More void state techniques from ancient teachings
Heyyy this was super wanted, more void state techniques from ancient Buddhism/Hinduism. These teachings are super old, traditional and quite literally mystique. These teachings are SERIOUS business. Do not take them lightly. Approach with respect, caution, by that i mean, begin slowly and mindfully, these stuff might put you in a state that DEEPER than void. I recommend you do your own research, if you're interested. Now all these settled.. First let us start with Unmani Mudra, that's a practice in the yoga and tantra tradition that signifies a "state beyond the mind." The word "unmani," literally, means "suspension of the mind " or "absence of the mind / cessation of the mind." But this isn't about the brain shutting down, it's more about the calming of the flow of thoughts, the interruption of that constant inner monologue.
The practical part is as follows, that the eyes are generally half open, the gaze is directed slightly upwards or between the eyebrows (called ajna point). (Also related to Shambhavi Mudra), But you're not trying to focus, quite the opposite, it's like an "empty gaze." Breathing is calm, the body is relaxed. But the main thing is not the physical pose, but the mental state. The goal is to let thoughts fade away without fighting them. ALSOOOO, in practice, the goal isn't concentration. Most people fail here. They look at Ajna and think, "i'll focus, i'll hold it." Wrong. That's not dharana. Unmani is the dissolution of even focusing, close to Samadhi. So there's attention, but not "attention locked onto something." The mind normally operates through vritti (thought waves). In Unmani, these waves are not suppressed; they extinguish themselves. Therefore, it's again lowkey similar to Patanjali's "citta vritti nirodha," but the method is different, there is no forced stopping, only non intervention.
Second technique that might help getting in void state is, Ajapa Japa. That is a method of hypnotizing the mind with its own rhythm and then suddenly pulling that rhythm away. Ajapa japa literally means "non repetitive repetition." Yes, it sounds deliberately a bit confusing i know, Normal japa is consciously repeating the mantra. In ajapa, the repetition happens spontaneously. You don't force it it just happens. A classic example is, breath. Its said that the "so" sound is naturally produced when inhaling and the "ham" sound when exhaling. "So ham" is the mantra, meaning "i am that." You don't force urself to say it,you just become aware of it. After a while, the mantra begins to flow automatically with ur breath. At first, ure somewhat consciously aware of it. Then, at some point, the feeling of, "im repeating myself" subsides. The mantra is working in the background and ure just a witness. That's the stage called ajapa.
Ajapa is a more "gentle" method, u don't just jump straight into the void, you first get into a rhythm. That's why it's lowkey more sustainable for most people..i think? At some point, even the mantra gets ''unnecessary'', cause the mental place it takes u to is already beyond the mantra. There is no repetition there, no effort or whatsoever. Long stroy short, listen to the natural "So" sound as you inhale and the "Hammm" sound as you exhale (the hamsa mantra) in ur mind. Continue this for a while, completely capturing ur mind in this rhythm. At the moment ure completely immersed in the rhythm, hold your breath for a pretty short time and suddenly stop the mantra. Your mind will want to continue that rhythm, but cause to the pause, it will fall into a "void." That moment of falling is your gateway.
Like i said, this post was so wanted, im not a Hindu/Buddhist myself but i respect these two beliefs' ancient shifting/void state related teachings and i share what i find in my researches. if im wrong with something, u can write in the comments!!! You can also do your own research, I RECOMMEND IT, thanks, have an awesome meditative time!! 🐇💋🪷
