It’s interesting that when people hear about the awakening story of Eckhart Tolle, they tend to miss a very tiny section of it which he always mentions – that he was sucked into the void just before the awakening.
He told that the experience was so frightening that it could easily be compared to death. But since he was intending to take his own life due to his depressed state anyway, and because there was the inner voice telling him not to resist the experience, he didn’t.
So he let go, and the void sucked him in.
He could not remember anything that happened after that experience.
The next morning he woke up liberated.
He talks about the void experience in this video (the video will start from around the time he talks about being energetically sucked into the vortex of energy):
My personal experience of being sucked into the vortex
The void experience happened to me twice. Unfortunately, having no information about this state whatsoever, I was completely unprepared. So I resisted being sucked in both times with all my might.
The first experience of abyss happened in the year 2012, at the time when people thought the world would be over. I think that particular time was very helpful for the awakening, and it could have signified the world as we know it being over, rather than the literal end of it.
The second time this energetic experience happened a few years later, and again, it scared me to death.
When I shared this experience online, I only got one reader’s feedback who also experienced it and resisted it with all his might as well. But it turns out the opposite should be done, as seen from the case of Eckhart.
In all these three cases therefore (mine, Eckhart’s and my reader’s) this experience happened when we were deeply relaxed, in a sort of meditative state. For example, it happened to Eckhart before falling asleep, it happened to me once before falling asleep, and the next time – when I was meditating; and it happened to my reader during meditation.
So we can assume that this state is likely to come when you are deeply relaxed as well as not thinking about anything.
This state is an invitation to turn you inside out, for you to be put the right way. Unawakened humanity operates through the ego, but once this experience happens, you operate as the consciousness that you are.
Before the awakening, the ego uses up our consciousness in fears, thinking, planning, remembering, etc. After the awakening, consciousness uses the mind, and the ego is no longer created, as there’s no identification with mental content.
After this experience, Eckhart said his ego died. Maybe that’s why when the void experience happens you feel so mortally afraid – because a part of your indeed dies.
How the vortex experience feels like
It’s very difficult to describe this experience for those who never had it. It’s like your whole being is threatened to be sucked into the depth that’s in you. I don’t know if I explained it properly, but I can’t find better words.
You know that the depth is endless, thus this experience can also be called “being sucked into the abyss”. It feels very physical, but, of course, it’s an energetic experience. I believe that it happens to people who are ready to let go of their ego identity completely.
However, since real spirituality has almost no “manuals”, so to speak (New Age fluff doesn’t count), people who have this special invitation usually miss it as they are totally uninformed about it.
So now you are. In case this happens to you, just relax and let go.
I warn you, however, that it’s much easier to say this than to actually do it. It really feels like you will die. It either takes a person totally frustrated with the ego, or a fearless one to take this plunge.
Even if I get this experience again, I cannot guarantee if I would give in. But I think that I will. What do you think you would do?
Have you been touched by the void? Do you know more information about this experience? Do leave your comment below.
Thanks for posting this, Simona. The final moment of ego death came up for me once 14 years ago and I failed to follow through with it also. It feels like the very core of your existence, your soul, is about to fall off into a void of complete nothingness. David Hawkins speaks of this experience in this video:
youtu.be/eRD4rRYLEF0
You explained it well, Jarett.
Dear Simona,
Interestingly I experienced something similar to this when I was about to fall asleep about five six years back.
I don’t know whether that’s exactly what you are talking about but it was like I was going to die. It was the biggest fear I had experienced in life. I did not experience the void feeling…or I am not sure whether whether I did. I got up from bed and started walking as if I would die if I stayed in bed. I was so terrified.
Thought it was due to meditation so after that terrifying experience I stopped meditation and started watching entertaining things like movies to avoid a recurrence. I was so scared it would come back.
The year 2012 is important to me as well. In October 2012 I returned to office after visiting a monastery and was reading an explanation of Satipattana sutta on the net. Then suddenly I was gripped with this fear that I rushed to washed room and looked at the mirror. Then I saw a third eye opening sign like…and after sometime everything died down. There was no role for resistance in that experience. I felt some pressure was removed from my being and felt peaceful after that.
However that was different from what was experienced years later while falling asleep.
Much merit to shedding light on this. No one had explained it to me before and I did not probe either as I was scared of the whole thing. So it has happened to all of us while falling asleep, I suppose when we were between conscious and unconscious…thats interesting.
However even If I know the meaning now, as you said I am not sure whether I have the strength to give in. It was so very scary, something like you are being pushed out of the planet.
Thank you so much once again dear Simona
Hi Champika, the void experience is about feeling that unless you resist, you are going to be sucked into the vortex, so if you resisted being sucked in, that’s probably it.
Hi Simona,
I’m not 100% certain that this is the same, but I would personally describe it as a wormhole over a void or vortex. The feeling is as if your consciousness is forcefully pulled or sucked out of your body, and to be honest I found it extremely enjoyable. After the wormhole trip I found myself as a bubble floating slowly down towards a large city street where I entered the head of a man who was quickly grabbed by 2 suited men and placed into a white van. As the side sliding door closed, the scene changed to that of a seminary school. I now found myself seated in a large classroom, my desk alone in the center, a red robed man in front of me speaking, “nel nome del padre del figlio e dello spirito santo.” Another transition lead to a cafeteria in the school followed by one leading to a locker-room, my locker containing black shoes and something else that I can’t remember. The final transition was to my basement bedroom at my step-father’s house, only it wasn’t the same. As I walked towards the bed I became consciously away of my control over these legs that weren’t mine, and I fell to the floor. I reached for an object and pulled it towards me, a quartz crystal necklace. As I held it and looked at the crystal, my consciousness was forcefully pulled into it. I then opened my eyes, but was unable to move for several minutes because I was in a state of shock. I hope this helps, and I may be able to elaborate more if you have any questions.
Andrew, what you describe is astral projection. In the void experience you are entering the vortex within.
I have different query, not directly related to above-mentioned article – Have you ever seen white glow at the center of your forehead while meditating? Can you explain what is that?
I’ve seen purple and indigo. I think that’s tuning into this particular part of your energy field which is read as a color.
You said it so well: it takes a person totally frustrated with ego to take this plunge. That is what happened to me.
Long story short, the sense of self threw me into the deep sorrow because it kept convincing me of something that was not, and I believed it. And so my belief basically manifested the thing feared. (That was a mind blowing realization and almost no one believed me such thing is possible.)
For the first time in life, I realized this self that is measuring, criticizing, fearing, commenting is actually what is usually called the ego. (I had not previously read any spiritual literature.)
The whole experience got me frustrated with it, because I realized it is completely false and giving information that is not true at all.
I even thought of killing myself because of the mind chatter, because I was in it’s grip,I could feel the bondage.
It was literally tyrannizing me with it’s thoughts and threats. But I knew if I physically killed myself, I would not end it at all.
So there I was, cannot go on living with it, cannot die. And then, suddenly, I cannot even begin to describe the feeling that took me over. I was not afraid to die anymore. But all I wanted is to end the tyranny of that something which was clinging to my consciousness.
When finally the ego realized it failed, that I don’t believe a word it says anymore, it was… gone! I just completely went into the void. It was so, so peaceful and comforting. Just pure silence – the voice of the ego has withered away. It wasn’t scary at all, because as I said, just previously I was ready to be even annihilated into nothingness, as long I don’t need to listen to the mind chatter anymore.
The ego could not stand that, it had to withdraw.
It lasted for a few days until the ego voice returned. That’s how I got on a spiritual path.
Wonderful: “But I knew if I physically killed myself, I would not end it at all.”; “But all I wanted is to end the tyranny of that something which was clinging to my consciousness.”;
“It lasted for a few days until the ego voice returned.” — so it returned. Interesting. Actually Eckhart also says that still 20% of thoughts remained, but the difference was that he was no longer identified with them.
Thank you so much for this comment, Mind of Love.
Thank you so much for your comment… Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed by this chatting mind my gooosh… At the same time we identify so much to it, because we’ve been used to listen for him since we can think that letting it go feels like killing yourself, killing our identity.. I already felt like I could totally let go, like I could just release everything into the void, but my mind was telling me if you lose me then you lose yourself… Till now I haven’t been enough strong to ttell myself I could not lose myself, and that those thoughts were not me. It’s like being in a relationship with someone and feel like without this person you’re nobody… In this situation I am just in catharsis and cannot make a move to break the relationship because I’m too scared to lose what I think makes me being what I am. I think it must come with more love for myself, but sensitively, not mindly, then I’ll be able to let go… Everyday we can decide to love ourself a little bit more, heal ourselves and heal the world 🙂
Love and light brothers and sisters <3
Ps: sorry for my broke English I'm french 😉
When I first experienced the void, I told my now wife about it. She replied, there is nothing to a void…