The Natural State

To transcend separation and realize oneness is the supreme goal of our human evolution, by the power of which we come back to our original state and actualize our eternal identity. True oneness cannot be accessed prior to the awakening of the inner state, for without the inner state there is no existential bridge between self and reality. As we move into the states beyond the mind, our human consciousness gradually begins to surrender to reality as a whole. Expansion into no-mind, the awakening of integral consciousness and the return to the natural state are the various aspects of our enlightenment to complete oneness with existence.

The natural state is the true environment of enlightened reality. To be natural is to dwell in the state of oneness with existence. All that does not possess the nature of oneness is foreign to the natural state. What makes the state natural is that it is rooted in the dimension of pure subjectivity in which the soul is not set apart from the ground of universal non-abidance. To realize this ultimate translucency of being - oneness - the natural state of the soul has to merge with the natural state of the universal self.

For any experience to be registered as an occurrence, a dualistic friction of energy and consciousness is required. But the natural state is so pure and transparent that it cannot be apprehended by the mind. In the natural state, the frequency of reality has reached such immaculate clarity and openness that it can no longer be differentiated from the absence of experience. It is so fundamental to who we are and what reality is that it cannot be captured as an actual experience, for it has nothing to contrast with other than itself. The natural state is neither an experience nor an experiencer, but our true nature in absolute unity with the true nature of reality. It is the elemental space of existence, the ground of our spiritual sanity, well-being, freedom and truth.

Levels of Attainment in the Natural State

Any state of awakening we reach should eventually mature into its own dimension of the natural state. And so, in our evolution towards the complete natural state, we move through the natural states of awareness, being, and the heart, until we reach the natural state of the soul. The natural state of awareness is the culmination of the stabilization and integration of that particular state - spacious, lucent and free of crystallized energy. The natural state of being has the characteristics of pure rest, non-fluctuation of energy, absolute transparency and unbroken absorption in the now. The natural state of the heart has the attributes of warm and tender expansiveness, deep and delicate sensitivity, and an unconditional sense of love and unity with creation. The natural state of the soul is a holistic and boundless experience of oneself that results from the integration of the inner state, the awakening of me and the surrender of the mind. In the natural state of the soul, one abides in a dimension beyond inner and outer, in complete union with the pure subjectivity contained in the space of everythingness.

From here, our further evolution into the natural state takes us into the state beyond polarities, transcendental state, and samadhi. In these states, the sense of individuality and the construct of the mind gradually merge with the inner realm and the soul. The complete natural state can be defined as the absence of personal self within the presence of universal transparency.

Natural Absorption

For a state to be natural, it must be linked with absorption in the vertical reality. Unless we are absorbed in the inner state, we cannot experience the necessary absence through which we can transcend self-referral. Natural absorption allows us to rest beyond our self-consciousness in unity with the dimension of pure subjectivity. Absorbed in the natural state, the soul is unconditionally immersed in the inner plane of being and non-being at all times. Her absorption is equally present during meditation and daily activities; it is beyond doing and non-doing, thinking and non-thinking, having the eyes open or closed. Natural absorption is the true goal of all mature paths, for it reveals the depth of reality, without negating our ordinary existence on earth.

Non-abidance

The ultimate reality has no support and no dwelling place. It abides upon everything and nothing, it abides upon itself. Non-abidance is the nature of reality - the formless, dimensionless foundation of the natural state. The natural state is one with the unoriginated consciousness of no support.

Non-abidance is the groundless ground of the now, the living depth of enlightened reality. In non-abidance, one goes beyond the limitation of having a relationship with existence. In truth, one can never 'relate' to existence as a whole. To experience the whole, one must get out of the way and dissolve into absence. In this absence, all is. In the state of separation, one dwells upon the external or internal reality through thought, experience or perception. In the state of oneness, one dwells upon nothing. To realize non-abidance is to merge with the natural state of existence.

One enters non-abidance only through the dimension of being, which alone can absorb our separate consciousness, and gradually moves through various layers of absorption in reality. Although the inner state is the gateway to reality, one cannot reach non-abidance through the inner state alone, for in the very act of dwelling in it, there is an inherent duality in the relationship between one's individuality and the inner realm. To dwell in any state, no matter how profound, is to objectify it as external, even if this externality points inwards. Therefore, to transcend duality and attain true non-abidance, one has to surrender and dissolve in the state of one's own abidance.

To realize non-abidance we first need to transcend the division between our inner and outer realities and merge our separate consciousness. We must then deepen our unity with existence by awakening to transparent me, the state beyond polarities and the transcendental state. From this foundation, we are ready to relinquish our false individuality and unite with totality in samadhi. In our own absence, we merge with the void of the uncreated to finally embody the ancient state of non-abidance.

The Stateless State

The natural state is unlike any ordinary state, for there is no one who dwells upon it. No one experiences the natural state, as the experiencer is no longer distinct from the state itself ­- he has merged with the inner realm. Because the natural state is not external to the one who knows it, there is no movement of energy and no direction of absorption. Natural absorption is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It is not within or without, up or down, here or there. In natural absorption, no one is absorbed into nowhere. The natural state just is. This stateless state is neither the soul nor the beyond, but their undifferentiated unity - the dimensionless abode of one existence - pure reality as it is.

Nothing Special

When we arrive at the destination of our inner quest, we realize that what we have reached is actually ordinary in its essence. The ego believes that behind the idea of enlightenment something absolutely extraordinary awaits. Bored with its own ordinariness and suffering a permanent inferiority complex, the idea of enlightenment holds a seductive charm for the ego, since it promises to transform its banal existence into a fairy tale of bliss and ecstasy. The ego looks to the path of self-realization as a way to gain spiritual power and collect all sorts of mystical experiences, but all these projections are ultimately hollow. The ego cannot see the truth of the path unless it surrenders to it.

The natural state is nothing special; it is divinely ordinary and perfect in its simplicity. However, the ego, due to its gross and superficial nature, tends to interpret this naked simplicity as negative. The ability to recognize the tremendous value of the natural state comes from the surrender of the mind and the awakening of the deeper sensitivity of the soul. The soul does not seek anything special, for she longs for truth, not intensity of experience. She seeks liberation from all that is false so she can return to her natural state of peace, freedom and purity.

The ego, in its insensitivity, is unable to even register the absence of the natural state until it gets so stifled by its own falseness that it is finally forced to recognize the lack of any internal space in which it can simply be and regain its basic sanity. The natural state is like the air we breathe or the open space in which we live. No one considers space to be extraordinary, yet it contains all living things and is the very precondition of life. Only in the claustrophobic suffocation we experience when space is taken away from us are we able to see, its priceless value. The natural state represents the basic goodness of existence, which is so primordial that we are able to identify it only when we lose or regain it.

If we do experience something 'special', it is not our natural state. Because the mind cannot see beyond reality's surface, it only gets excited by shallow experiences that have no existential value. By surrendering to the natural state, we transcend our craving for experiences and drop the grasping mind. In the emptiness of just being we merge with the transparency of reality and become free from seeking at last.

The Natural State of Oneness

The natural state of being is non-abidance. The natural state of consciousness is not-knowing. The natural state of the heart is kindness. The natural state of the mind is egolessness. The natural state of oneness is all-that-is, the one taste of existence. Dwelling in the natural state, the soul can finally rest in her original unity with the whole. The natural state of universal oneness is an ocean of pure bliss, the primordial, all-containing space of truth and love.