Spirituality Studies 35 Monique Rebelle that I had the ability to learn anything I chose to – and the certainty of that capacity. Dissolution of ego. I suddenly realized that, until now, my being had always been covered by a thick shell of substance, like dried-up mud. That layer was who I believed I was and who I thought I was supposed to be – including my name and all the labels I had collected over thirty-five years. Now, I physically felt the mud disintegrate into a blackish smoke and I watched it simply fall off my body, somewhere down below, dispersing into nothingness. Together with that occurrence, the need for identity disappeared as well. From within emerged a clear, untinted, free voice – no personality needed. What I was not – was gone! Weightlessness, levitation, and light. As the dried shell of mud vaporized, I instantly felt that my body had lost all of its weight and I was being lifted into the air, hovering above the bottom of the tub. Instead of the rainbow tube of light that had been present before the thoughts were cleared, I now saw light – whitish, milky air – surrounding me. The lightness of my state and the bright light were very enjoyable. I also noticed golden specks beginning to fall all around me, and there I was, levitating, surrounded by a slow rain of beautiful, glistening sparks. Full realization of the natural purpose of the mind. I understood that the mind, when free from the baggage of mental obstacles in the form of unresolved issues lingering from the past, is naturally capable of resolving any problem. That ability is its true purpose. Universal function of every mind. One of my final conclusions at this stage of the experience was the absolute certitude that what had just happened to me can happen to anyone, and that every mind has the perfect ability to resolve problems in an analytical, methodical way. As this process was taking place, my mind observed carefully but with ease, as a few new, precise thoughts “dropped in,” analyzing the situation. Confirming that in the given present moment there were no problems to solve, my mind made a decision to simply observe the still-unfolding experience with inherent interest and curiosity. 3.4.2 Explanation Many spiritual teachers confirm similar findings. Swami Prabhavananda describes the cessation of mental modifications as bringing joy beyond all pleasures and senses, an elation arising from the sense of freedom (Prabhavananda and Isherwood 1953, 28). Gangaji, a contemporary teacher, notes that when the mind stops, there is joy, clarity, and peace (Gangaji 2003, 44). This state should not be confused with the final stage of Kuṇḍalinī rising, when consciousness leaves the body through the seventh cakra and thought is no longer possible – a topic that needs to be addressed in the article on the seventh cakra and seventh dimension of perception. At this stage, individuality remains, but personal concerns vanish, and the mind can observe and analyze with perfect clarity. Although the phrase “stopping the mind” is common in classical and modern texts, I prefer “clearing the mind,” which clarifies misunderstandings about the stages of Kuṇḍalinī rising and their effects. I view this step as the mind being freed from the charge in the third cakra – the lingering overwhelms of mental systems and memories stored there – resulting in joy, clarity, and peace. This is not beyond the mind but the mind functioning clearly, without prejudice or dead-end patterns created by thirdcakra mental structures accumulated over time. Swami Sivananda speaks of attaining a pure mind and the resulting beginning of omniscience (Sivananda 1946, 147). Dissolution of ego. The dissolution of ego, also called the “death of the ego,” is of crucial importance in many spiritual texts. Descriptions and methods for dissolving ahaṃkāra (the Sanskrit term for ego) first appear in the early Upaniṣads, where egoic identification is negated through Self-knowledge and recognition of non-doership
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