Recently, someone proclaimed they had a “rude awakening.” Some have called this, “A dark night of the soul.” It is an appreciation of the emptiness without the recognition of/as the paradoxical fullness, both contained in and containing the emptiness.
This “rude awakening” is simply an incomplete recognition of Truth. This experience often gives rise to a sensation of fear or dread, because there is still a someone holding on as an individual identity seeing only one facet of Truth.
We do not awaken to Truth. We awaken as Truth. Truth, as Truth, transcends the limits of concepts. Though vast, emptiness and fullness are still limits mind grabs onto in its effort to understand what is beyond concepts.
The same is true for the experience of Truth as bliss—while more pleasant to the individual, it is still mistaking one facet of Truth as the whole.
As an individual, we want Truth to be bliss. As Truth, there are no concepts, nor even the concept of concepts.
Truth is . . . or is not.
Addendum:
After this post came together, we became aware of a beautiful expression of Truth in the poem by Nobel laureate, Seamus Heaney, titled, “St. Kevin and the Blackbird.”
We considered reprinting the poem, but felt the transmission might be greater listening to Mr. Heaney reading the words he wrote.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-BwgIvMDJXM
Listen from heart and embody the words as if they were your own.
Love, Bec and Steve