The Void: The Inner Nature of Mind
The void of reality refers to awareness’s open, boundless nature. Rather than a blank nothingness, the void is revealed as the clear medium of perception, the canvas on which the colors and forms of phenomena appear. In a groundbreaking examination, The Void explores the inner spaciousness of the mind from a new integrative perspective at the intersection of timeless spiritual insight and contemporary psychological understanding.
By inquiring deeply into the nature of self-identity and consciousness, Almaas reveals the radical nature of the mind with freshness and precision. The essential ground of the mind is not reducible to mental content and processes. Rather, beneath the churning stream of thoughts, feelings, and images, we find awareness rests in and emerges out of inner space. This empty awareness is explored extensively in this book, shedding light on timeless teachings about The Void while offering an entirely new vision of the relationship between psyche and spirit.
The Void: Inner Spaciousness and Ego Structure
“The Void, remarkably and directly, introduces us to the space or ground of mind within which mental structures operate. [Almass] shows how inner spaciousness can be experienced in somatic, psychological, and spiritual ways, details some of the many levels of inner space, and, more importantly, illustrates how these experiences of space can lead to fundamental healing and integration of our being.” – Jack Kornfield
Part One–The Void and the Self:
The Mind; Depth Psychology and the Mind
Ego Psychology and the Mind
Object Relations Theory
Self-Image and Boundaries
Self-Image and Space
Self-Image and Body-Image in Relation to Space
Inner Space and Spatial Extension
Self-Image as the Structuralization of Space
The Psychodynamic Approach to Space
Discussion of Technique
Phenomenology of Space
Part Two–The Void and Transformation:
Space and Essence
Space and Sexuality
Space and Inner Change
Part Three–The Void: Expansion or Deficiency:
Deficient Emptiness
Space and Deficient Emptiness
The Genesis of Deficient Emptiness
Emptiness is Emptiness
Part Four–The Grades of Emptiness:
The Grades of Emptiness
Spanning twenty-four chapters, The Void offers an extraordinarily comprehensive examination of awareness’s spacious nature. The authors synthesize timeless spiritual principles about inner space with a contemporary psychological understanding of the self-image and ego structures. This interdisciplinary, integrative perspective sheds new light on mystical and psychological terrain.
Through in-depth analysis, engaging case studies, and guided meditations, The Void takes readers on an insightful journey into the nature of mind and self. We explore the phenomenology of inner space and learn how identification with self-images and boundaries veils our essential open awareness. As these structures dissolve, clear inner Space is revealed as the ground of Being. The book offers invaluable insight into how meditating on emptiness transforms self-identity and invites liberation into vast consciousness beyond the individual.
For those engaged in spiritual and psychological growth, The Void is an indispensable guide to realizing our essential nature as open awareness. By understanding how self-images pattern space into forms and how dissolving these liberates our true condition, we gain priceless keys to inner freedom. The profound teachings on emptiness help us recognize awareness as the canvas on which the colors and forms of experience appear. Through exploring the inner space of mind, we reconnect with our boundless true nature, the fundamental ground of Being itself.