– updated October, 2026
Fortunately, the end of the brain is only the end of the belief in being a separate, substantial self, like a character in a story ending when the book closes. So, if we don’t cling to that belief in the moments of dying, we no longer seem to hide that the formlessness of Oneness is all there ever was and will be.
From Duality Hack #4.6 in the free eBook Alexius’ Duality Hacks.
Death is only the end of an illusion, not reality
As death approaches, the oxygen-deprived brain loses its capacity to make intangible thoughts and feelings appear as the familiar experience of being a physical creature in an external world. Consequently, our sense of self is revealed as nothing more than intangible thoughts and feelings.
Suppose you try to avoid that by organising thoughts and feelings, unlinked from the familiar image of yourself as a physical person, into the image you used to identify with. Then you feel trapped in a vacuum of thoughts and emotions, because the physical person the brain made you believe was you is nowhere to be found.
Do not manipulate feelings, but follow their stream till they fade out
If you do not try to structure the chaotic stream of thoughts and feelings into physical form, and instead acknowledge that it is intangible – such as wind through open air, never taking definite shape – then it will run its course naturally until it dissipates. This takes no time and leaves room for other streams of thought and feeling to surface and play out, emptying us. However, this emptiness does not lead to the realisation of Oneness, as recognising something requires us to be separate.
A blank TV screen is like a canvas devoid of a painting. If you notice something on the screen, it’s not there, but in your brain. Even when the TV appears to display something, it’s actually the brain constructing that image (see Duality Hack #1.2), much like an artist painting on the canvas of our consciousness.
Death is not a requirement for oneness
Fortunately, realising Oneness is unnecessary. Oneness is formless and thus endless, so you have never left it – except in the fantasy of being someone in a world with more than one. When the brain expires, this fantasy gently dissolves, leaving only the infinite presence of Oneness.
You need not wait for the brain or body to expire to undo the fantasy of more than one. Anytime, anywhere, simply do not stop the streams of feeling. Instead, have each one play out, as in the earlier panic scenario. Then do the same with streams of thought, which usually precede or mingle with feelings.
When you are willing to play out all streams, your belief in more than one can vanish quickly. This may be easier, and happen even faster, if you approach all streams of thought and feeling by perceiving them as ‘dunno what it is’ – Duality Hack # 6.5.
Thus, in a state of not-knowing (Duality Hack #9.10), you can welcome the Enlightenment of that which is One (Duality Hack #10.1). As this is the end of consciousness, nothing obscures what cannot be experienced: that which is One. Yet you may prefer to retain consciousness to be aware of more than one.
In this case, because your slate was wiped clean in a state of not-knowing, every moment is the perfect moment. This is so even when the brain stops functioning and can’t produce experiences of more than one (Duality Hack #9.10). Thus, nothing seems to hide that Oneness is all that ever was and will be.
Notes on death and oneness:
Don’t cling to consciousness at the moment of death. Without awareness of something, there’s nothing to mask the formlessness of Oneness.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
If you don’t perceive the apparent difference between experiences as making a difference, the belief in separation vanishes. Consequently, there’s no fear of an end.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
When the brain nears its end, insufficient oxygen stops it from producing the usual experience of an external world. Instead, it makes up comforting images, such as tunnels of light, to prevent panic. However, nobody panics if they don’t believe the outside world is real, because there’s no inside without it. Thus, nobody dies.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Not believing that you are someone, you can’t die, because death requires someone to die.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Oneness is formless and thus endless. Since living or dying requires more than one, both are equally illusory. When you acknowledge this, a world with more than one, including thoughts and feelings about it, is revealed as a mirage. Then such a world no longer seems to hide what has always been and will be: the formlessness of Oneness.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
If one acknowledges that one’s appearance as someone in a world with more than one is nothing, one knows that its end is also nothing. Hence, there is no death to fear.
This does not mean there’s no sadness and happiness along the way, but since one knows that feelings are nothing, it’s fascinating to explore them as if they were something.
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