The void is the experience of oneself, one's Essence, as empty space. It is an experience of expansion, spaciousness, openness, and boundlessness. The mind is not bound by the rigid boundaries of the personality's self-image. Its effect on perception is to see things as they are, without distortion... The void is really nothing but the absence of the personality and its various distortions. The mind is empty then, completely empty of the personality. It is as if the inner space is cleaned out, emptied, of the personality and its patterns, mental or physical. The person feels free, fresh, light, and unhampered. The mind is seen as it is, an immaculate emptiness.

Even the annihilation space is experienced, and hence there is a boundary. In other words, it is an individual experience. The annihilation is still related to oneself. The sense of individual experience remains, in a very subtle sense, as the annihilation of self. The experience is still self-centered, self-related. The annihilation happens to somebody, to oneself. The dissolution of this subtle boundary of individual experience leads to yet deeper and more open space, an utterly empty space. This space is complete and total emptiness. It is the emptiness which eliminates separating boundaries. There is no more a sense of individual experience. There is nobody there experiencing the emptiness. At this level, there is no difference between awareness and emptiness. Again, this space cannot be conceived by the mind. The mind cannot conceive of experience which is not an individual experience.

The experience of the void is an important juncture. It is necessary for the transition from the realm of the personality to the realm of essence or being. But by no means is it the final end of all personality. And the void itself is not essence yet. The void is a transition point. It indicates the absence of identification, the absence of self-image. This is absolutely needed for the discovery and the establishment of essence, but it is not essence yet, and it is not the end. The void is the absence of the personality, but as we have seen, the essence is a poignant presence. The void is the absence of identification, which forms the self-image.