Updated June 26, 2023
When not focussing on something specific, the world of the outward-facing senses becomes blurry. Hence the world of the inward-facing senses opens up.
Alexius mainly experiences the world of the inward-facing senses and its glimpses of Enlightenment before falling asleep, where he gives the world of the outward-facing senses minimum attention, contrary to during the day when they get the most.
In a state of not-knowing, he often has visual glimpses of the Enlightenment of one which seems to swirl around the tip of his nose. He does not see his nose, though, or anything physical and is not aware of how long time it last. Probably less than 30 minutes because the brain falls into a coma if there is nobody to confirm its fantasy of a world where there seems to be more than one (read more about that here).
The empty breath can bring about a state of not-knowing – also inclusiveness, pretending to be someone definitive, seeing symbols of life in the world or being alone together (see Alexius’ Duality Hacks #9, 3, 4, 3 and 12)). However, since it is a state of not-knowing we cannot know if the duality hacks bring about the same state. Anyhow, let us return to Alexius in a state of not-knowing when about to sleep:
When the empty breath arrange the proportion of the inward and outward-facing senses, there is neither inside nor outside.
It seems like ages ago when Alexius enjoyed travelling in worlds of lucid light. Nowadays, he prefers not to see anything, thus as nothing falling through a black hole into the formlessness of oneness. See the article The ins and out of a black hole.
A BLISSFUL NIGHT OF NOT-KNOWING
When Alexius goes to sleep with a sleep mask and earplugs* plugged into his ears, the transparent sound of the empty breath transports him into worlds of light. Their lucid universes unfold at an extreme speed, or flowers open up in slow-mo until thoughts or feelings try to surface and sleep sets in. Then, going into a deeper sleep, the visions of light are on and off. And when he wakes up in the morning, he hears ethereal harmonies.
You can read about hearing the transparent sound of the empty breath in the article What does the empty breath feel like?
Actually, that is a typical description from many years ago when the glimpses of Enlightenment were exciting journeys in enchanted worlds of light. Nowadays, Alexius does not care much for such experiences, which are exciting because, to some extent, they are recognisable. Instead, he is drawn to visions of abstract nothingness until they swirl together around a so-called black hole which is neither exciting nor relaxing. It just is.
BLISSFUL NIGHTS MAKE THE DAYS LIGHT
During the day, he is mostly with the outward-facing senses, but the night’s bliss lights them up. Besides, sometimes he hears the echo of oneness as a natural extension of the empty breath. And the taste of the Enlightenment of that which is One may follow him through the day.
The Enlightenment of that which is One is impersonal, but the vague memories of it is filtered by the personality. Since it cannot comprehed one perpetual present, the Enlightenment of that which is One is described as a personal experience in time and space. On the other hand, glimpses of enlightenment is solely a personal experience.
The eyes cannot see – they translate, or rather it is the brain that translates the frequencies it claims to receive from the eyes. Therefore, since your brain has fabricated what you believe to read, you have no idea what it says. By acknowledging that, the Enlightenment of that which is One is bid welcome.
YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT ALEXIUS WRITES BECAUSE YOUR BRAIN EDITS IT
Be aware that the above is how Alexius experiences the world of the inward-facing senses when the world of the outward-facing senses gets less attention. But like you and he probably experience things differently in the world of the outward-facing senses, the same may apply to the world of the inward-facing senses. And regarding the Enlightenment of that which is One, his vague memories of not being someone are most likely selective (see hack #10 The Enlightenment of that which is One).
In other words, the descriptions you get in Alexius’ Enlightened Non-Teachings of the Enlightenment of that which is One and its glimpses are not absolute. Besides, you do not read what Alexius has written but your brain’s translation of it. And you may have added your interpretation on top of that. See Eyes do not see and Where to find the bliss of the empty breath.
The night can be full of restless dreams that seem very real until Alexius quietly wakes up to the sound of ethereal music that cancels out the night’s confusion so that he, full of clarity, gets out of bed.
Furthermore, his experience of the glimpses of Enlightenment is not constant. Some nights, he may not even experience them. Instead, thoughts or emotions take over and get him into the world of the outward-facing senses. No worries if that happens to you. It is a great way to see that thoughts and emotions have no power and are unnecessary when there is no need to be someone.
Best to forget all the descriptions from Alexius’ Enlightened Non-Teachings about the glimpses of enlightenment. Because you can only remember them by interpreting them as something specific, which cannot be replicated in the abstractness of the inward-facing senses.
If the reason for putting on a sleeping mask is to cancel out the light from the world of the outward-facing senses, there is lucid light coming from the world of the inward-facing senses.
ANYTHING UPHOLD AS SOMETHING SPECIFIC ENDS THE TOUR OF THE INWARD-FACING SENSES
Suppose you like the last time you travelled in incredible worlds of special coloured light. So you try to replicate it. But it does not work because when you define glimpses of Enlightenment, they lose their abstractness and become something in the world of the outward-facing senses, thus not glimpses of Enlightenment.
In other words, you cannot do anything to be in the world of the inward-facing senses. That only works in a tangible world. But for the same reason, you can do something not to experience the world of the outward-facing senses – for example, putting on a sleeping mask when you go to bed.
When you completely turn off the outward and inward-facing, the Enlightenment of that which is One set in. No image can be shown of that because it cannot be experienced since that calls for more than one. However, glimpses of Enlightenment can be experienced. One of the last ones you may have before they fuse into the Enlightenment of that which is One may look like a horse head. A black hole sometimes looks like just before there is nothing but intense light. Nobody knows if the light blasts out of the hole or into it because the light is so blinding that you cease to exist as someone definitive. That is why nothing is sucked into the black hole, which is no more. There is just a gentle void transporting nothing into the formlessness of oneness.
THE INWARD AND OUTWARD-FACING SENSES ARE EQUALLY UNREAL
If you get the impression from reading Alexius’ Enlightened Non-Teachings that the inward-facing senses are less deceptive than the outward ones, you have chosen to be deceived into believing that you can become better, higher or wiser by looking inside. If that is your purpose, the inward-facing senses will cause you as much suffering as the outer ones.
But if your purpose is to become nobody so that there is not somebody to hide the formlessness of oneness, the inward-facing senses will speed up the undoing of the belief in being someone in a world of something.
On his nightly travels in lucid worlds, Alexius has recently explored gaps in those worlds. He does not see but senses them. If he enters where he senses one, it expands without making an opening. Then the lucid worlds are gone, and Alexius does not sense anything until he suddenly senses he is revitalised. Photo © Alexius Jorgensen.
EXTRA: THE GAP
When you – with eyes closed, travel in the lucid worlds of the inward-facing senses, there are no sudden surprises. Everything is a smooth transition. It is like going nowhere but everywhere. But recently, Alexius discovered gaps in the lucid worlds. When deeply relaxed in the world of the inward-facing senses, a circular gap appears on the surface of changing light. When you look at it, the crack expands and looks like a little crater without a hole. So, in a way, everything seems the same until you go into the sensed gap. However, entering it is not a progression but a total changeover. The lucid world disappears without any transition.
If it is replaced by something, Alexius does not know because he dozes off immediately like he has been sedated. Nor does he know when he wakes up revitalised or if it is another aspect of the Enlightenment of that which is One. Unlike the aspects mentioned in The four aspects of Enlightenment and how to sample them, The Gap does not seem to be mentioned anywhere. He could probably write a new hack about it, but he is tired of writing and anything else that requires more than one.
That said, he adds that he can now sense and enter gaps in anything with open eyes for a shorter time after having done it with his eyes closed. But after a while, the gaps reveal themselves when he feels comfortable in the duality flow. So unlike the empty breath, they are not initiated by speedy thoughts but by feeling unhurried. Also, unlike the empty breath, it does not feel like entering the bliss of nothing.
Alexius does not know what is on the other side of the gap, if there is another side, or if he is still there. But he knows that in this vacuum, he forgets what and where he is for a moment, thus feeling like disappearing into eternity.** When it is over, it appears to have healed the body, but maybe that is because when he forgets his conditioned view of the world, the body relaxes. That said, always consult a healthcare professional if the body does not function properly.
*) The Sleep Mask and Ear Protection Ear Plugs suit Alexius perfectly for turning off the outward-facing senses and going into the world of the inner ones before going to sleep, but maybe others are better suited for you.
**) It is not a reference to psychedelic tripping. Alexius has no experience with drugs.
NOTES:
- Except for the photo of Alexius, the pictures are grabbed from the web.
- This article is part of hack #11 The senses, the Enlightenment and its glimpses.
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