Dissolution of the Mind


Dear sweet one, you may be familiar with the spiritual metaphor of the limited individual mind dissolving into the unlimited ocean of consciousness. Actually, this is not just a nice metaphor to make a belief or faith out of, it is an actual happening. But what does it really mean to dissolve the mind? Where does the mind go? How is it dissolved? Can it come back after dissolution?


The mind doesn't go anywhere, it just dissolves into its original nature. The only thing that is dissolved is our illusory felt sense of mind—that it is somewhere in our head attached to two eyes and ears. Look inside now, and you can become aware of this felt sense of mind that has formed a circling pattern in and through your body. It is just circling around all your thoughts, sensations, memories, emotions, dreams and so on. Its sense of life is attached to your small boundary of flesh and centered in the head, in the eyes, or in the heart- the gateways to the soul. Consciousness has become solidified through the repetitive circling of mind within the limited sense of individual reality that is conditioned by your nervous system and environment. The dissolution of this limited circling of mind is what is meant when I speak of the dissolution of the mind.


Dissolution of the mind actually happens quite frequently and naturally, we just aren’t aware of it. Dissolution of the mind is the essence of all satisfaction. It is where the living boundary between ourselves and the world merges into inconceivable oneness. It is when the sweetness of a dessert comes alive in us, as if we exist in that very sweetness. It is when the embrace of a lover melts the boundary between the other, and you feel as if you exist only as love itself. It is in the peak performance of art or sports, when the intensity of focus brings total action without thought. There is a certain joy and excitement in all these moments. It is what we all are seeking in fact. The reason is that consciousness is essentially full of unlimited bliss. This must be realized for oneself and can be if we fearlessly follow our bliss. Leave it to no one to judge what brings bliss to you, it is your intimate connection to your Self, and if you are authentic in your quest to realize greater and greater bliss, then you will naturally evolve your pursuit into the higher planes of consciousness.


Samadhi comes to those who follow their bliss with utmost intensity, all else is mere dry talk. The innate urge to connect with the pure ocean of bliss that is infinitely beyond our limited sense faculties has its own pull, its own life-affirming attraction, its own realizing potential that calls us from within every cell of our being to merge into its depths. Spirituality is surrendering ourselves totally to this attraction, the pull of Self to dissolve our limited cycling of thought into the intoxicating waves of liberation.


Again, this is not just a philosophical concept or religious ideal, it is an objective happening, only it occurs on a very subtle level. To enact this dissolution is a transformative process that requires a profoundly trusting connection to another mind that has completely dissolved itself. There are subtle energetic principles involved, energies of the body, prana, shakti, chi, whatever you want to call it. As consciousness dissolves from the limited circling pattern of mind and expands non-locally, it breathes life into the surrounding environment. This is obvious in the case of two lovers, one looses himself in the eyes of the beloved and instantly there is an energizing resonance awakened in the beloved. We think that this happens only between people, but it can happen with anything, a tree, a hill, a statue, a painting, a sound. Those that known how to dissolve their minds at will can bring life into anything. This is one of the greatest spiritual powers, the ability to breathe life into anything and everything.


When we make our inner striving for the dissolution of the mind conscious and integrated, we begin to focus on the bliss itself and the authentic practice of mediation is born. Through the guidance and initiation from a mind that has mastered the art of dissolving itself, we awaken the potential to expand consciousness at will, to merge our sense of aliveness, the strong felt sense that “I exist” onto anything and everything. Within this newly awakened power we can merge into dimensions of conscious bliss beyond all description. All the spiritual realms can be entered into at will. We can get lost in endless streams of light, bliss and revelation. The clouds above may seem to pierce into our very skull. The land on which we sit may seem to stretch out from us like it is just a small extension of our expanding Self. Waves of sublime emotion may engulf us. Atmospheric mind worlds may entice us with perfectly patterned diamonds of insight that cut through the most perplexing paradoxes.


It is experienced as a total revolution of being. What we once thought was most solid, becomes the most liquid. All our notions of solid bodies, objects, events, places, people, things, and our own self image looses its solidity. Anything we can imagine, no matter how solid it previously seemed, becomes just another wave of blissful consciousness, we can see it merge in and out of the ocean, laugh and enjoy the playfulness of the whole thing. This is the best approach, if we can laugh off superconsciousness as just another tingling of the mind rather then trying to hold onto it, it will stay with us continually expanding.


What we previously felt was most liquid, the ephemeral experience of bliss, becomes the most solid thing in our experience. We begin to see all thoughts, no matter how vast and insightful or depressing and doubtful, as mere indentations on this plane of never ending bliss. We recognize all the centers of energy as our own dwelling place. When bliss is the most substantial thing in ones life, you become the source of everything. This is not mere speculation my sweet friend, this whole field of Maya is built out of the fabric of bliss and you can enter into it this very moment as it is your very nature. At least have a taste of it. Dissolution of the mind is a sure and sweet process, once started in earnest there is no reversing it. Having a glimpse of eternal bliss is like a pin-prick in a balloon, as small and insignificant as it may seem, the air will surely come out.


Now as to the last question, if the mind can come back after dissolution, let us answer it in this way: Imagine an aquarium full of water, a small reef, stones and tropical fish all swimming around this way and that. Now we take this aquarium and toss it into the ocean. It may take a while for the fish to realize that they are free to roam the ocean. They may keep swimming in circles for a while since they are used to each others company and habits, or they may wait for food to come not knowing there is an ocean full of abundance awaiting their exploration. Then finally, the fish take a leap of faith, and swim up out of the aquarium and into the vast blue ocean. Even then they may go back into the aquarium, it is very recognizable as the reef and stones inside are still arranged in the same way. Perhaps they choose to come back every now and then to celebrate with the other fish, “look here, this is the box where we were all trapped for so many years! How silly we were! Let us play inside it like we used to!” And perhaps, they know of some other fish still trapped in an aquarium, and out of compassion, help them find the ocean that is all around them.


The general framework of the mind remains intact, even as individual consciousness merges into the ocean of cosmic consciousness. This is why each realized soul expresses their experience uniquely through the mental pathways that were charted since birth and beyond. What does change is the ability to see the totality of it. For example, when the fish were stuck in the aquarium, they could only cognize parts of it without having a complete understanding of the whole. After swimming in the expansive ocean, they can come back to the aquarium and instantly see it for that totality of what it is. Likewise, we can peer into our conditioning with more completeness after experiencing the expansive Self. Eventually, even the Bliss of the ocean is surrendered. Only when you can let go of something fully will it be ever enjoyable to you.


Sweet one, like waves continually rolling on the sea shore, countless moments of supreme fulfillment shall roll all throughout your being. Whatever you can imagine as the most supremely fulfilling Bliss shall be showered on you a million times over when you are courageous enough to dissolve the mind fully. Let us not get lost in words my dear friend! Dissolution of the mind is possible, it is what we all are seeking, it fills our mind with the most marvelous light, it gives us the power to breathe life into anything, it fills us with universal compassion, sublime intelligence, and causeless creativity, may your mind be dissolved into the ocean of Eternal Bliss!!! OM