Why did I find the experience of emptiness spooky and awesome?
Synthesized from Source
outcome
"Emptiness is not a lack, but a profound spaciousness where existence plays its music; in the paradox of being and non-being, we discover the fullness that arises from nothing."
According to Osho, your reaction comes from conditioning that equates emptiness with lack. Western mind sees only riktata—the negative absence—so encountering ‘nobody’ (ego gone) feels spooky. But true shunyata is simultaneously empty and full: when the mind’s furniture is removed, pure spaciousness remains, like a hollow bamboo through which existence plays its music. This paradox—he is and is not—makes emptiness fearsome yet awesome, because it reveals living fullness from nothing.
It felt scary because you learned emptiness means ‘nothing,’ but it’s actually open space that lets life’s music flow—so it’s also amazing.
Why this matters practically
- Reframe anxiety in meditation by seeing silence as spacious support, not lack.
- Letting go of ego ‘furniture’ creates room for clarity, creativity, and love to flow.
- Helps meet teachers and inner states that feel like ‘nobody’ without fear, with reverence.
- Letting go of ego ‘furniture’ creates room for clarity, creativity, and love to flow.
- Helps meet teachers and inner states that feel like ‘nobody’ without fear, with reverence.
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