fear of nothingness

when you look inside, what do you see? is there anything you can point to and say, "this is what i am"? the fact that there isn't a single tangible thing we can grasp onto as the essence of what we are creates a deeply unconscious fear within us, the fear of nothingness. this leads us to project outward and struggle to create an identity where we believe one is lacking. hence, the ego and all of the suffering and insecurity that comes with trying our damnedest to believe we're something we know is not real.

fortunately, none of this is necessary, because nothingness (no-thing-ness) is not the same as nonexistence. it's true that we're not a "thing," but realizing and accepting this unconditionally is not life-negating, but profoundly liberating and life-affirming. we're not a thing, but we still are. and since we're not a thing, we're not subject to all of the perils of objecthood. it's up to us to discover what it means to be, but not to be as an object, as a thing.

fear of nothing

deep down, we know the mental structure we've created of who we are to be a pretty shaky thing. this shakiness terrifies us, because we think that the structure's collapse would mean the worst thing imaginable.

this deep fear is what keeps us from the freedom that is encountered when, after the smoke of the crumbling structure clears, the limitless expanse of freed consciousness is revealed.

attention no longer fixed on an object, and yet experience of being still present, consciousness has no choice but to acknowledge itself as formlessness, openness; pure, aware presence.

freedom is the base

on top of which we have the habit of placing limiting structures. we then perceive these structures (which couldn't exist without the base of freedom) more than the base itself. we take the ground for granted and look for freedom elsewhere. we're experiencing bondage within the context of freedom.

different types of bondage will come and go, but freedom will always be there. bondage is said to be an illusion because it's invented. everyone suffers a different brand of it, depending on their past experience and conditioning. one person might see through the lies of another's way of self-enslavement, but remain blind to his or her own.

when it comes down to it, the jail-like structures we construct around our inherently free nature are pretty mundane; what's enslaving us at the moment might be as simple as a worry over our unsatisfactory behavior last night at a social gathering. they're also constantly in flux, so that today we're oppressed by the demands we place on ourselves as we push a cart through the supermarket.