Most people are deeply afraid of intrinsically being nothing. They, deep within, have enormous fear about existing as emptiness. They’ll “try” various meditative techniques to “attain some kind of emptiness that they can control,” but these techniques all depend on time (which is merely a postponement and — really — a duplicitous psychological excuse to use a so-called psychological center to continue to be manipulating and “getting there”). They may conjure up a fabricated emptiness (under their control) and continue to pretend that it is something special (that “they” have); this further reinforces internal possession and, with it, the “I” of domination/possession. Profound emptiness is not merely brought about by any psychological cause, by any psychological effort. However, the exclusive cause-effect mentality has been deeply ingrained within us. That is how most of us operate and that is the only way most of us know how to operate. Psychological — not physical — ending to the known neither requires effort, technique, nor time; really, it is timeless living. Regarding psychological emptiness, it is foolish to run away from it (and it is foolish to fabricate it). (Accurate thinking has its place, but it is only a tool; one part of a conditioned “network of tools” identifying itself as “the controller” is a form of crudity and ignorance.)
The nothingness that most conjure up, unfortunately, is a fabrication. The beauty of true nothingness/emptiness is that… when it actually occurs, the magnificence of wholeness and profound eternity exists. To be deeply afraid of that, then, is delusive and fallacious.
There was a man
who was afraid of the emptiness of a flower
He ran from that emptiness
Ignorance fled from what was the door to immeasurably immense beauty
Flower Power (Emptiness) … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
Very profound, Tom. I seek Divine Union. Is there a difference between this and Emptiness?
Great question! 🙂
Language, as we use it, may be a factor here (with the usage of the word “I”) and, in that case, it is not much of an issue. However, there is no psychological “center” if the real possibility of the sacred manifesting/visiting is to take place. Understanding the relationship of thought to thinker is key (i.e., the thought makes the thinker; the two are the same), and it is also important to see and go beyond thought’s limitations. Personally, one doesn’t like to use the words “seek” or “seeking,” as they imply that one is grasping and looking for a specific thing. “Investigating” and “being open” are preferred, as then one is learning each and every moment (hopefully beyond mere goals and paths).
Thank you, Tom. That’s very enlightening.
As I read and re-read your reply, I realise I’ve always had a need for a pathway, although I do believe that all pathways fall away when the Ultimate is reached.
Go beyond all pathways. No path can lead to something that is alive and not stagnant.
Ah, but there’s money in them thar meditative hills, and innumerable gurus willing to promote their techniques as “the”
road to perfection, or bliss, or whatever. Your point about controllable emptiness is a good one: very perceptive.
Yes, you got me smiling, Linda! 🙂
When i was in college, there were “gurus” from the East giving out “special mantras” and special techniques. Fortunately, i was familiar with hypnosis and self-hypnosis and i said to them, “Hell, this is nothing but a form of self-hypnosis.” It was, during college, only when one left Catholicism and the blueprints of the gurus that something special happened (but don’t take my word for it).
Such a beautiful colour on those petals. 🙂
Thank you, Scifi! I think so too! 🙂
The yellow against the pink is striking!
Yes, Sandy, so many flowers are just a magical delight to look at! 🙂
Incredible details in the stamens, anthers and stigmas!
Thank you, Eilene! 🙂
A stigmatized flower! 🙂
“In irony a man annihilates what he posits within one and the same act; he leads us to believe in order not to be believed; he affirms to deny and denies to affirm; he creatives a positive object but it has no being other than its nothingness.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre,
Interesting, Ken! It’s the last few words that intrigue me the most. 🙂 It helps one to consider that the man who evades the emptiness that exists beyond thought/thinking — either through fear, or indifference, or being stuck in a rut, or whatever — is, instead, existing in (and “as”) a domain that is very limited and that is truly empty in a dead (rather robotic sense), rather than partaking in a vast emptiness that is alive and beyond stale limits. 🙂
You can run but It won’t help one bit!bA great truth here.
Yes, Paul, it’s the norm to run from silence.
The colour is so intense in that tulip, I can almost smell it. I got your next post in my email, but the link did not connect to the blog online today. (June 10th)
Thank you, Jane, about the tulip! 🙂 I inadvertently hit the “Publish” button instead of the “Save Draft” button; i then, realizing what i had done, intentionally and quickly trashed the posting. The posting, after all, will come up soon in one of my upcoming postings (in regular fashion). (We had company coming today, and i was quickly trying to punch things in… but too quickly!) Sorry about that!