The cloak of nothingness

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By Enza Vita, author of Always Already Free
What is Enlightenment and What Does It
Matter Anyway?

At the core of the mind is consciousness, and at the core of consciousness is
the pure non-dual, non-conceptual absolute. Consciousness manifests out of
the un-manifested dark radiance of pure awareness, the pure potentiality of
the Absolute.







In order for consciousness to exist,
there also must exist something for
it to be conscious of. This can be an
object, or the lack of an object, or
even an experience of being absent
such as you might experience when
you are in a deep dreamless sleep
or under anesthesia. You are the
subject of your own consciousness.
Objects of consciousness can be the
world around you, your mind,
your body, or even an experience
or idea. But pure awareness exists
without the appearance of objects.
It is beyond any concept of subject
and object.

The cloak of nothingness

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Imagine that you are the sun burning in space with no other things near
you. You shine, but you cannot see the light or yourself because there are no
other objects around to reflect your light. Without that reflection, there is
no confirmation of your presence in that area. You are pure light, but you
cannot know light, because knowing something about it infers that it exists
apart from you.
In this way, one cannot know his or her original nature because that is what
one is. Awareness cannot be known; it can only be experienced as what one
is. You are awareness. You are the I am that knows that it is.
Consciousness is an expression of awareness like the sunlight is to the sun.
Consciousness is similar to the reflected light of the sun, and it arises when
the body-mind also arises. The sunlight can be reflected in a thousand ponds
but there is only one sun. The reflected sunlight is not really any different
from sunlight itself, and in the same way, your mind in a body is really
ultimately the same as awareness and consciousness. The whole universeall
worlds and all objectsappear both upon and in consciousness. When
consciousness then identifies with those objects, the sense of individuality,
the I am, is born, and with it separation and suffering. At some point,
consciousness realizes its mistake and remembers its true nature.
The death of the body causes the consciousness to return back to the source,
which is the awareness itself. But this is just an appearance. What
constitutes you has never changed in birth or in death.
You remain the primordial presence/awareness in which everything,
including consciousness, comes and goes. You are not part of any one thing,
you are part of the no-thing-ness that constitutes all things, and which
gives rise to all appearances.

The cloak of nothingness

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Founder and director of the MahaShanti Foundation, a non-profit
organization dedicated to support the spiritual awakening of all beings, Enza
has studied with some of the great spiritual masters of our age and after a
series of deep awakenings, culminating in a profound spiritual realization in
2007, her life is now dedicated to ignite the flame of truth in others.
Enza Vita is the current editor of InnerSelf magazine, the former editor of
Woman Spirit and Health & Wellbeing magazines, and the author of Always
Already Free What is Enlightenment and What Does It Matter
Anyway?.Based on Enzas own experience, Always Already Free, de-
mystifies ancient spiritual teachings and practices from east and west and
reveals that spiritual enlightenment is not a faraway dream, but the ever-
present reality always available here and now. The book guides the reader
from the seeking process through the integration of enlightenment into
everyday life.
The truth I talk about is not limited to any tradition but is found in, and
open to, all true traditions.
The first 3 chapters of Always Already Free are available for free download
from EnzaVita