First rule in listening to anyone else’s advice: see if they’re speaking from experience.
So, to address the elephant in the room regarding this post’s topic- I’m not dead yet. Well, this body isn’t dead yet.
Fortunately, that doesn’t mean this topic automatically renders this post a non-starter.
Death, after all, is the same event regardless of whatever form it takes. Whether it’s the conclusion of a flower’s lifespan, the ending of a relationship, or the cessation of the physical body, death is ultimately an irreversible event that brings an existential story to a close.
So, although I can’t speak on the death of the physical body (although I could but I’d have to reference past life memories and… well… let’s not go there), I can speak on the end of the ego based on my experience in this lifetime. Incidentally, this particular form of death happens to be the most powerful death process that humans can experience (and ultimately benefit from hearing about).
Why? What makes ego death so special? I’ve witnessed physical death in my own life and it’s by far the most profound death experience I’ve ever come across. What you’re referring to is just the death of something that’s unreal to begin with, isn’t it? From what I understand, ego death is a deathless death, but physical death is the actual disappearance of something real and tangible. I don’t think anything can top that.
Physical death, while profound, is never the less the death of the vehicle, not the occupant.
This is why people who commit suicide are no better off after they’ve jumped off a bridge; their body has been terminated but their ‘self’ hasn’t gone anywhere (their problems are still intact). Ego death is the death of the occupant, not the vehicle. This is far more final, profound, and transformative which is why most people who are deeply suffering tend to opt for the bridge instead. After all, even if life sucks, at least it’s still happening to ‘you’ and is something that ‘you’ can do something about.
To be ready for ego death, you have to be truly done with any notion of there being a solution to life (even a final bridge-like one). This means that when the moment of this death arrives, you won’t have anything to say about it- it will just be what obviously needs to happen and you will welcome it because you will have exhausted all other strategies to try and keep your ‘self’ alive.
So what happens when the ego dies?
Nothing and everything.
Nothing in that the mental dream of the personal story loses its place at the center of your consciousness and begins dissolving immediately and continuously back into the source of its own projection (think of a black hole and how the immense gravity of it makes it impossible for anything to occupy its space or escape its pull). What dies is the illusion; the cosmic sleight of hand; the smoke and mirrors that appeared to be about something of substance but were only hiding the truth of a conscious cosmic void playing pretend.
Everything in that God realizes that it’s God (unequivocally). It becomes abundantly obvious that everything in existence is made of one universal consciousness. The hell of division ends.
This is why ego death is in fact entirely positive. Unfortunately, most human beings can’t really trust that or see that until they’ve lived long enough to become tired of the chaos, struggle, confusion, and suffering that their ego needs in order to perpetually sustain itself.
Ego death means that it’s actually possible to become free and content in this life before the body dies. It means that your search for truth and freedom is not in vain, just an unnecessary necessity so that you’re truly ready for the divine when it reveals its faceless face.
After all, realizing that you’re God is kind of a big deal.
Maybe I should have just said that to begin with…
You’re kind of a big deal.
>> Let gravity do its work, join me live this Sunday July 30th in the ‘Society of Nobodies’ Facebook group for my bi-weekly meetup (free to attend). Join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesocietyofnobodies
Copyright © 2023 Kyle Hoobin
Beautiful 🤍 🙏🏻
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Life-death, ego-bondage and liberation are all fascinating concepts for a busy mind. The Stuff dreams are made of. Grace goes beyond. It’s who we are.
Fascinating for slow minds too! (at least in my own experience)
As for Grace, she sounds like a special gal & I’d love to meet her 😜
Grace is a hell of a gal, you most likely know her by a another name or, no name?😉
Oh, THAT Grace, yes indeedy, she’s what keeps this heart ticking… ♥️🕰️♥️
Hey Kyle, it’s Nate back for more. Can you please help me reconcile/ understand how the occupant of the vehicle is one universal consciousness yet there is some kind of unique occupant because you describe the bridge jumper as no better off?
Hey Nate!
When I speak of the occupant I’m referring to the ego / personality / false self. The occupant is not a part of one universal consciousness because its not a part of anything- it’s an illusion (the illusion of separation); a hypnotic mental knot that acts as the antithesis of unity. Of course, it’s impossible to refer to the occupant (the illusion) without it sounding like a real thing, hence the apparent contradiction when it comes to understanding everything as being One (because all REAL things are indeed a part of One consciousness). Another way to understand this is by seeing the occupant as your shadow- the shadow gives the impression of there being a separate someone when in fact it’s just a play of light (albeit a painful play when believed fully). When I say the occupant survives suicide I’m referring to the illusory separate self that continues to be dreamed and superimposed on reality.
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Oh gosh! So great! I always love reading your words Kyle! Thank you!! <3 <3 <3
❤️ And I love that you read them! 🎉🥂
Enjoying the words. Love how big ideas are put simply. ” You’re kind of a big deal” made me smile from the inside out : ) Thanks
Perfect — I’ll keep’em coming! More inside smiles on the way…🤓
Hi Kyle! You know, I’ve been assuming lately that my ego comes from my brain and conditioning, so when the body dies, my ego dies. Then I’m free. Are you indicating that if my ego dies in this life before my body via enlightenment, then if I get another body I don’t confuse myself for an ego again?
Hey Crystie! I would say being incarnated (“made flesh”) is only useful if it eventually leads you to self-realization. After self-realization (awakening) there’s no longer a need for an alarm clock ⏰ (reincarnation). Ultimately, while beautiful and sacred, to be born is to be cast into suffering through total identification and hypnosis with the apparent separateness of the physical world.