the beyond.

The Body of Being

Although an ontological dimension beyond our individuality, being is still reached through the soul. As she grows into the now, an infinitesimal portion of universal being is transferred to her existence, awakening her identity so that she can actualize her complete energy body. Through her inner expansion, the soul develops a new body, the body of being.

On the macro-scale, the self has the absolute as its body of being, but on the micro-scale, the soul, who is the microcosm of the self, must be endowed with the body of being in order to experience her wholeness. The expansion of the soul into the beyond can occur only through the being aspect of the inner state, for it constitutes the root of her very identity and the space of her abidance in the now.

When the soul is unawakened, the experience of being is translated primarily as a state of rest in the beyond. When the soul is realized, the state of being is integrated with a sense of being oneself - we no longer differentiate between who we are and where we abide. Although being is ever beyond our individual self, we merge with it in the transparent meeting space where the body of the soul and the ocean of the now intersect. Only here, where the individual and the universal are dissolved into one indistinguishable whole, can the realization of oneness take place.

The Energetic Experience of Being

The state of being transcends ordinary 'experience' because it cannot be objectified. It does not exist apart from the experiencing subject. However, even though the dimension of being is beyond human experience, it may still be experienced by the soul in the mystery of her surrender. The soul experiences being not through thought, emotion or perception, but through the merging of her own existence with the pure subjectivity of the now.

Due to the fact that being is an energetic dimension, the experience of being naturally takes place on the energy level. The state of being is characterized by tranquility, calmness, stillness, relaxation, ease, peace and a blissful sense of inner repose. Since to be is to rest within the non-abiding void of the now, the flavor of rest is predominant. Though beyond us, being lets us anchor our sense of I am in its absolute stillness. To experience the bliss of being is to be received by the beyond.

The Mind and Being

It is not that the mind experiences rest through being, but that rest is experienced beneath the mind as a foundation of our existence prior to the arising of awareness and thought. The state of being does not in fact require the complete surrender of the mind for its actualization, because it is independent from consciousness. The full realization of being entails only partial surrender of consciousness, but total surrender under consciousness.

We can say that the state of being is at once dependent on, and independent of, the mind's attitude. It is initially through the surrender of the mind that we become able to relax into being, but when it is fully established, being reaches complete autonomy from the mind. Ultimately, through the evolution into transcendence that takes place beyond our awakening of the inner state, consciousness and the mind surrender totally so that the soul herself can merge with being and reach absorption in the beyond.

The Body and Being

Although the nature of being is non-abidance, through her surrender, a human soul can actually abide in that non-abidance and realize being as her original abode. It is true that the universal dimension of being has no point of reference in the manifested reality; still, this unseen realm is experienced as individualized in relation to our physical reality and personal angle of perception. It is not that the dimension of being itself has a spatial location, but how we experience it in our human form. Although the experience of being points to the intangible beyond in which our body abides, its energy naturally penetrates the body. The feeling can be likened to the experience of being submerged in a warm ocean with closed eyes; what one feels is not the whole ocean, but the point of contact between the body and the water, which spreads and radiates the sensation of the ocean's presence beyond the skin, around the body.

We can speak about being in practical terms because we experience it in a very specific way within the frame of our physical and subtle bodies. Though its exact location cannot be pinpointed, being is not felt 'everywhere'. Due to the fact that the energy center of the body, the hara, is located in the lower belly, the energy of being is initially registered in and around the lower part of the torso as a descending sense of gravity and a feeling of heaviness from the weight of inertia. When we surrender into being, energy naturally gravitates towards this area, centering our vital force and anchoring our body in stillness. However, the experiential location does vary depending on the level and character of one's inner awakening. For instance, a person who has activated the heart center will experience the energy of being not only around the belly, but also around the chest; the experience may even begin in the heart, since energy will naturally be drawn there. Or, if awareness is awakened and integrated with being, the experience of being will also include the headspace. The more the three aspects of the inner state are amalgamated, the more any distinction between them dissolves into one homogenous field of being.

Those at the beginning of their work with being are generally unable to connect to the being of the beyond, and feel its energy exclusively in the body. For those who live in the mind, bodily awareness is often the only channel through which a connection to the now can be made. Still, although the experience of being is reflected in the body, we should not mistake the physical sensations it generates for the state of being itself. The descent of energy we experience points far beyond any bodily reference. The dimension of being is non-physical, and due to its transcendental nature, an extraordinary maturity is required to realize it as the inner home of the soul.

Although vertical absorption brings about a certain horizontal expansion of the field of being, we should not focus on the horizontal experience, for it can distract us from our vertical surrender into the beyond. We do not verify our experience of being by checking the quality of energy states around the body, as they may or may not be related to being; it is only by examining our vertical expansion that we can truly gauge its depth. We may feel a horizontal expansion of energy beyond the body, or an auric field surrounding us, but we must not be concerned with these types of relative energies - they are only by-products of meditation. Rather, we should focus on how profoundly we dwell vertically within the now.

Cultivation of Being

Since the work with awareness takes place on the horizontal plane, it can be easily completed in activity. To reach the necessary depth and stability of being, however, we must cultivate it in sitting meditation. Unless we sit still, the energy of being has no chance to fully drop into the depth of the now.

The work with being initially requires the temporary suspension of one's horizontal involvement. As time goes by, we introduce our practice with being into everyday life as well; but until a significant depth of being has been established through sitting meditation, practice in activity is no more than a conscious effort to relax and cannot take root. To cultivate being, we patiently sit in the now, perfecting the art of letting go. Sitting and letting go - letting go of everything that is not of pure rest. In due time, as our energy becomes increasingly absorbed in the dimension of the now, we experience the unconditional, natural state of being.

The Depth of Being

That which prevents the merging of the soul with the ground of being is the seductive pull of the vital force. Because the energy of the vital force naturally emanates outwards towards creation, it is inherently resistant to the gravity of the now. When we sit in meditation, we are situated between these two opposing forces - one pulling us towards creation, the other towards the uncreated. To merge with being, we must surrender in order to counteract the outward movement of energy and consciousness. Letting go to the gravity of the now, we gradually transcend the fluctuations of the mind and energy, and become increasingly rooted in inner stillness.

The process of growing into the depth of being naturally takes time and requires a great deal of patience, for we must completely transform our relationship with existence by allowing our consciousness to surrender to the source. How deeply we can submerge ourselves in being directly reflects the energetic purity and restfulness of our state, as well as the existential quality of our inner absorption. The more we move beyond our relative energies, the more we experience the unchanging, immaculate quality of being. When we reach the final depth of being, we embody the inner solidity and unbroken stillness of the beyond.

The Absolute State

The ultimate experience of being is the absolute state, in which the soul fully transcends the fluctuations of her abidance in the now and enters the unoriginated, unbecome, unmanifested ground of reality - the absolute. The absolute is the primordial void that contains totality, the foundation of the never-ending expansion of creation, the living depth of absence. Everything dwells upon the absolute; all manifests from it at the beginning of creation, and all returns to it at the end of time. The absolute state is not the absolute itself but the meeting between the soul and the absolute.

To be clear on how the absolute state can be distinguished from a deep experience of being, we must understand that they represent entirely different dimensions of realization. Their difference cannot be measured by degrees of depth. The absolute state actually signifies a quantum leap in the deepening of being, beyond depth itself. Prior to reaching the absolute state, being is experienced on the side of creation; after, on the side of the uncreated. The significance of this statement needs to be contemplated deeply.

Let us imagine an intermediate space that lies between the original void and the reality of creation. One does indeed exist, for there must be a bridge between the radically opposed dimensions of absence and presence. This mysterious 'in-between' space can either be approached from the source or from manifested existence: the absolute pulls the soul from within, the soul surrenders to it from without. When the soul surrenders to the gravity of the original void, she steps onto this threshold, and is absorbed into being from the side of creation. Still, she has not yet moved to the abode of the absolute. To cross the invisible border that separates the dimension of presence from the dimension of absence is to experience death while living. Those who have crossed over to the abode of the unborn have the rare privilege of becoming immersed in that which is beyond life and death - the supreme source.

In the absolute state, all relative instability of energy within the experience of being is transcended, and we attain the ultimate experience of pure rest. Though empty and immobile, the absolute state has the extraordinary strength and power of the absolute itself. As pure awareness is the zero point of consciousness, and the now is the zero point of pure awareness, so the absolute is the zero point of the now - the primordial ground from which the now originates. The absolute is the ancient ground of creation that has no attributes but one - it is. The original isness of the absolute, steeped in the unknown, is the sacred container of all existence.

Entering the Absolute

How does one enter the absolute? How is it possible to move beyond all relative experiences of being and pass through the gate of unconditional stillness? Only when we have expanded the frontiers of our surrender to its final limits can we dive into the inner ocean of the now and relinquish the pull of the vital force, letting go of everything that holds us to the will of self.

To move our sense of I am beneath consciousness and the life-force is ultimately not a function of effort. Our willingness to let go is an essential element of our passage into the absolute, but the final shift is a function of grace. We make ourselves available to the pull of the absolute by very precisely tuning our existence to the supreme stillness of pure rest, and the absolute itself opens the door for the soul to enter. Through the practice of dropping our will, we fall with the force of gravity to the place where presence touches the realm of absence, and upon reaching this final limit of letting go, a power from the beyond receives us into the domain of immaculate rest.

In the practice of letting go into the absolute we can use the device of surrendering with the exhalation, falling with the out-breath into the gap of pure being, which opens up for a short moment at the end of the exhalation, then resting in that space before inhaling. In this gap lies the secret passage to the other side of the now. It is precisely here that our energy can momentarily return to the condition of pure rest. Prior to opening to the absolute, our consciousness cannot stay in this gap for more than an instant, for it immediately feels suffocated by its own inactivity. Consciousness cannot free itself from its inherent will to act until it becomes absorbed into the dimension of absence. When the inner gate to pure rest opens up, we catch a second breath - a breath of eternity not taken by the lungs, but by the consciousness of pure freedom. The shift to the absolute state is an implosion of energy that sucks our being into the supreme repose of absence that awaits us beyond the now.

Stabilization in the Absolute

As with the state of presence, the principle of stabilization also applies to the absolute state. The shift to the absolute indicates that we can access the state, but only when our energy is properly aligned. Due to our inability to constantly rest in the beyond, we can consider the unstabilized state as still belonging to the coming and going of experiences, a phenomenon not inherent to our true nature. Before stabilization, the absolute state is not yet the real foundation of our existence.

Stabilization in the absolute is a flowering of our continuous dedication to surrender and unbroken abidance within the state of pure rest. We have to become inert like a stone. Maximum vertical inertia combined with the drawing-down of gravity from the source intensifies the inner pull to its limit so that our energy can gradually settle down into the bottom of being. When our being reaches the necessary degree of maturation and inner expansion and fully merges with the absolute, the state finally stabilizes and becomes the natural base of our existence. At all times we are contained within the pure perfection of the groundless ground of total life.

Integration of the Absolute State

Before the absolute state is fully refined, there are still subtle energetic oscillations within the quality of our inner abidance. The integration of the state involves polishing the condition of pure rest until maximal transparency is attained and the state is thereby rendered natural and complete. It is an organic process that we support with the practice of deep breathing in sitting meditation, and by consciously surrendering to the state at all times.

Once integrated, the absolute state reflects the perfection of our abidance in the supreme absence of the beyond. Although not the final goal of our evolution, the integration of the absolute state lays a tremendously significant foundation for our future attainment of wholeness, representing the solid ground of reality from which the soul draws the power she needs for her expansion into universal intelligence.

How deeply the absolute state is ultimately realized is determined by the strength of awareness and being with which the soul enters the beyond. If awareness and being are fully empowered, the soul has the necessary force to penetrate the innermost core of absence; otherwise, the absolute will be experienced in a more shallow way, as a plane of emptiness or tranquility. We call the highest realization of the absolute the 'diamond mountain,' since it embodies the qualities of infinite strength, solidity, clarity and depth.

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